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It was during a recent eyebrow threading session that I finally understood something about my body that had been bothering me since I started to practice yoga. As I stressed to my esthetician over a rogue portion of my eyebrow that may not match the opposite side, she blurted out, “Our two sides are like sisters. Not twins.”

That single sentence modified all the things for me.

Within the early years of my practice, I used to be convinced that the goal of yoga was to be entirely symmetrical on our right and left sides. I assumed there was something fallacious with me when a pose felt different on one side than it did on the opposite. I continuously anxious that my body was “broken” or that I used to be hopelessly misaligned.

I remember waiting after class one night to ask my teacher to ascertain on my Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Pigeon Pose) due to how disparate my sides were, although I chicken out on the last minute. I couldn’t understand why I might almost go to sleep once I was folding forward over my right leg, it was so comfortable. But on my left side, I could hardly bend forward in any respect let alone get comfortable. It felt like someone was sucker punching me in my hip.

I became infatuated with symmetry. If a teacher forgot to cue a pose on the second side, I might sneak it in once they weren’t looking or linger after class and take the pose. I also began to obsess about ensuring I alternated which hand was on top once I interlaced my fingers behind my back or which leg was on top in Padmasana (Lotus Pose).

After I began teaching in 2008, I noticed how different we usually are not only from individual to individual, but backward and forward. As I learned to have a look at my students’ bodies for protected alignment, I couldn’t unsee everyone’s differences—including my very own. Everyone had something that appeared otherwise on one side than the opposite.

So when she made that comment about our sides being sisters reasonably than twins, all the things clicked. Perhaps our rights and lefts aren’t meant to be exact replicas of each other.

Are Humans Meant To Be Symmetrical?

“Within the grand scheme of things, we likely won’t be perfectly symmetrical,” says board-certified physical therapist Dr. Leada Malek. “Although most individuals have the identical amount of muscles on either side of their body, the variety of muscle fibers may vary and even bone shapes may vary.”

This is the reason leg length discrepancies are incredibly common, with one recent study estimating that 90% of the population has one. Or why Yin Yoga teacher Paul Grilley is so adamant about educating teachers and students alike on the varied shapes of our femur bones and their corresponding hip sockets and the way dramatically affects our hip mobility, especially in poses like Garudasana (Eagle Pose)

As a substitute of specializing in attempting to get our two sides perfectly even, says Dr. Malek, we should always acknowledge how disparate our two sides really are. These differences are only problematic and want addressing in the event that they cause pain or inhibit functionality and movement.

Embracing Our Asymmetry

Yoga teacher Andrew Pyo believes that specializing in symmetry can perpetuate tendencies inside us which can be antithetical to the deeper intentions we are attempting to bring to yoga asana (postures). “And not using a sense of detachment from the end result, the concept of symmetry may foster an unhealthy obsession towards perfectionism, leading us to feel ‘lower than,’” says Pyo, who teaches a preferred Iyengar-influenced flow class at The Well in Latest York City. “This will potentially develop into an obstacle to deeper commentary and learning about ourselves,” he says.

Today, I proceed to work on my non-dominant side, but reasonably than attempting to make it perfectly match its sibling side, I even have come to just accept that things will all the time be a bit different on my left than my right. Sometimes it’s weaker, like once I’m practicing Vasisthasana (Side Plank). Other times, like once I’m in Pigeon, it’s tighter. All of it’s okay and normal.

I still work to make my asymmetries less glaring, but I understand that the trail will not be to attempt to do every pose the identical way or hold it the identical length of time. The truth is, once I began to honor the differences between my right and left was once they began to be more closely aligned.

And I remind myself that there are literally loads of cool things my left side does that my right doesn’t, like carry my kids continuously so my right hand is free to perform all the things that should occur in a day.

Our differences are also what makes us uniquely us, says Pyo. “(Asymmetries) are little pieces that contribute to our individuality. What’s vital during yoga asana is to note and observe our habits and imbalances, which ultimately help to tell and reveal who we’re,” he says.

4 Ways to Honor Your Body’s Asymmetries

Listed below are several things you possibly can start doing in your yoga practice to honor your asymmetries (and potentially make yourself more symmetrical in the long term):

1. Stay in a Pose for Different Lengths of Time on Each Side

We will get so caught up in making things “even” by ensuring we remain in a pose the very same length of time on either side, we would actually perpetuate our asymmetries. Consider tailoring your holds to what either side of your body needs.

For instance, stay in a standing pose, corresponding to Virabhadrasana 2 (Warrior 2 Pose), a bit longer in your left side if it’s essential construct more strength in that leg. Or linger in Pigeon Pose on whichever side needs a bit more stretching.

2. Practice Poses on Your Left Side First

Do you mostly lift your right leg first in Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose) and begin your standing poses on that side? Try your left side as a substitute. Even rolling onto your left after Savasana at the top of practice could be a strategy to change things up—and never just physically. Energetically, the left side of the body is related to the ida nadi, which is our energy channel related to the yin-like, feminine characteristics in each of us.

One strategy to do that is to practice Chandra Namaskara (Moon Salutations). Unlike traditional Sun Salutations, which ask you to step back to Plank or jump back to Chaturanga, this sequence incorporates Low Lunges, where you step your right leg back first, meaning your left leg is the primary side you’re employed on.

3. Change Your Alignment to Honor that Side’s Differences

I spent years attempting to get my thighs the identical level in my Warrior poses and my shoulders equally as open in asymmetrical backbends, like Ardha Dhanurasana (Half Bow Pose), through which you bend just one ankle at a time. What would often occur consequently is my differences would develop into much more pronounced and my weaker or tighter side was perpetually playing catch up. Now, I pull back on my stronger or more open side just as much, if no more, than I spend time on my less-dominant side.

For instance, in Virabhradrasana I (Warrior 1), I’ve begun to shorten my stance on my right side, but lengthen it on my left to assist accommodate psoas tightness differences.

4. Work the Entire Mat

A strategy to embrace your imbalances is to explore your different sides. Somewhat than all the time facing the front of the mat, turn your body (or your students’ bodies) to face the back every now and then. Pyo uses this sequencing tactic to avoid linking multiple standing poses together on a single side, which he refers to as “hip loading” and may result in fatigue.

He recommends practicing one pose on one leg facing the front of the mat after which turning around and doing a completely different pose along with your opposite leg forward. For instance, he might take students from Warrior 1 on the precise leg facing the front of the mat to Warrior 2 with the left leg forward facing the back of the mat, then back to the front for Warrior 3 standing on the precise leg to Triangle with the left leg forward facing the back. With this approach, he finds it easier to make sure that students are holding poses evenly on each side.

RELATED: The way to Create a Mandala Yoga Sequence (To Take You From the Front to the Back of the Mat)