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You experience dozens, if not a whole lot, of yoga cues every time you’re taking a category. Some are so immediately recognizable and comprehensible that you just follow them almost without pondering. But occasionally a cue comes along that makes you pause and wish to ask a bewildered, “What?!”

The next list addresses each forms of yoga cues. You’ll find insights from experienced teachers on familiar cues that you just might wish to explore with greater awareness. Other expert explanations demystify a number of the more confusing and esoteric cues. And still others debunk well-intentioned but potentially injurious cues that don’t belong in your yoga practice. And there are a few cues that we included simply to your amusement.

A: Adduct and abduct

You most likely hear these words on a regular basis, yet it will probably be tough to distinguish them from each other. Annie Carpenter, a senior yoga teacher and creator of SmartFLOW yoga, has a trick for remembering which is which. “Once I hear adduction, I believe of ‘adding in,’” she says. Adduction refers to movements in toward the midline of the body—for instance, wrapping your legs and arms in Garudasana (Eagle Pose). Meanwhile, abduction refers to movements away from the midline, equivalent to taking your arms out to the side in Virabhadrasana II (Warrior Pose II) and positioning your knees away from each other in that very same pose.

(Photo: Andrew Clark)

B: Bring your biceps according to your ears

You could have heard this yoga cue in several poses, including Utkatasana (Chair Pose) and Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose). While there’s nothing inherently fallacious with the cue, it will probably result in misalignment if not properly explained, says  Kathryn Budig, yoga teacher and writer of Aim True. This is particularly true in Down Dog, by which you’re supporting your body weight together with your upper body. “Taking your biceps to your ears could cause you to drop your head too low and collapse in your upper back,” she says. “As a substitute, I prefer to say to my students, ‘Keep your ears according to your arms.’”

C: Close your eyes

If the one time you shut your eyes in your yoga practice is during seated meditation or Savasana (Corpse Pose), you’re missing out. “Closing your eyes can enable you to to disconnect from visual stimulation and find more stillness,” says San Francisco-based yoga teacher Laura Burkhart. Senior yoga teacher Giselle Mari adds that closing your eyes in a balance pose, equivalent to Vrksasana (Tree Pose), challenges you to make use of your inner senses to seek out your center.

D: Draw your shoulders down your back

Alexandria Crow, yoga teacher and founding father of Yoga Physics, is on a private mission to place an end to this common cue. “When your arms go overhead, your shoulder joint itself goes up—that’s the natural movement,” says Crow. “Pulling your shoulders down while your arms are up just isn’t only dysfunctional, it doesn’t fix the issue of individuals scrunching their shoulders as much as their ears, which is the explanation this cue took hold in the primary place,” she explains. If you hear this cue, notice in case you’re experiencing that scrunched posture in your neck and shoulders, but otherwise don’t worry about it.

See also Alignment Cues Decoded: “Draw Your Shoulder Blades Down”

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

E: Hug your elbows to your sides in Chaturanga Dandasana (4-Limbed Staff Pose)

That is probably the most vital yoga cues for Chaturanga, says yoga teacher and Yoga Journal contributing editor Jason Crandell. “It’s essential to tug your elbows into your side ribs while keeping your forearms perpendicular to the ground,” he says. This creates greater stability within the joint where your upper arm bone and shoulder blade connect. In fact, it also requires upper-body strength, so Crandell encourages his students to drop their knees if crucial to dump some weight while maintaining the integrity of the pose.

You’ll also hear this pose in Bakasana (Crow or Crane Pose), by which it similarly provides stability and the specified engagement through the arm balance.

F: Flower your anus

Admit it: If you first heard this cue (or its cousin, “blossom your buttocks”) you laughed or cringed or perhaps each. But what exactly does it mean? And why would anyone wish to do it? While this cue’s origin is unclear, many teachers suggest it might be an ungainly attempt at saying “widen the sit bones” or “loosen up the glutes.” But it surely doesn’t at all times have that effect on students. “I’m like a 4-year-old once I hear this,” says Budig. “It makes me laugh each time.” Which can, the truth is, help us loosen up those glutes!

G: Ground down

“Ground down” sounds easy enough. But Noah Mazé, founding father of Yogamazé, says grounding down involves greater than pressing your feet into the ground. “It’s vital to activate your pelvis, hips, and gluteus muscles to create the right push-down motion that firmly grounds the feet,” Mazé says. To do that, attempt to spread your weight evenly between the inner and outer edges of your feet in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), he says.

But it surely’s not all about activating. “Allowing your body to settle into the bottom allows your skeleton to carry a few of your weight, so your muscles don’t should work as hard,” explains yoga teacher David Magone. As usual, it draws on that balance of effort and ease.

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

H: Square your hips

Despite a long time of teachers cautioning their students to square their hips to the front of the room in twisting poses equivalent to Revolved Side Angle, Revolved Triangle, and Chair Twist, Magone says your hips don’t actually have to be squared. In truth, the motion creates torque, he says, which weakens the space between the hips and the torso and ups your odds of injury. As a substitute of attempting to stay square, allow your pelvis to rotate in the identical direction as your spine, which is able to allow for a much deeper spinal rotation and reduce the likelihood of lower-back pain.

