Last week we worked on spreading awareness to all the parts of our bodies. This week we will focus on generating the sensitivity to guide your awareness to where you need it most. There are many poses in which almost everyone benefits from the same alignment instructions (i.e., energize and lift the back thigh in high lunge). However, all our bodies are different. Sometimes that may mean that while an alignment instruction is right for most people, you may actually need to do the opposite.

Where you need to guide your awareness depends on your body

This is particularly true for very flexible people, as most alignment instructions are geared towards stiff bodies. People with tight hamstrings may need to spread awareness to their lower back and hips in downward dog to stop avoiding the hamstring stretch by rounding their lower back. However, a very flexible person may actually need to focus on reducing the arching in the upper back to find balance in this pose.

Find a pattern that doesn’t serve you and change it through awareness

This week I want you to think about what part of your body you want to bring more awareness to. I want you to concentrate on cultivating that awareness with every breath, in every pose. If you have a tendency to lead with your chin and thus hyper-extend the topmost joint in your neck, this is the week for you to begin to break that habit. If you have a tendency to excessively round or arch your lower back to avoid hip stretches at all cost, this is the week for you to begin to disrupt that pattern. 

Awareness helps heal injuries

If you have a nagging injury, I encourage you to guide your awareness to the injured body part. Use your new-found awareness to send healing energy with every breath to that area. Remind yourself to stay away from your edge in that part of the body as long as you are still in the healing process. What turns a simple injury into a nagging one? A lack of awareness in the injured body part that condemns us to keep re-injuring that part.