Real Body Yoga

Adjust your practice without having to leave the flow!

There’s a lot happening in a vinyasa class. Having a basic understanding of how you can scale a shape in real time can be incredibly empowering — because once you understand the principle in one pose, that awareness starts transferring to others.

Warrior III is a great example because there are some very obvious physics at play.

You can change the demand by manipulating:

→ hinge — how far you tip forward
→ lever length — where you place your arms
→ support — how many points of contact you have with the ground

And there’s another piece of Warrior III that I think gets underestimated: shoulder flexion.

Like handstand and Urdhva Dhanurasana, Warrior III asks for a significant amount of shoulder flexion. You may not be upside down, but you’re trying to hold your body in a roughly 90° relationship to the ground while keeping the shoulders in a clean position.

When that shoulder position isn’t available yet, something else has to compensate — often through the spine, the back leg, or the standing leg.

This is one reason I love the block-supported “bird dog” variation.

It reduces the overall load and balance demand, while giving you space to actually work on the shoulder flexion component.

And that’s really the point:

Scaling isn’t about making a pose less valuable. It’s about changing the variables so you can meet the actual demand of the pose today.

The more of these tools you have, the less you have to rely on an instructor telling you which version you “should” be doing.

You can start making those decisions yourself.

If you want to explore this same empowering way of looking at strength, stability and scaling — where modifications don’t make a pose less, but help you get more out of it — head to the link in my bio for my free Chaturanga Stability Secrets mini-course.

Sometimes you have to move away from the shape to get closer to it ?!

Yoga is often associated with lifted chests, clear lines and beautiful shapes. But some movements require you to loosen up first — to round, protract, soften — before you can create that feeling of space and openness you’re looking for.

Reverse prayer is a good example.

If you try to keep your shoulders “back and down” as you move into the position, you may actually be working against yourself. The shoulder blades need some freedom to move forward and around the ribcage before you can organize the final position and create that broadness across the collarbones.

And then comes the active part.

I start asymmetrically because it’s easier for the body to find and activate an arm you can’t see behind you. You can explore the range, make some compensations, and slowly teach your nervous system where that arm actually is.

Then we go symmetrical and ask for a little more control.

And yes, there’s a whole other conversation about the hands, wrists and the nerve-y sensations that can come with this position. 😉

Also: if reverse prayer doesn’t come easily, that doesn’t make you lesser at yoga. Shoulder mechanics vary enormously.

But there may be more to explore than simply stretching harder.

These are three drills to help you start.

Some people think beauty has no place in yoga.
I disagree.

We sometimes talk about beauty in yoga as though it’s inherently superficial.

And I understand why.

Yoga is a spiritual practice. It can be about simplicity, discipline, turning inward—not about creating pretty shapes for an audience.

But I don’t think the answer is to reject beauty altogether.

Because the deeper I go into practice, the more beauty I see.

💜 I see it when someone work a simple version of a pose—and you can see that they’re genuinely feeling and inhabiting the pose.

💜 I see it when someone breathes so consciously that you can actually watch their ribs move.

💜 I see it when someone falls out of a pose and laughs instead of being afraid of looking foolish.

💜 I see it when someone asks a question because they’re genuinely curious.

💜 I see it in the stillness of a room after Savasana, when everyone slowly sits back up before we chant Om.

💜 I see beauty when someone is completely, unapologetically where they are.

And maybe I’m thinking about this because summer is turning into fall.

There’s something about this time of year that makes me notice transience.

Things change. Things pass. Bodies change. Seasons change. We change.

And somehow, that doesn’t make them less beautiful - Maybe it makes them more so.

So no, I don’t think beauty in yoga needs to mean matching outfits, perfect lines, or young, flexible, conventionally beautiful bodies.

There is beauty in effort.
In curiosity.
In presence.
In breath.
In courage.

That is beautiful too.

The goal isn’t 90°. The goal is knowing what 90° asks of you.

A flat 90° front shin in pigeon is a pretty deep demand on the hip. It isn’t a position most bodies can simply drop into—and when we try to force it, the movement has to come from somewhere.

Maybe the knee takes the hit.
Maybe the pelvis shifts.
Maybe the back leg wanders out to give you more room.

None of those things are inherently “wrong,” but they tell you something about the movement your body is using to get there.

That’s why I love exploring pigeon with a bolster or blankets underneath me.

When you’re supported and grounded, you don’t have to spend so much effort holding yourself up while navigating a deep sensation. You can give the knees, hips and pelvis a little more safety and stability—and from there, actually listen to what’s happening.

Because a hip opener doesn’t have to be a test of how much sensation you can tolerate.

✨ If you like this kind of compassionate, anatomically sound approach to yoga, you might like my Chaturanga Stability Secrets.

It’s my free mini-course for learning how to develop Chaturanga from the ground up—without forcing your body into a shape it isn’t ready for.

Grab it through the link in my bio 💜

Does your Chaturanga secretly turn into a backbend? 👀

I naturally have a bit of an anterior pelvic tilt, and for me, getting into hip extension — especially in a complex, loaded movement — takes actual work.

So when I lower into Chaturanga, I almost have to think of it like a tiny backbend: opening the front of my hips as I lower, rather than letting that movement come from my lower back.

That’s why I love scaling the movement back first, finding the organization, adding load, and then integrating it into the actual movement.

Not because there’s one “perfect” pelvic position — but because your body needs somewhere else to go when the movement gets challenging.

Want more smart, practical ways to build your Chaturanga?

✨ Chaturanga Stability Secrets is my free 3-part mini course where we break down exactly this kind of thing, with simple drills and lots of feedback to help you actually feel the difference.

Link in bio 💜

Not all cues you hear in a yoga class will always apply to you!

And yes, dipper vs. gripper is an oversimplification—but I keep coming back to it because it gives us a simple way to understand different movement strategies without making them “right” or “wrong.”

These aren’t personality types or categories you’re stuck in forever.

You might start your practice as more of a grippy Up Dog and, once you’re warm and have more range available, move toward a drippy one. You might be a dipper in one posture and a gripper in another.

Think of them as exaggerated ends of a spectrum: how much are you allowing gravity to do the work, and how much are you actively resisting it?

Try the cues that resonate and see if they help your Up Dog feel a little more long, light, and supported.

What other postures should I break down through the dipper vs. gripper lens?

✨ And if you want the same kind of body-aware intelligence applied to Chaturanga, check out my free Chaturanga Stability Secrets — link in bio.