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.