How do we listen specifically to the feedback from our bones so our sense of alignment is not just from muscular effort?

To improve and change a movement pattern, we must be aware of ourselves and our motions - noticing our compensations during movement and any areas of stiffness as we move.

Some questions for us to ask as we move are:

When I move into a pose, where do I compensate?
Where else do I move or hold tension that doesn’t need to move or hold tension?
What parts of me feel unsupported?

Try the same movement but only move as far as you can without compensation.
You may find the range of movement is smaller than you had previously thought.
(Greater range will come with daily practice.)

Compensation is borrowing from one area, and it leads to greater weakness for both areas involved in the movement. If you continuing to compensate, you increase the likelihood of creating more imbalances. By reducing compensation, you gain proper and appropriate strength much faster, and you will move with less pain and with effortless effort.

Have fun exploring these things inside yourself.

SIYoga is practiced in such a way that we ARE NOT setting
ourselves up for injury.

 SIY yoga class                                                     Typical yoga class
 

Using muscles wisely and only as needed                          Strong contraction of muscles

Feeling light due to using bones for support                     Feeling heavy due to strong use of muscles

Letting the breath arise as it pleases                                   Breath dominates the movements

Moving mostly on the exhale                                               Moving mostly on the inhale

Focus on YOUR body + joints                                                Focus on ‘proper’ alignment, at all costs                

Emphasizes internal space and support so                        Emphasizes stretching muscles  
you are not pulling on the muscles        

          

Relationship explorations leads to the pose                      Pose comes first, body may not be able
                                                                                                     to relate

Inner sensations                                                                     Outer appearance

Honors the body and its wisdom                                         Pushes the pose into the body

Intent - Nervous System Resilience                                     Intent - Cardiovascular Fitness

The main intention of traditional yoga asana is to open the body and create inner space and ease (in preparation for sitting meditation). It's not meant to just stretch muscles or be another ‘workout’. Muscles and fascia are lengthened with yoga practice, but the goal of SIYoga is not stretching. It is getting to know yourself and how you move. As the body finds more comfort and safety, the muscles relax and can work more efficiently and effectively. Remember, tension and effort are NOT strength. If you want to train for strength, a better way would be strength training protocols. Otherwise, it is best to keep our joints safe and sound by not asking them to do excessive things while they are in their end ranges of motion – as they often are during yoga poses. This is what leads to injury.

The body will evolve and change and release when it feels safe. What make our bodies feel safe? The feeling of being supported. A hug, a hand on our shoulder, our bones – all offer a sense of support. How do our bones support us? By trusting them TO support us and relying on them to be there for us.  We take the struggle out of our movements by not asking the joints to go thru a range of motion without support from the bones they are attached to. Make your skeleton your friend. Like a good friend it will be there for you at all times - because it's always with you!   

Why you will not get injured in my class . . . the wisdom of
Scaravelli Inspired Yoga (SIYoga)

I teach and practice movement using the principles of Scaravelli-Inspired Yoga. One of the key concepts of this approach – which is more a process of learning - is the un-doing of tension in
all yoga postures.

Other key concepts include:  feeling and surrendering to the force of gravity, finding support through your bones by sensing your inner landscape, allowing the breath to lead you into the pose, encouraging more space in and around the joints and liberating the spine so that it can move freely in any direction.

In a SIYoga classes, the asana (postures/poses) are done with the wisdom of your body in mind at all times. There is no reason to push the body past its limits since this is not the aim of this approach. As we practice in this way, continually noticing our inner workings, we may find a few places where our joints have lost their way. Some might be poorly seated in their sockets. Others may not be articulating in an optimal way or have full range of motion. Some might be achy or have a bit of pain that was present before we started to practice yoga. 

Along your movement journey you may experience what I fondly call “Joint Evolutions”.  It is important to recognize that pain does not necessarily indicate an injury. Pain is a signal – a messenger – and it is our job to find out what it’s trying to tell us. Signs that a joint is experiencing an evolution may be mild to not so mild discomfort as the joint re-learns how to be in a more natural, spacious and open alignment. These temporarily uncomfortable sensations will fade as we continue to inform our joints with consistent yoga and movement practice. Assuming there is no structural limitation in the way of this evolution (requiring medical evaluation), the joints begin to experience more comfort as we practice and go about our daily lives. It is a good idea during this transition period to get the care you need and tend to any discomfort by getting chiropractic adjustments or massage therapy or whatever therapies work for you.

My own movement journey has included several joint evolutions. My wrists, hips, spine, knees and feet all had their turn getting healthier and becoming better seated in their housing. During these times of change I was patient with myself. Any fears I had were soothed by the knowledge that I had done nothing to cause any injury to my joints. I felt the underlying benefits of my practice in my body – even with the various aches and pains – and that encouraged me to keep going. It has been worth it for me to stick with it, as I was attempting to create a consistent, lifelong movement practice. After receiving care from my go-to therapists, in most cases I saw the pain fade in only a week or two. Some joints had a multi-phase evolution as they eventually reached their optimal positions.

If you have any concerns about pain anywhere in your body, please don’t hesitate to seek evaluation from a health care professional. Yoga can be challenging for the body. It could be something – it could be nothing – but do get answers to your questions. 

            “Elongation and extension can only occur when all the
                  pulling and the pushing stop.”                - Vanda Scaravelli 

            “Strength that has effort in it is not what you need – you need 

                          strength that is the result of ease.”         - Ida Rolf