If you have done yoga or dance for a long time, you are bound to have heard the cue “tuck your tailbone” or “lengthen your tailbone”.
If you have recently practiced with me, you will no doubt have heard of “the ski-jumper” as it is something I have incorporated into both my teachings and personal practice. As a teacher, I am always evolving and educating myself. I recently took a workshop with a pelvic specialist physio, and it was definitely eye-opening. I am never too proud to change my opinion and over the years, I have had so many “traditional” yoga cues debunked, and I’ve had to re-educate myself and my students.
There is nothing wrong with tucking or lengthening your tailbone sometimes.. don’t worry, your pelvis will not explode. The problem arises when we do it so often that our nervous system starts thinking it’s our neutral. If, every time we do mountain pose, we consciously tuck/ lengthen our tailbone, removing or reducing the natural curve in our lower spine, eventually we start automatically doing this when standing… especially if we have been taught this is “good posture”.
A tucked tailbone however, is not a healthy neutral. It tilts the pelvis, which affects the position of the bladder in your pelvis, and can lead to incontinence!! A lot of people who danced when young, will end up with these problems at a relative young age, whether they have had children or not, and the same happens with a lot of yogis.
So what is a healthy neutral? Oversimplifying it: A natural curved spine without anterior tilt in the front body. To complicate things, if you don’t know how, it can sometimes be difficult to determine whether you have a natural curve and a good booty or an anterior tilt. If it’s the latter, we want to correct it, if not; good for you!
A good test for anterior tilting is putting your hand on your lower belly. If the hand is more or less straight up and down, your are good. If the hand is at an angle, there is anterior tilt. (See pictures)
Pic 1 has anterior tilt, pic 2 does not
So how do I find my neutral mountain pose? The Ski-jumper!
Come to mountain pose, feet together and arms along your side. Lean forward only in your ankle joint and move your head back in space an inch or so (most of us carry our heads forward). Notice the engagements in your body as you are holding this slight tilt, then, holding this posture and engagement, come back up to standing.. and hey presto; you have a nice neutral stance.
You can play with it by closing your eyes and maybe even move in a little circle when you are in the ski-jumper with closed eyes, really emphasizing the engagements in your body.
ski-jumper
Try it the next time you practice.
Enjoy!