To squeeze your GLUTES or not to squeeze? 🍑🤔

In my recent Instagram post, I spoke a little about my background. I came into yoga around 2010, having been a personal trainer and anatomy enthusiast for over 10 years. I was trying to set up training to become a physiotherapist but decided the money for further education might be best spent opening a yoga studio! (I know. So dumb 😖) So, when I first started attending bigger classes to get a feel for the yoga scene at that time, I was baffled by what I was hearing 🫣. The cues coming from yoga teachers often made no real anatomical sense. As an example, I was told to squeeze my glutes in Malasana. For reasons never explained. You can't really squeeze your glutes in Malasana as they are lengthening.

I was also told that backbends, specifically cobra, would be good for my bad back. Without the teacher asking any questions about my pain 🤦🏾‍♂️

As time went on, I was left more and more baffled by what I was hearing, and it all became apparent to me. Fast forward to when I decided to run a teacher training: I didn't need to submit any evidence to show Yoga Alliance that I was in any way credible to teach anatomy. I guess as long as I paid my annual fee to them, they didn't care.

So, the point is that yoga cues are generally baffling and have no real biomechanical basis. They are just parroted phrases by well-intentioned teachers who, unfortunately, lacked proper guidance.

If you want continued guidance in all things anatomy, remember to follow me on Instagram, where I am going to start making it my goal to help you see yoga from a different perspective - one that isn't biased toward any school of yoga, but rather just follows the principles of human anatomy 🦴🫁

A recent student's question:

"Should you squeeze your glutes in backbends?" 🍑

The short answer is yes 👍🏽 . Intentional glute “engagement” is generally beneficial, though it may not apply to every scenario. Squeezing (or more precisely, engaging) the glutes increases pelvic stability and promotes hip extension, which helps maintain space in the lower back and reduces lower back compression. Some teachers advise against it, but their reasons in my experience are rarely grounded in anatomy; most often, it stems from traditions passed down without any biomechanical justification.

From a scientific perspective, mindful glute engagement (gentle squeezing) in backbends is a safer long-term option for most practitioners, as it distributes the backbend load more effectively across the hips and spine. Be a bum squeezer. Your lower back will thank you for it 👍🏽

As always, if you have any anatomy, alignment, or practice questions, just reply to this email or message me directly. I genuinely love helping - it's 🙏🏽why I spent decades studying this stuff! 😀

Anatomy Course Link 👉🏽 [Anatomy Blueprint]

If you are not convinced. Watch the review 🙏🏽

Namaskar

Zahir 👳🏾‍♂️

🟠 In-house Yoga Teacher Training? 🧘🏽‍♀️ - [Link] (new page)