Why I No Longer Teach Counter Postures
When I first learned Yoga I was under the impression it was important to ‘counter-pose’. This means if you did a back bend then you would do a forward bend to follow up. If you did a backbend then you should do a forward bend to balance out that movement.
At the time it made logical sense. I was stretching in one direction and then my body needed to stretch in the other direction. At one point on my journey, someone told me this was a bad idea because it was like bending a credit card back and forth; implying that it would cause weakness and we would break in half.
In that moment, I thought it was a ridiculous analogy because we are nothing like a credit card!
However, over the years I have come to see there is no need to counter stretch. I also now see why pushing and pulling our bodies has a detrimental effect.
As a matter of a fact, in the approach to Yoga which I practice and teach now, we don’t do any stretching at all!
What!? Yoga that doesn’t involve stretching!?
Right. No stretching, at all.
When I met my teacher, Diane Long, seventeen years ago, she introduced me to an entirely different way of practicing Yoga. At first I had no idea what she was talking about and her movements seemed bizarre and unorthodox. I knew by watching her she had an incredible connection to her body and an undeniable ease in her movements.
It took me a long time to grasp what she was showing me and to stop striving to go farther in the poses. I had taken the ambition of my Western education and overlaid it on this ancient art of Yoga. I had gotten side tracked with more advanced postures, and had missed out on deepening my awareness.
Thanks to my teacher, I have learned the movement within the body is more important than the movement we make through space. The pose is not the goal, nor is it what brings us benefit. Of course, the body loves to move, but actually the body does not like to be pushed and pulled.
With this approach to Yoga we listen to the body. We play with connections and relationships in the body. We get curious. We let the breath guide us into a rhythm and we remember how to dance, and sing.
We discover pathways where energy wants to flow. We realize where we are holding tension.
We become aware of our inner world and we liberate ourselves from patterns that cause fragmentation and limitation.
What we find out with this way of working is there is no need to stretch at all. This practice is not about getting flexible, it is about getting free.
With this approach our physical agility, strength and balance does improve, but these are secondary benefits. The more profound changes are within on a more subtle level.
I am grateful I came across my teacher, and this way of working. I have never felt better in my mind or body. I no longer have a set sequence of postures, nor do I have to counter-stretch. I just get on my mat daily and connect inwardly.
I do move through postures, but my focus is inside. The movements come from listening to the wisdom of the body and breath. Thinking my way into the pose has dropped away. I no longer push my way into the pose. Striving has faded and listening has taken center stage. Pulling myself farther is no longer appealing.
I am now more interested in the awareness of where I have lost connection within the body. I revel in the opportunity to re-discover it.
One fascinating part of this work is, when we allow for these connections and relationships to come alive, our body moves in wonderful ways. Limitations drop away. The pain dissipates. The tension is released.
We can breath again.
We can sleep again.
We feel at peace with ourselves.
We make friends with ourselves.
We learn to love ourselves through this work.
And that is so much more meaningful and fulfilling than being able to put my legs behind my head! I realize all the contortionism in modern Yoga is a result of us bring our culture and conditioning into the practice.
Yoga in the traditional sense brings us back together; returns us to a state of wholeness; mind, body and soul. It helps us develop self awareness. It helps us restore harmony and balance.
We have been mislead to think Yoga is about stretching. The postures are a way for us to explore our inner world, they are not the goal. They are a way for us to connect with ourselves.
If you have been to Yoga classes and walked away in pain, or feeling like you weren’t flexible enough, I encourage you to try this different approach.
This approach to Yoga is something anyone can practice and requires no level of fitness or ability. It only requires curiosity and commitment.
If you are looking for a more sustainable and beneficial way to practice, contact me!
