Something new.

I have a bad knee. (Just saying that makes me feel like an old man. The knee hurts when it rains, and sometimes, I can tell when it's going to rain.) I took a yoga class several years ago at a studio that shall remain nameless--actually, no, whatever, it was at Jivamukti. In the class they kept doing Warrior Ones, and urging me to square my hips forward. I'm often called out in yoga classes for NOT squaring the hips. The instructor in this particular class came over and squared my hips for me. As soon as she did this, I felt incredible, ripping pain in my left knee...which has bothered me on and off for years. I understand the idea of why they did it. Classically, in Warrior One, the hips are squared to the front of the mat.

It's interesting that so many teachers have hung on to this instruction, even though it completely twists the back knee out of healthy alignment. Just because it's been done for years and years, doesn't make something good, and just because something is new, doesn't make something incorrect.

In Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga, which is what I've trained in, and what I teach, we allow the hips to be at an angle in this pose. This keeps you from twisting the back knee in an unhealthy manner, and damaging the sensitive knee joints. Try it, it feels much more natural, and if you twist the upper body and square the heart forward while you pull your low belly in, you're also getting a great, healthy upper body twist that allows some deep core work. Try it this way. Your knees will thank you!