See also How Yoga Teachers’ Cues Unintentionally Concentrate on the Negative

I: Inner rotation

In yoga, sometimes you could have “to attract in to maneuver up.” This is typically cued as “rotating your inner thighs” toward either the ground or the ceailing. Carpenter says Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose) is a superb example: Practitioners often push their inner thighs up since it makes them feel like they’re lifting higher. But this will cause the glutes to grip, which in turn forces the sacrum to lift and puts pressure on the lumbar spine. “For any backbend, you’ll have to interact your glutes to get off the ground, but then it’s helpful to show your internal rotators on and let your glutes go. This permits you to soften your groins and lengthen your iliopsoas and lower back,” she says.

J: Jumpback

A jumpback is if you literally jump back from Standing Forward Bend on the front of the mat into Chaturanga Dandasana. It’s common in Ashtanga yoga in addition to some vinyasa approaches to yoga. What does it take to master the jumpback? Practicing Lolasana (Pendant Pose), says Crow, which trains key muscles for the movement: Kneel on the mat with each hand on a block placed outside of every shin. Press your palms firmly into the blocks and straighten your elbows. Round your back, pull your navel toward your spine, and produce your thighs toward your chest.

K: Kick up into handstand

It could be tempting, but don’t kick up into any inversion.“If you kick into an inversion like Handstand, you’re using momentum relatively than control, whereas you have to be specializing in moving with precision,” says Crow. What’s more, kicking reinforces the notion that the ultimate posture is more vital than the steps it takes to get there.

To construct patience and precision when practicing Handstand, Crow recommends starting together with your hands a number of feet from the wall and walking your legs up the wall so your torso and legs make an L shape. If you’re feeling strong and regular, move away from the wall and place your hands on the ground. Raise and extend one leg, then use your standing leg to frivolously bounce (not kick) up. It will allow for more control and muscle engagement, enabling you to work up the strength to do Handstand in the midst of the room.

It’s especially vital that you just not kick up in case you’re in a crowded class as you’ll be able to harm others in case you topple over.

(Photo: Andrew Clark)

L: Lengthen the perimeters of your body

This cue creates spinal elongation—each whilst you practice and if you’re off the mat, says Crandell. To elongate the perimeters of your body in poses where this might be difficult—equivalent to in Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Utthita Parsvakonasana (Prolonged Side Angle Pose), and Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose)—imagine you’re stretching from the information of your toes to the crown of your head, which is able to lengthen your torso on either side, says Crandell.

M: Microbend your knee

This cue might be somewhat controversial. How micro is the bend, in spite of everything? Amy Ippoliti, co-founder of 90 Monkeys, a web-based resource center for yoga teachers, suggests pondering of it this manner: “You are attempting to ever-so-slightly soften and bend your knee, and at the identical time, putting some effort into straightening your leg,” she says. This cue is particularly relevant for many who tend to hyperextend (over-straighten) their knees, which could cause unnecessary wear and tear over time. “Creating these two opposing actions in your knee brings balanced strength to all of the intricate muscles of your lower leg,” Ippoliti says.

N: Neutral spine

Maintaining a “neutral spine”—or “the natural curves of the spine,” as many teachers describe it—is a cue that’s universally embraced. “It is vital since it optimally distributes force among the many intervertebral discs, which act as shock absorbers,” says Mazé. When your spine is out of its natural alignment, excessive force can turn out to be concentrated in a single area, which may result in injuries equivalent to bulging or ruptured discs.”

Nonetheless, consider that in some poses (like forward and backward bends) you would like the spine to come back out of neutral as a way to flex and extend. “In a balanced yoga practice, you might be moving your spine in every direction,” says Mazé.

O: Open your heart

As countless ballads have told us, the center is a posh thing. Crow agrees, explaining that the cue “open your heart” carries multiple meanings in a yoga class. On a physical level, it will probably consult with broadening through your chest or lifting your sternum upward. Nonetheless, it will probably also imply that students’ hearts are emotionally closed off—an implication that might be hurtful. The consensus? This cue doesn’t resonate with everyone. Use it or follow it provided that it feels right to you.

P: Pretend you’re between two panes of glass

Most teachers have stopped using this phrase when cueing Utthita Trikonasana (Prolonged Triangle Pose) in recent times. But in case you still hear it, ignore it, says Ippoliti. “It prompts students to externally rotate each legs, which suggests the femur (thigh bone) heads won’t be fully seated within the hip joints,” she says. “This could limit range of motion and flatten the lumbar curve.”

As a substitute, if you come into the pose, adjust your thighs and butt so your femurs sit into your hip joints, then draw the buttock of your front leg under to externally rotate your front leg as you switch your chest away from that leg. Based on Ippoliti, “that is the safest technique to get the opening most practitioners seek on this pose.”

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

Q: Activate your quadratus lumborum

Gary Kraftsow, founder and director of the American Viniyoga Institute, says the quadratus lumborum (QL)—which connects the spine to the pelvis—doesn’t get the eye it deserves. When your back muscles are weak, the QL picks up the slack, which could cause it to contract excessively and turn out to be fatigued.

