A large part of being a successful yoga professional is knowing how to cue in a way that clear, concise and meaningful. It was easier (although not simple) when people were in the room with us. Now that so many of our students may be on Zoom with their cameras off our job is even harder. How to keep everyone safe and sound is of concern, some teachers require that cameras be on, but even then looking at someone in a little box is still a challenge for body reading. And some students feel camera on requirements as a privacy intrusion.
Here are 3 simple, but profound, alignment cues that work in person and on Zoom:
Cue to foot position rather than knee or hip position: Check this out in your own body – if you focus on equalizing the balance between your 3 anatomical points of contact in your foot, your knee and hip position will automatically adjust. The 3 points are: the big toe ball joint, little toe ball joint and the center of the heel. If you remind students of these points their own body will make the safety adjustments for all the other joints through the ankles, legs and hips. This cue also can also alleviate the pain from plantar fasciitis!
Cue breathing in steps. Being stuck in a certain breathing pattern, such as only chest breathing or only belly breathing, limits overall breath capacity and can diminish the effects of the practice. Not being able to see where your students might be stuck in their breath, or holding their breath, is one of the limitations of teaching on Zoom. However, intermittently inviting students to take 3 part breaths (pelvic bowl, belly, and chest) during movement, holding poses or in a constructive pause purposefully invites full body engagement and helps our students break free of limiting breathing patterns.
Cue to collar bones and sternum rather than shoulder blades. Because shoulder blades are on the back of the body and are very mobile it can harder for students to understand where they are in space, especially in downward dog. As you know down dog may be the most challenging of poses for new students to understand, made harder because they are trying to grok it while upside down! Collar bones / sternum are in the front and have solid, tangible bony connections. Cueing to the safety of the musculature through the arms to collar bones, chest to sternum can make down dog alignment less of a mystery to newer students while keeping their shoulders safe. Shoulders are probably the most common injury in yoga class and down dog is likely the biggest culprit!