Close Menu
SportyVibes.live –

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    Padres’ Yu Darvish shows off full arsenal in encouraging season debut vs. Diamondbacks

    July 8, 2025

    In Taiwan, migrants flee oppressive workplaces for life on the periphery | Migration News

    July 8, 2025

    Padres star Manny Machado records 2,000th career hit to join rare club in loss to Diamondbacks

    July 8, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Padres’ Yu Darvish shows off full arsenal in encouraging season debut vs. Diamondbacks
    • In Taiwan, migrants flee oppressive workplaces for life on the periphery | Migration News
    • Padres star Manny Machado records 2,000th career hit to join rare club in loss to Diamondbacks
    • Blazers, Celtics trade altered to swap of Holiday, Simons
    • IND vs ENG: Sachin Tendulkar suggested, Shubman Gill delivered on front-foot to pile up three hundreds in England | Cricket News
    • Wimbledon 2025 results: Grigor Dimitrov retires injured when two sets up against Jannik Sinner in fourth round
    • IPOB praises Obi’s call for Kanu’s release
    • Ohio State coach Ryan Day rating in ‘College Football 26’ revealed
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest Vimeo
    SportyVibes.live –SportyVibes.live –
    • Home
    • News
    • Cricket
    • Combat
    • Fitness
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Gear
    • Highlights
    SportyVibes.live –
    Home»Fitness»What Yoga Teachers Need to Ask Themselves Before Giving a Hands-On Adjustment
    Fitness

    What Yoga Teachers Need to Ask Themselves Before Giving a Hands-On Adjustment

    Sports NewsBy Sports NewsJuly 7, 2025No Comments6 Mins Read
    Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit Telegram Email
    What Yoga Teachers Need to Ask Themselves Before Giving a Hands-On Adjustment
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    “], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”>

    Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
    >”,”name”:”in-content-cta”,”type”:”link”}}”>Download the app.

    Hands up if you’ve ever been injured by hands-on adjustments in yoga class. Or felt a little creeped out by one. Or wondered why the teacher is even helping you in the first place, as if going “deeper” into a pose always means “better” in yoga.

    I’m not saying that yoga teachers should never, under any circumstances, touch a yoga student. And I’m not going to share a profound one-size-fits-all pronouncement. That’s not how this topic works.

    What I am going to do is to nudge you (metaphorically, of course) to consider how you use touch in the classes you teach and what your underlying intention is for the student.

    Before You Share Hands-On Adjustments, Consider…

    1. Consent

    First, let’s talk about the biggie: consent.

    Is it as simple as offering the increasingly popular “consent cards” before class or asking permission mid-flow? If a student consents to touch, then you’ve got free reign, right?

    Well, no. What have they actually consented to? Do you know? Do they know?  Is it any touch, on any body part, of any force, with any part of your body?

    Unless you’ve demoed the adjustment or explained in detail the intention of the assist and described the level of force (which is almost impossible in a flow class), then they don’t know what they are agreeing to.

    Personally, I had a teacher come into Squat (Malasana) on me while I was in Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana) and then continue to teach class from their newfound perch. I’ve also had a teacher gift me weeks of back pain after forcing my foot and head to touch in Dancer Pose (Natarajasana). That’s something I can do on a good day during a well-thought out sequence, but this class was neither.

    Yes, I “consented” to assists. But not to these!

    (Photo: Yoga and Photo)

    2. Miscommunication

    Moving on to miscommunication. We’re all aware of miscommunication with words. But what about miscommunication of touch?

    An assist with the best of intentions could easily be experienced by a student as flirty, harsh, aggressive, critical, or any number of other things, including just not feel great physically.

    Even if different teachers use exactly the same type of touch to exactly the same person, how it is received and perceived could be entirely different based on the individual teacher’s approach and the student’s unique life experience.

    We don’t have control over someone else’s perception of our behavior. This is less of an issue with verbal misunderstandings but could potentially result in severe consequences with touch-related miscommunication, even if you were just trying to help someone adjust their pelvis in Triangle Pose (Trikonasana).

    Yoga teacher on a mat placed on a hardwood floor
    (Photo: Adam Husler)

    3. Life Experience

    I won’t pretend to be a trauma expert, but I know that many of my students will have experienced some form of trauma in their lives. It follows that certain things may trigger a trauma response for them—a song, a smell, a touch, a type of person.

    It’s impossible to account for every possible sight, sound, and action that could trigger such a response, but there are a few things that may be more likely to cause one. The most obvious is experiencing a trauma response after being unexpectedly approached and touched by a relative stranger, possibly of different gender. And, even more obviously relevant to Savasana, ’…in a dark room with eyes closed.”