That doesn’t mean most students understand learn how to activate the QL on demand. To have interaction and strengthen this muscle, Kraftsow recommends practicing a variation of Janu Sirsasana (Head-of-the-Knee Pose): Together with your left leg prolonged straight and your right leg folded in, twist your shoulders to the suitable and lower your left shoulder to your left knee, then take your right arm up and over toward your left foot. Hold for five–10 deep breaths, then switch sides. Hello, QL.

R: Release

In the hunt for perfect yoga poses, we regularly sharpen our concentrate on performing the pose, relatively than releasing or dropping into it. Nonetheless, Tias Little, founding father of Prajna Yoga in Santa Fe, Recent Mexico, says reminding students to release helps them deeply loosen up the body. “Because people are inclined to carry stress within the jaw, mouth, and other areas of the face, I prefer to use cues around releasing cranial structures, like ‘Drop into Savasana of the tongue,’” says Little.

S: Subtle body

The phrase “subtle body” is commonly used to explain the thought of weaving together yoga wisdom and physiological function. It helps people open to a state of inquiry and discovery, shifting focus from an outward performance of a pose to an inward exploration, says Little. “It’s all about observing sensation within the body: the movement of the fascia and pulsation of blood moving through the veins,” he says. “That type of attunement in each pose is what makes yoga a moving meditation.”

It may well also consult with the less physical and more energetic features of your being and the way you’re holding yoursef in each moment. Consider it an invite to note your balance of effort and ease—physically and otherwise—in each pose.

T: Tuck your tailbone

Most teachers now not use this cue because a majority of scholars are inclined to overtuck, says Budig. “Tucking your tailbone can create more length in your spine—but if you take this motion too far, you flatten the natural curve in your low back,” she says. As a substitute, she tells her students to “release the tailbone as you concurrently draw your lower belly up”—dual actions that prevent practitioners from overdoing it on the tuck.

(Photo: Andrew Clark. Clothing: Calia )

U: Use your props

If Mari had her way, every student could be issued a normal blanket, block, and strap upon walking right into a yoga studio. “Sometimes a block is precisely what you wish,” she says, noting that cues that decision for props are usually not only for beginners—they can even help experienced students discover a pose another way. Budig agrees, adding that “props may also help yogis learn what it seems like to have power and strength in a pose versus collapsing in it.”

V: Visualization

Cues that prompt you to visualise the way you engage in a pose enable you to hook up with the pulsatory rhythms of a pose, often known as the nadis, as a substitute of simply attempting to get the mechanics of it right. “Visualization directs people to the sensory experience,” says Little. “Imagery helps me perceive my body as an lively field, where the weather of wind, rivers, fire, and moonlight are expressed, relatively than simply as a group of muscles, bones, and flesh.”

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

W: Go to the the wall

Partitions are sometimes an neglected asset for deepening your practice by helping you practice engagement. It may well be especially great for beginners, says Carpenter. Pressing into the wall helps you practice the engagement you finally want to seek out without that external support.

The wall also acts as a prop in additional restorative types of yoga, including everyone’s beloved Legs Up the Wall Pose. and may enable you to discover a deeper stretch in Yin Yoga postures.

See also 8 Ways (Besides Handstand) to Use a Wall in Your Yoga Practice

X: X-Ray Vision

X-rays help us see things more clearly—a key concept in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, and one which yoga teachers who veer into the philosophical teachings of this ancient practice might explain. “Patanjali points out that in viewing the world, we tend to not see reality clearly, but as a substitute we’re deluded by the error of false perception,” says David Life, co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga. “This confusion in regards to the true relationship between the act of seeing, the thing seen, and the identity of the Seer, is the foundation explanation for suffering.”

The cure? Using a type of x-ray vision comprised of viveka (discrimination between “real view” and “unreal, apparent view”) and vairagya (detachment from a mistaken identification).

Y: Concentrate on you

Yogis are sometimes urged not to match themselves to others. This might be easier said than done, within the studio and in life and off.  Kraftsow says one technique to embody this vital cue is to keep in mind that true yoga just isn’t about doing a series of poses but relatively learning about yourself. “You employ each posture as a tool to know what’s happening in your body,” he says. This includes not only the physiological but in addition the psychological and energetic experience of a pose.  “Asana is a method to come back to a deeper understanding of self.” Explore your engagement with the pose and see where you may be resisting the pose in your body in addition to your mind.

Z: Zip up through the midline

Engaging your midline is essential to turning in your all-important core muscles, which promoting higher balance to helping you’re feeling more grounded and connected to yourself. The cue to “zip up” makes it easier by signaling you to tap into the energy that resides in your sushumna nadi, the hub that runs along your spine around which the whole energetic system is organized, says Magone. He likes to make use of this cue when teaching backbends. “Pulling the abdominals gently inward and upward in a backbend increases your range of motion since it creates a deeper stretch within the rectus abdominis muscles.”

This text has been updated. Originally published June 13, 2017.