This analysis is really interesting. It never occurred to me... hmmmm... so now, how could I design a class that addresses this imbalance? Great project!!

You're students will thank you Kate ....maybe not right away;)

i'm loving this warm, good humoured series - so many interesting and really practical insights. many thanks.

Thanks Matthew ! Glad you're here:)

Kristin Leal another great teach and one that will enable me to address in my classes

Jodie Creaser Thanks for practicing with me!

Hi Kristin - Quick question here! I was wondering if it could be damaging to stand “extremely pigeon toed” with the knees knocking in like you demonstrated with internal hip rotation. I liked that during you lower leg awareness class you did it supine rather than standing. Just wanted to inquire about the potential harm of standing with internal hip rotation. I’ve seen, in yoga classes, intense pose taught with the knees knocking. What are your thoughts? Thanks!

Hi Lily A great question! Poses like Virasana can be tricky as well because they are asking (often unknowingly) for rotation at the knee. I'm not sure what standing pose you are talking about but if you have sensitive knees it might be prudent to step back from any postures that put the knee in the position to rotate. Internal rotation of the hip is totally ok (within reason haha) but if the knee is compromised it's not worth it. What standing pigeon toe posture are you thinking about? 

Hi Kristin! The yoga pose I previously mentioned is a chair pose variation, in which the knees are hip distance apart and the knees are knocked together (with feet in pigeon toed).

wow Lily A I haven't seen that one but I don't  see the point of doing it that way. One thing that I suggest is talking to teachers about their classes (of course with lots of care and respect) when different things come up to see if they have a specific reason for doing them. Anatomically I would be hesitant to teach this.