Top 3 Yoga Cues (and Why!)

I remember as if it were yesterday the moment, years ago, when I was in a yoga class and I suddenly understood something about my big toe.

Let me back up.

When I first starting taking yoga classes, I showed up for class and did exactly what the teacher told me to do. If she said to shake my head, I was shaking it like a polaroid picture. If she told me to inhale, I was definitely not exhaling until she thus commanded. This is how we all start! At the beginning, everything is new and all we can do it listen to the guidance of the instructor. 

Let's fast forward to a few years later when I suddenly became very clear about my big toe. I was taking an Ashtanga class. I had already completed yoga teacher training. I was already teaching my own class. I already believed that I knew all there was to know about all things yoga. And then, my teacher not only instructed me to push down through my big toe, but she also took the time to explain why she was giving this direction. What a light bulb moment! If I understood the why, then I could alter the cue to work specifically for my body. I fell in love with this type of understanding.

From there, I delved into finding understanding surrounding many other cues and statements given in yoga. As a teacher, I realized I really did not know anything yet - I was just at the beginning of my yoga journey. Today, I am still on this journey and I try very hard to share the why's and the how's with my students as I teach. I encourage all of my students to ask questions when something doesn't make sense or doesn't work for their body. There is always an answer!

Having said all of that, I would like to share three of my favorite alignment cues that I often say during class. I am also sharing the reasons behind the cues so that you can start to understand your body better as you work with this information. Once you understand the why, you can start to shift the cue or ignore the cue completely if it does not apply to you in a certain pose.

1. Press down into your big toe: Most of us, in various poses, do not press evenly into our feet. This is to say that we roll to the outer edges of our feet. One way to counteract this is to press down into your big toe. This action forces more pressure to enter the inner edge of the foot, thereby evening out the overall force across the foot. 
2. Shake our your head: When we are in standing forward folds, including downward facing dog, we have a tendency to hold tension in the shoulders and neck. You might even find that you are lifting the head unnecessarily. Instead of releasing tension, we are increasing tension. When you shake your head yes/no in these positions, it forces you to relax the neck muscles. Problem solved! 
3. Relax your heels: This is a cue that I often give in downward facing dog. One of the purposes of this pose is to stretch the entire back side of the body. Most of us, however, hold tension in the soles of our feet and the Achilles tendon. Doing this has a domino effect and can prevent stretching of other areas as well. The cue to relax the heels brings ease into the feet and Achilles tendon. When these areas can relax, you will experience a larger stretch and release of tension up through the rest of the body.

What I know now, that I did not know when I was first starting out, is that I will never reach the finish line. I will always continue learning. In fact, there is no way for me to learn it all. Isn't this exciting! I pass this excitement on to you and encourage you to ask questions as you explore how yoga works in your own body.