Iyengar yoga teachers emphasize improving precision of alignment in the yoga poses. Why is this important ?
Exercise as it is usually done only reinforces misalignment. When people don’t know how to exercise properly, they tend to stretch from their more flexible areas and rely on their better-developed muscles for strength. Iyengar yoga encourages weak parts to strengthen and stiff areas to stretch, thus awakening and re-aligning the whole body. As the body moves into better alignment, less muscular work is required and relaxation increases naturally.
A. Exercise as it is usually done only reinforces misalignment. If we don’t know how to exercise properly, we tend to stretch from our more flexible areas and rely on our better-developed muscles for strength. Iyengar Yoga encourages weak parts to strengthen and stiff areas to stretch, thus awakening and re-aligning the whole body. As the body moves into better alignment, less muscular work is required and relaxation increases naturally.
