Know Your Asana

Meet Matt Bergen and learn to adjust 30 plus yoga poses with key alignment tips, modify four body types, address common misalignments, and apply mat-based adjustments in real classroom settings.

Learn how to give safe, effective yoga adjustments to students, using proper alignment, consent, breath cues, and mindful touch to deepen pose experience and build muscle memory.

Introduce Tadasana, the mountain pose, to teach fundamentals of standing poses with breath, alignment cues, and how to apply them across a practice sequence.

Master tadasana alignment from feet to crown by grounding arches, stacking knees above heels, and aligning pelvis with a zipper cue. Note common misalignments like a rounded lower back.

Explore sequencing in today's asana by using mountain pose as a grounding start, incorporating sun salutations, flat-back variations, twists, side bends, and corpse pose for neutrality and parasympathetic calm.

Ground the feet through all four corners, engage the legs and kneecaps, draw the abdomen in and up, broaden the chest, and stack the crown over shoulders, hips, and knees.

Apply adjustments for Tadasana to engage thighs and align the tailbone. Press outward into the hands, broaden shoulders, drop them, and lift through the Crown to elongate the spine.

Watch a teaching demo for Tadasana that demonstrates adjusting different body types with corrections to feet parallel, hip alignment, collarbone, and spine lengthening for an upright, lifted posture.

Explore the benefits of standing poses through asana practice, boosting strength, flexibility, balance, and stamina while activating joints from ankles to hips with variations and flow that energize daily life.

Outline contraindications and practical modifications for standing poses, including ankle sprains, knee concerns, and shoulder or pelvic issues, with floor-only options, straps, and wall-supported adjustments.

Learn key cues for standing poses: ground through the feet, connect to the earth, distribute weight evenly, elongate the spine, engage the lower abdominals, and keep the pelvis neutral.

Know your asana: learn to prepare and sequence standing poses with joint hydration, sun salutations, and counter poses to warm the body, balance symmetry, and calm the mind.

align warrior one with feet hip-width apart like train tracks, front knee over the heel, and spine length with shoulders forward to prevent back knee stress.

Explore modifications and safe variations for warrior one, addressing knee and neck concerns, shoulder injuries, and alignment, including runner's lunge and prayer pose options.

Master Warrior I adjustments with foot placement cues, knee alignment, hip stabilization, tailbone tucking, and shoulders, armpits, and neck length to preserve a safe, lengthened spine.

Know your asana demonstrates teaching Warrior 1 to students of varying levels, guiding knee over foot alignment, back heel down, chest opening, and options to deepen the pose.

Learn functional alignment in warrior 2 by keeping the front knee over the heel, spine plumb, pelvis forward, shoulders over the hips, and the back foot at 45 degrees.

Learn safe warrior two modifications for ankle sprains and knee discomfort, such as lowering the back knee, keeping the knee over the heel, and using hands on hips.

Deliver precise warrior two adjustments by guiding front leg alignment, knee over heel, and pelvis tilt, while stabilizing the sacrum and depressing the shoulders with clear cues.

Know your asana presents a teaching demo for Warrior 2, showing how to assess diverse bodies, adjust alignment safely with back foot placement, hip rotation, and shoulder blade squeeze.

Know your asana explains crescent moon lunge alignment: keep the front knee over the heel, pelvis in posterior tilt, and shoulders slightly forward of the hips for a stable stance.

Know your Asana presents knee-friendly crescent moon lunge modifications using a blanket under the back knee or a raised block, with hands on the floor to ease front knee pressure.

Learn practical adjustments for crescent moon lunge in the Chandra system that stabilize the spine, open the chest, and lengthen the side body through guided bracing and light hand cues.

Explore optimized crescent moon lunge form through guided adjustments for hip flexor release, pelvis alignment, and back leg engagement, with cues to chest position, neck length, and shoulder setup.

Align extended side angle by keeping the front knee above the heel and the back foot grounded, with the chest lifted toward the sky and pelvis aligned.

Explore modifications for side angle pose, including floor work with straps and blocks to protect the knees and deepen chest opening through varied arm positions.

Know your asana presents adjustments for extended side angle pose, guiding pelvis and sit bones, aligning knee and heel, and turning the chest to align sternum, pubis, and chin.

Demonstrates the extended side angle pose with warrior II variations and twists, while teaching the power line from heel to sit bones for correct alignment and mindful breathing.

Learn chair pose alignment: keep kneecaps over the toes, maintain spinal length, and keep arms extended to avoid knee and lower back strain.

Know your asana chair pose by applying contraindications and modifications: protect the knees, keep shoulders above hips, and use forward arms or hands on hips for shoulder or back issues.

Explore adjustments for chair pose by using foot position changes, blocks to squeeze thighs, and mindful guidance to engage inner thighs, align the spine, and relax the shoulders.

Demonstrate chair pose cues for different body types, guiding from toes together and knees bent to deeper variations, including a spine twist and arm reach for safe progression.

Learn triangle pose alignment with a neutral pelvis and spine, feet at 90 and 45 degrees, and avoid pelvis tilt, rib flare, and tailbone protrusion.

Know your Asana: sequencing triangle pose with warmups and safe leg-width adjustments, transitioning from warrior two or down dog, and exploring reverse, revolved, and bound triangle variations.

Discover adjustments for triangle pose: align back foot, turn front leg externally, rotate back leg inward, and lift the chest while widening the shoulders and heart space.