Annie’s Yoga Student, Denise in Alignment on the YogaForce A-Line Mat: A Warrior with a rolled up YogaForce Hands-Free Mat over her shoulder.
This blog brought to you from India by Guest writer, Bipin Baloni.
Importance of Proper Body Alignment When Doing Yoga
Summary: Adjustment and Alignment of the body are commonly used terms in the world of yoga, which holds utmost importance for a safe and helpful session of yoga. Read the blog and know everything about alignment and its importance when doing yoga.
B.K.S Iyengar once said, “It is through the alignment of the body that I discovered the alignment of mind, self, and intelligence”.
Alignment is an extremely necessary aspect of yogic practice that not only reduces the risk of injury but also helps you to get the most out of the practice. Today, yoga is an enormously popular form of healthcare regime. Though it seems like any other physical exercise, when you dig inside that is when you realize how unique it is from all the other forms of bodily exercises.
With the practice of alignment, we often hear terms like lines of energy, lengthening the spine and stacking of the joints. All these phrases are common and many teachers help students to achieve the best possible alignment with the help of yoga props.
What is an Alignment?
Alignment is the term used to describe how we position our bodies rightly to achieve profound benefits of yoga poses without being in any discomfort or risking ourselves with an injury. Alignment plays a crucial role in the practice of yoga asanas for a successful session. Most of the aspirants make mistakes while stretching their body or moving the flexible parts of their body. That is where alignment comes into the picture. It is crucial in many ways like:
- It ignites proper body awareness while having a holistic experience.
- Lets you feel and live in the present moment, and the experience of being completely embodied lets you feel alive.
- The teaching of the alignment helps with the awakening of one’s physical habitual patterns.
- Proper alignment practice proves to be comforting, safe and help you attain all rounded benefits.
Using the lines on the YogaForce A-Line mat to line up your feet and toes.
Importance of Alignment
Alignment is very much supportive with the practice and also makes you aware of your body. Correct alignment always matters in yoga as it takes the ‘abhyasa’ or practice to a completely new level. Proper alignment helps you to connect better with the body and mind and also makes you feel each movement. With the correct posture, you allow the wholesome benefits of the practice to percolate through the entire being providing the healing touch.
- Alignment practice works with some principles that prove to be geared towards the prevention of injury and ensure that all the body muscles work in coordination.
- Alignment boosts the strength without exerting or putting too much stress or pressure on any particular joint. Even it is beneficial for the spine health and with correct alignment one can decrease the amount of stress on the spinal ligaments.
- Alignment also reduces the wear and tear of the joints and helps to avoid the risk of arthritis. Proper alignment stacks the joint together and strengthens it.
- Properly aligned joints and muscles optimize the body power and let you achieve better benefits from the practice.
- With good alignment, you become able to utilize the body energy efficiently and also conserve it. This also reduces fatigue after the session and keeps you energetic.
- It builds strength, and you acquire proper posture that makes your appearance better. Perfect alignment and posture also allow the enhanced flow of energy in the body that puts a positive impact on the mental and spiritual well being.
Correction of the posture and alignment is also linked to better coordination and balance of the three body doshas – Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
Things that support Proper Alignment
A Yoga enthusiast is more focused on achieving the final pose, and amidst this, he/she forgets about the importance of proper alignment. However, proper guidance and a good yoga mat are necessary for achieving the perfect alignment and keep at bay any chances of injuries.
A Yoga mat plays a crucial role in correcting the alignment, and one should choose the right mat with good material, thickness, and grip. The YogaForce A-Line proves to be the best when it comes to correcting the alignment. Designed uniquely with bold orange stripes that help with alignment. The mats have a built-in strap for hands- free transport and a tapered ergonomic shape (30”x20”x68”). The mats are ¼” thick, antibacterial, recyclable and are sticky providing good grip to the practitioners. They are lightweight, just weighing 4lbs and also come with trendy features like coil/wallet purse.
To connect and recognize the natural rhythm of the body, the practice of yoga alignment serves as the better mean and plays a key role in the aspect. With correct alignment feel the movement and acquire the profound benefits, positivity and enhance the overall wellness.
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