The Principles of Alignment take you from merely doing a pose to feeling a pose, thereby creating a reflective capacity for us to feel inside our bodies and our minds. Nathan leads a class to help us move more mindfully to observe the lines of the body in order to refine our movement. We visit familiar poses such as Chair, Triangle, and Side Plank with slow and steady awareness of lines, and notice the mind settling as a result of the strong alignment we’ve created in our shapes. You will feel calm, quiet, and stable.
This practice was eye-opening for me. Particularly in triangle, I didn’t realize how accustomed I’ve become to thrusting my front hip out to the side as I entered the pose! What a difference it made using your alignment guidelines. I’m looking forward to applying these tools in my future practices 👍 Also: nifty little quad stretch towards the ending will be a regular addition to my practice as well ✔️❤️🙏🏻
Jenny S, thank you for sharing your experience in this lesson! For me, when I first learned about this principle, my practice exploded in amazing ways. I had to go all the way back to the beginning and explore the simplest poses. It was amazing to feel how the poses changed, unlocked, and grew from this new perspective. I love that these ideas are connecting for you as well. I look forward to hearing what else you’re discovering!
Hi Nathan, this practice was a revelation for me as well (ref: Jenny ). I have been practicing for a long time, but am often aware that my hip particularly has a 'life of it's own' in poses such as Crescent and Triangle. This session really explains what is going on and I am very hopeful it will improve my alignment overall. A new way of looking at things, Nathan. Many thanks C Xxx
Thanks, Nathan Briner --- so helpful to have this type of instruction, to bring more awareness into parallel lines in the body. Definitely received some new insights. Will be incorporating some of your guidance into my own teaching. Blessings!
I like the parentheses analogy. Liked the stretch when you're prepping for bridge but bring the right foot under the left leg and use the left foot to gently put weight on right knee. Enjoyed the side plank work, and the cues for triangle. So many useful points. Arms out in front when going into figure 4 chair and reg chair was also cool. Those are some of the things that stood out to me. Thx again for your gentle instruction and friendly demeanor.