I got inspired to make the Flow Chart below because recently a student asked me in class; “Am i doing it right?” It’s a question that you hear often. It might come from people not knowing hw their body works yet also often it comes from attending classes where you have to do thing in a exact/specific way.
My response was (and actually always is); Do you feel a stretch in the target area? Yes, she answered. Then is asked can you relax in it? Again yes she said. Then this pose is perfect for your body. The target area is different per pose or even different per class you take it’s what a teachers wants you to focus on. Though heart and hip ‘openers’ sound nice it’s no a real function as nothing is opening unless we use scalpels in class. Those are energetic feelings and not every student in class will experience that. What one can look for is a specific stretch or compression for example: Hamstring stretch, Quadricep stretch or say a compression in the spine.
When in doubt about what you should do or feel quietly ask the teacher; “Where should i be feeling this?” That’s a way better question that might suit YOUR body then to ask if you are doing it right as nobody can see from the outside what you are experiencing on the inside. You do you to harmonise the flow of chi in your body 😉
If any of my questions get answered by no i would suggest a student to do a different pose or let them try small adjustments to be able to feel the function and for at least be able to relax in it for 2 minutes. There are more ways to Rome and there are plenty of postures that might make you experience the target area. So in a Yin pose think of this chart. *Do i feel the target area? and *Can i relax in the pose for a certain amount of time?
