71

october 2017

yo

Adm

but

mean? And why would anyone want to do it? While this cue’s

origin is unclear, many teachers suggest it may be an awkward

attempt at saying “widen the sit bones” or “relax the glutes.”

“I’m like a four-year-old when I hear this,” says Budig. It makes

me laugh every time.”

Draw your shoulders

down your back

Alexandria Crow, yoga teacher and

founder of Yoga Physics, is on a

personal mission to put an end to this

common cue. “When your arms go

overhead, your shoulder joint

itself goes up—that’s the natural

movement,” says Crow. “Pulling your

shoulders down while your arms are

up is not only dysfunctional, it doesn’t

Sounds simple enough, yet Noah Mazé, founder of

Yogamazé, says grounding down involves more than

pressing your feet into the fl oor. “It’s important to

activate your pelvis, hips, and gluteus muscles to create

the proper push-down action that fi rmly grounds the

feet,” Mazé says. To do this, try to spread your weight

evenly between the inner and outer edges of your feet

when standing in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), he says.

Adds master instructor David Magone: “Allowing your

body to settle into the ground allows your skeleton to

hold some of your weight, so your muscles don’t have

to work as hard.”

is for hug your Elbows to your

sides in Chaturanga Dandasana

(Four-Limbed Staff Pose)

This is one of the most vital cues

during Chaturanga, says yoga teacher

and Yoga Journal contributing editor

Jason Crandell. “It’s essential to pull

your elbows into your side ribs while keeping your

forearms perpendicular to the floor,” he says. This

creates greater stability in the joint where your upper

arm bone and shoulder blade connect. Of course,

ires upper-body strength, so Crandell

s his students to drop their knees if necessary

ome weight while maintaining

y of the pose.

your anus

D

GROUND

DOWN

IS FOR

SQUARE

YOUR

HIPS

Despite decades of teachers
telling their students to
square their hips to the front
of the room when twisting,
Magone says hips don’t actually
need to be squared. In fact,
the motion creates torque, he
says, which weakens the space
between the hips and the torso—
upping the odds of injury. Instead
of trying to stay square, allow
your pelvis to rotate in the same
direction as your spine, which will
allow for a much deeper spinal
rotation and reduce the likelihood
PHOTOS: VILOR/SHUTTERSTOCK: STANISLAUV/SHUTTERSTOCK; of lower-back pain.