You may have taken a yoga class before and asked yourself, “What the heck does this teacher want me to do?” Sometimes as a yoga instructor, we think our cue might be landing for a student, when in reality, it may be confusing. And sometimes, cues have been passed down from yoga teacher to yoga teacher, and they don’t actually make sense in terms of anatomy and physiology.
As a Physical Therapist, I find the understanding of anatomy and physiology can often be lacking in fitness professionals. It’s why cues can sometimes come from a place of confusion and lack of understanding. And while that doesn’t mean you will getinjured, there’s a high probability you aren’t doing the pose as efficiently as you could be.
Here are some cues to listen for in class that probably don’t make sense:
Relax your gluts in bridge or wheel:
In bridge or wheel, it’s important to activate your gluteus (butt) muscles. These muscles are power extensors, meaning they generate the power to go into this pose.
It is possible to over-activate your glut muscles, and that’s likely where this cue originated. Your goal should be to achieve a balance between your gluteus, quadriceps, and hamstring muscles when performing this pose. A good way to tell if your gluteus muscles are overactive is to notice if your knees are moving towards your pinkie toe rather than staying in line with your second and third toes. This may be hard to tell in bridge and in wheel, so I recommend using a block between your thighs. This ensures you are using your glut muscles without over activating them.
Watch this video to learn more about bridge and wheel.
Don’t put your foot on the side of your knee in tree pose:
I am not sure why or how this cue started, but I hear it a lot when I take classes with other teachers. I have also heard teachers say, “to protect your knee, don’t put your foot on the side of your knee.” Your body is pretty strong, and putting your foot on the side of your knee in tree pose is not going to injure it.
One thing I do recommend in tree pose is paying attention to your knee that is lifted. If you can’t get your knee to point to the side, this might be a sign to lower the position of your foot. This will help your balance. If you are struggling with flexibility here, it is best to put your foot closer to your ankle, and, as your flexibility improves, you can bring your foot up to the side of your knee in tree pose.
Heels on the ground in downward facing dog:
A few things may make it really difficult to keep your heels on the ground in downward facing dog:
- Decreased ankle mobility,
- Tight calf muscles
- Tight hamstring muscles
- Decreased mobility of your sciatic nerve.
You don’t have to put your heels down in downward dog. I actually encourage keeping the heels slightly lifted and knees bent so you can create a neutral lumbar spine (check out the photo below for reference). For those that experience back pain in this pose, keeping your heels lifted may be the thing that improves the pain.
Press your shoulders down when your arms are lifted overhead:
Here’s another cue in which I understand the sentiment, but it’s not quite right because it can cause shoulder pain.. Your upper trap muscles are the muscles between your shoulder and neck (the schneck area as I like to call it). This muscle tends to be overactive and can give the illusion that your shoulders are lifting into your ears. When you reach your arms overhead, you want this area to not be holding a lot of tension. This is difficult to do given the posture we typically hold throughout the day. We bring this posture with us on our mat. I recommend checking yourself in a mirror to notice if this area seems active when your arms are overhead. When you lift your arms overhead, your shoulder blades elevate slightly and spread apart from each other to allow space for your upper arm bone to lift up.
If a cue doesn’t feel right in your body, don’t hesitate to ask. Not all cues fit all bodies. In a group class, as teachers, we are doing our best to help everyone and can’t always individualize the class. If you are having pain, check in with your physical therapist or yoga instructor for a private lesson, and they can give you the individualized cues that your body will need. Progress definitely occurs faster when you work one on one with someone.