Is Your Torso Misaligned?

Nov 13, 2018

The answer is YES - nobody has a perfectly symmetrical body.

Look at your torso like a car, your shoulder and hip joints as the wheels, and the suspension as your balance. When your wheels are out of alignment, the suspension is off and driving can become problematic, if not dangerous. Now, apply that same logic to your body. Is one of your hips tighter than the other? Have you ever had a shoulder injury or pulled your rotator cuff that has left a lasting impression?

By doing yoga poses improperly, and without awareness of what is going on in your body, you can unknowingly exacerbate pre-existing conditions and even create new problems.

Right / left and symmetrical poses will challenge and teach you the most when it comes to the balance and stability of your core. One of the key elements of the Gurugrid design is to provide you with a static framework for these poses that you can't get with a regular, blank mat.

Right / Left Poses: It is tempting to position our bodies differently on one side of the pose, so we don't experience discomfort on the tighter or weaker side of our body. When we do this, we end up strengthening the strong side, and stretching the flexible side, making an imbalance even worse. By using the Gurugrid's lines and numbers, you can place yourself in the exact same position, on your mat, for each side of your right/left poses.

Symmetrical Poses: In these poses, once your body is symmetrical on your mat you will be able to see and feel the asymmetry in your body. Ask your teacher to take a look during your next class. He or she should be able to spot the problem areas. As you scroll down and look closely at some of the symmetrical poses, (Forward Fold, Child's Pose for examples) you will see how the torso sometimes shifts to one side. The Gurugrid is a useful tool for spotting this type of misalignment. Once you spot it and feel it, you can adjust your pose so it gradually becomes more symmetrical and helps improve your stability and balance.