Hi Stephanie! First of all, I wanted to say that your practice is incredibly beautiful and that I think it's wonderful how creative you are with your poses. I had a question about my forward bends - in any form of forward bend, especially standing and seated forward folds, I find that it's incredibly hard/impossible for me to bend at the hips and that all of the bending is coming from my waist. It really inhibits my range of motion and I was wondering if you have seen anything like that before?
Hello, Thank you for the sweet message and loving words. I wanted to wait until after this last week of teacher training to answer your question. We talked a lot about forward bends, standing and seated. In seated forward bends, try sitting on a block or blanket up under your sits bones. This will help with range, in a gentle way. As for standing forward folds, try bending your knees in the fold or standing your heels on a rolled up blanket. Lengthen your waist in breath before you fold in any forward bend. Not all bodies are made to move, bind, fold, twist, and look the same in poses. Try not to worry about “how much” you can fold, but focus on forward folding in a safe way. In my own practice, I don’t have much range in folding either so I like to bend my knees in standing forward fold and I enjoy rounding my back when seated. Alignment brings awareness to the practice, but it is not definite for everyone. Hope these trial tips help. I suggest trying different things - there is no one way to practice. Much love, Steph
