You are Unique so is Your Yoga
(Bernie Clark: Your body your yoga)
You are unique! These three words imply something amazing
In the whole universe there is no one like you. You are not” average” and you are not ”normal”- no one is actually average, normal or regular. You may share a few similar traits with other people, but when you examine the whole of who you are, the ways these particular parts come together to form a “you”, you are totally and indisputably unique.
What does this mean for you in your yoga practice?
Each person has different proportions of body segment lengths, muscle insertion length, muscle to tendon length ratios, nerve conductance velocities, intrinsic tissue tolerances, etc.
The variations in the shapes of our legs affect not only our appearance but also our ability to do yoga postures.
Personally speaking I cannot perform the lotus pose (Padmasana)
Example of human variation:
The femoral neck-shaft angle varies considerably from individual to individual, which can be from 110 degrees to 150 degrees see fig below:
The neck angle of the femur and the shape of the pelvis dictate the ultimate range of motion in abduction (moving the legs apart).
For example in the Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) a student with 110 degree neck angle of the femur will look like as in fig: on the L ; a student with 150 degree angle as in fig: on the R.
How will you know how far you can go in a yoga pose or whether a certain pose works for you? As the Buddha suggested, consider it, try it, but pay attention, listen to your body: pain is often a great signal that something isn’t right. Remember no one knows you as you know yourself.