Where Am I Supposed to Feel This?

One of the most commonly asked questions in yoga class:  "Where am I supposed to feel this?" is not easily answered.  Where is dependent upon many factors.  What may be a more enlightening question.

I have observed that newer students often appreciate being told generally what they should/might be feeling during various yoga asanas (poses).  As a teaching tool, it can be useful to guide their attention toward certain parts of the body and give descriptive words for the feelings they're likely to experience there.  In Utthita Trikonasana, for example, the attention may be very strongly placed upon the front leg's hamstrings...which will feel a great stretch.  For some in the room, however, the deepest sensations will be in the hip, groin, shoulders or neck!

In providing such guidance and descriptions, I try to avoid labeling all sensations for the students, or stearing them toward certain places or labels that may not be relevant for their individual experience.  As a yoga teacher, part of my job is to help students get in touch with their inner teacher, while providing safe  boundaries, instruction and mentorship along the way.  I want my students to explore their experiences in the asanas, not just go into a pose and wait for me to tell them where/what to feel.  The point is for them to find the feeling!

For students who are very disconnected from their bodies, it is commendable that they just feel something.  As long as they aren't feeling pain, I focus on encouraging them to stay with the sensations without judgement, labeling or fleeing - just observing and feeling.  For advanced students or those who are very in-tune with their bodies, I try to guide them toward the more subtle experiences of a pose, and how the slightest adjustment can completely change the experience.

As students of yoga, our work is to observe where we feel things, learn the language of the body, and let go of whether it is "normal" - as in, others in the room are feeling the same things - or not.  Normal is relative, just as where one feels "it" is relative.  Turn inward for your true definition of normal...normal for you!

Comments

[Mary]

Perhaps a better question for us students is HOW am I supposed to feel this? As someone who asks the question, "Where am I supposed to feel this?" I reflected on my experiences that have given rise to the question. Usually it's a new asana and something feels more intense than I expected it to and because the feeling is in addition to the thinking/feeling involved in practicing something new to me, I'm not sure what the message is - is it my mind struggling to create a shape or is it that some physical limits are being stretched (no pun intended). Asking where helps me figure out which category for me and my body.