This is an easy process to aid you in alignment in your poses.  I learned this idea first in reading "Light on Pranayama" by B.K.S. Iyengar, as I was studying the long chapter on Savasana.  (I highly recommend you read this too...!)  He uses cross lines under his body to show the correct body alignment in the pose.  I took this to Yoga Circle as I taught the pose and used a carpenters chalk line to mark a mat in class.  The main problem with that was I had a blue line on my back side!  Then I visited Yoga Union Studio for Back Care and Scoliosis in New York City, where I studied with Deborah Wolk and Alison West.  They took the idea one step further and drew plumb lines permanently on their studio mats.  Now, all my mats, and the mats at the studios where I teach have lines on their mats!  It helps me and my students find correct body alignment, especially if you are working with Scoliosis, as your perception of straight is actually wiggly.

Proprioception is the term used to describe the motor skills that are inherent in the body that give feedback to the brain as to where our body parts, and the body as a whole are located in space.  Some call it a sixth sense, as important as senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. For those with scoliosis, your proprioception is wiggly too.  Many of my scoliosis students have trouble balancing and walking (as they feel clumsy and bump into things), driving (as they drive more to one side of the road), sitting, etc.  When I adjust a student's head from the side to center, they always remark how crooked it feels to have the head brought back to center.  When I teach Tadasana (standing in alignment) students always remark how it feels weird to have body parts realigned (even if they are not working with scoliosis). So, any extra help is great for finding your plumb line, straight and true.

Here's how I mark a mat.  First, if you are using a new mat, you must wash it beforehand as there is a waxy coating on it from the factory.  The marker will not adhere if the mat is dirty at all.  Make sure it is fully dry too.   

For now, the best marker I have found is a Sharpie paint marker, available at craft stores in many colors.  Make sure it is not the traditional Sharpie, buy the permanent paint marker that you shake and press the tip to get the paint flowing.  

I use a yard stick and a carpenters angle too.  Fold the mat in half from the long end and short side too.  Put a little mark there.  Usually, there are even lines of texture running down the center that you can follow from end to end. 



Then either use a yard stick or follow one of the tracks freehand to mark the long line.  The short side is not usually so easy to follow so use the carpenters angle to find a perpendicular line to the long line you just drew.  This will give you a cross hair guide on your mat to follow.  Let the paint dry before you stand or sit on the lines...

As you practice poses, you can line up your feet on the long center line in standing poses, use the middle of the lines to even out the feet in Tadasana, find the center of your body as you lie on the mat using the lines as sight lines to follow.  The possibilities are endless!  This is one of the most important props I use in my own practice and in my teaching.  This idea is catching on with my teacher Gabriel as he uses these lines in classes too!

Then you can use all the other colors to draw designs on your mat.  Be creative!!

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Poses of the Month are:   

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Registration and prepayment required. This is not a walk-in class.  

New students call DL to schedule a pre-class private assessment of your scoliosis, history, pain issues and curve pattern.  Assessment: $80 for 1 hour session   

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YOGA PRIVATE SESSIONS AT ALL LOCATIONS

Schedule a private session with DL.  Learn to work with a specific ailment, pain, back issue, Scoliosis, MS, and more, or just to deepen your practice.   

These sessions are one on one.  Learn how to take that practice into your daily life.  

Private sessions are $80 for an hour.    

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