    4. Unique Physical Differences

    Not only do we not know what’s going on inside a student’s brain, but we’ve got no idea what’s going on inside their unique body. We can see a student’s visible shape, but we’ve got no insight into their past injuries, joint anatomy, surgical history, or whether they’re a half millimeter away from popping their hamstring.

    Sadly, I know countless people that have been injured by teachers. And in 99 percent of those occasions, they’ve never told the teacher. Even someone who has been highly trained to do manual assists in a clinical environment has no business walking up to random students in a group class and doing forceful assists without prior physical consultation. (In my view, a good assist isn’t forceful, anyway.)

    Yoga teacher standing on a stuffed animal demonstrating a physical adjustment gone wrong
    (Photo: Yoga and Photo)

    5. Your Purpose

    I find that rather than focusing on moving the moving part, an assist should emphasize stabilizing fixed things, providing directional feedback, or offering resistance to create engagement.

    If we assist by moving a moving body part further or deeper into a pose, then we have to be clear on our why. Is achieving the shape the goal of yoga asana? Are we serving students better by chasing passive flexibility over active control? Are we unintentionally reinforcing a class culture where going far is the goal and those who go furthest get the most praise? Are we getting in the way of the student’s individual exploration of something beyond the body via their body?

    So, Should You Ever Place Your Hands on a Student?

    There’s lots to consider. My personal approach is I rarely touch anyone in a public class. Well, unless someone tries to hug me afterward, but I don’t really give off hug-me vibes.

    My other exception is occasionally offering an assist to experienced students. I might say, “If anyone is close to turning their forward fold into a handstand and wants some help exploring that, then give me a wave.” At that point in class, I have space to explain the assist before I do it, so they’ll have full clarity on what’s about to happen.

    Similarly, whenever there is more time, trust, and familiarity—such as on retreats, during teacher trainings, and in private sessions—I may offer assists to stabilize, create resistance, or offer direction in a pose.

    There are no absolutes. Before your next class, take some time to consider how, why, and when you assist. Seriously weigh whether the potential pros outweigh the potential cons—not only for you but for your students. There’s plenty to ponder!

    Adjustment giving HandsOn Teachers Yoga
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleNFL, NBA, MLB teams pool together donations for Texas flood recovery efforts as death toll spikes
    Next Article Wimbledon 2025: Jannik Sinner says progress ‘not a win’ after Grigor Dimitrov injury
    Sports News
    • Website

    Related Posts

    Fitness

    Is Mount Everest Covered in Dead Bodies and Trash?

    July 8, 2025
    Fitness

    The 63 Best Amazon Prime Day Health & Fitness Deals of 2025

    July 8, 2025
    Fitness

    7 Best Hiking Socks of 2025

    July 8, 2025
    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Top Posts

    Lisa Nandy removes herself from final decision on leader of football regulator | Lisa Nandy

    June 2, 202551 Views

    Beat writer doubts that the Lakers can land Walker Kessler

    June 12, 202521 Views

    Mubi, A Streamer For Cinephiles, Is Now Officially Indispensable

    June 2, 202511 Views
    Stay In Touch
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • TikTok
    • WhatsApp
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    Latest Reviews
    Football

    Robertson returns as County stick with manager Cowie

    Sports NewsJune 2, 2025
    Highlights

    Spanish GP: Max Verstappen admits George Russell crash ‘shouldn’t have happened’

    Sports NewsJune 2, 2025
    Highlights

    Max Verstappen-George Russell collision: F1 world champion admits move ‘was not right’

    Sports NewsJune 2, 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest tech news from FooBar about tech, design and biz.

    Most Popular

    Warriors add sharpshooter in second round of new NBA mock from Yahoo

    June 2, 20250 Views

    Erin Blanchfield rips Maycee Barber after UFC Fight Night cancellation: ‘She needs to fix her life’

    June 2, 20250 Views

    Eagles have $55 million in dead money salary cap

    June 2, 20250 Views
    Our Picks

    Padres’ Yu Darvish shows off full arsenal in encouraging season debut vs. Diamondbacks

    July 8, 2025

    In Taiwan, migrants flee oppressive workplaces for life on the periphery | Migration News

    July 8, 2025

    Padres star Manny Machado records 2,000th career hit to join rare club in loss to Diamondbacks

    July 8, 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • About Us
    • Disclaimer
    • Get In Touch
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Condtition
    © 2025 sportyvibes. Designed by Pro.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.