I heard "square your hips" dozens (maybe hundreds!?) of times before I understood what it meant. I got the idea for this post because I remember being 10 years old in gymnastics wondering, "what does that even mean?" I remember being 18 in a yoga class thinking "how do I still not know what that means!?" When I finally figured it out (after a hands on adjustment, thank you Iyengar yoga), I couldn't believe that no one had explained explained this cue further. So here's a breakdown for you:
"Square your hips" or "square your hips to the front/side of your mat" is a common cue in yoga classes that is not often explained. So, how do I square my hips?
"Squaring the hips" means drawing your pelvis back into neutral - bringing the pubic bone (marked X) and the two ASIS (marked O) into line.
Some poses you might hear "square your hips":
hanumanasana - splits
ardha hanumanasana - half split
parsvottanasana - pyramid pose
eka pada rajakapotasana - pigeon pose
virabhadrasana 1 - warrior 1
These are all asymmetrical postures with one leg forward, one leg back. Naturally, the pelvis will rotate to accommodate.
Imagine these figure eights are your pelvis on a mat:
The pelvis on the right, is considered square to the short end (front) of the mat.
We hope this helps you to understand this cue, or if you are a teacher, to be able to break it down or explain it differently, if you find your students are not understanding it!
Emilie & Julie ♡
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