Yogaland Podcast

Jason and I recorded this episode live at LoveStoryYoga in San Francisco at the Module 1 Advanced Studies training. Since the students are currently focusing on the hips and legs, we thought we'd take a look at backbending techniques. Jason unpacks some of the conventional wisdom about the alignment of this category of poses and then offers some unconventional options for those who don't fit the blueprint.The bottom line is this: Since there are many different body types, there is often more than one "right" way to approach pose alignment.We talk about: * Three different approaches to try to troubleshoot knee pain during backbends* When it might be OK for the feet to not be perfectly parallel in backbends like Urdhva Dhanurasana * Why Jason no longer subscribes to any hard rules for how to tilt the pelvis in backbends (in other words, whether you should "tuck" the tailbone or not) and what he does instead to find a balanced arc* Strategies for preparing the arms and shoulders for postures like Urdhv