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What if I told you that the most famous yoga pose in the world is also one of the most complex? After decades of teaching and a combined...

Bird Dog—called Pointer Dog  in some yoga circles—is everywhere. You’ll see it in yoga classes, physical therapy programs, Pilates studios, and strength training routines. The instructions are usually simple: Lift one arm. Lift the opposite leg. Hold. But when you look closely, something interesting happens. Most people aren’t actually doing the pose the way it’s intended. Instead of training core stability , they’re arching the low back, shifting the pelvis, or letting the s

Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) looks simple. It shows up in beginner classes, teacher trainings, and nearly every stock photo of yoga. But Triangle is only “easy” when you collapse into it. Done well, it’s a full-body strength and coordination pose  that builds hip stability, leg strength, and spinal organization. Done poorly, it becomes a shape where people hang in their joints, strain their SI joint, and compress their low back — all while trying to get their hand lower. This

Surya Namaskar A is often treated as a warm-up—a familiar sequence we move through almost on autopilot. But from a therapeutic yoga perspective, Sun Salutation A is anything but neutral. The way we breathe, time effort, and transition between shapes can either support the pelvic floor and deep core—or quietly undermine them. In this post, we’ll explore how adapting Surya Namaskar A can help meet the needs of the pelvic floor and core, particularly for students who experience

When Sarah and I chose Gate Pose (Parighasana) for our episode, we wanted to make it easy on ourselves. Gate Pose is used as a warmup—something to create a little space, open the hip and side body, an easy transition from table pose before coming to stand. Gate Pose has that reputation. Simple, easy, accessible. A quick warmup to move through without much thought. Wrong. So wrong. What we uncovered is that Gate Pose is one of the best poses for building hip stability. To use

A yoga therapy perspective for teachers and curious students Is she twisting or turning? Twists are everywhere in yoga: seated twists, revolved standing poses, supine twists at the end of class. They’re often framed as cleansing, detoxifying, or wringing tension out of the spine. And yet, twists are also one of the most common sources of discomfort, confusion, and SI joint irritation  we see in students. The problem is not twisting itself. The problem is how  we twist — and w

Most shoulder pain in yoga doesn’t come from “bad shoulders.” It comes from good shoulders being forced to move badly . Jane: “Most students think it’s wrong to move their scapula.” Sarah: “I was told to squeeze my shoulder blades together and push them down whenever my shoulders felt bad.” And both of those beliefs are quietly wrecking a lot of yogis’ shoulders. Let’s talk about why. The Most Overused Yoga Cues: “Squeeze Your Shoulder Blades Together” & "Shoulders Down" This

Also known as: Chair Pose, Fierce Pose, Awkward Pose… and yes, basically a squat. If Utkatasana has ever made you think, “Why does this hurt my knees / low back / life choices?”  — you’re not alone. Jane: “I hated this pose for years… until this week.” Sarah: “This is yoga’s most functional pose.” That’s the thing about Chair Pose. When done as a shape, it’s just uncomfortable. When done as a system , it becomes one of the most functional and empowering poses in yoga. And no

Why Tree Pose Reveals Everything Tree Pose looks simple: one foot roots down, one leg rises, arms reach skyward. Yet it exposes the state of your attention, your anatomy, and your nervous system in seconds. The moment you lift one foot, every micro-adjustment from the ankle to the hip shows how well the body organizes itself around center. That’s why teachers often call it a barometer pose : it tells you exactly where you are, not just physically but energetically. You can’t

You can do Warrior II  and just have a good time — or you can do Warrior II  and completely rewire how your body understands stability, balance, and effort. In this two-part deep dive from The Yoga Posers , Sarah and Jane pull apart one of yoga’s most recognizable shapes — Virabhadrasana II  — and reveal how small changes in alignment can transform not only your pose, but your practice. Because as it turns out, that heroic stance we’ve all been told to “square your hips” in?

From The Yoga Posers Podcast with Sarah & Jane Welcome back to The Yoga Posers , where we cut through yoga myths and trendy cues to give teachers and students practical, science-backed solutions for common pose problems. In this two-part conversation, we dove deep into Uttanasana  — the standing forward fold. It’s one of yoga’s most photographed shapes, but also one of the most misunderstood. We thought we knew this pose inside out. Then we realized: half of what people are t

Bridge Pose is one of yoga’s most recognizable backbends, but also one of its most misunderstood. In many classes it’s treated as the...

Master plank pose, and you'll have unlocked one of the most functional and transferable skills in all of yoga - the ability to create...

Cobra pose (Bhujangasana) might look simple, but it's one of the most challenging poses to teach and execute properly. As yoga teachers...

A Yoga Therapist's Guide to Life's Most Practical Pose Based on Jane and Sarah's conversation. Listen to the podcast here . When most...