Some women experience Sacroiliac (SI) Joint pain while practicing the Cobra Pose

Pictures from the workshop Yoga In the Female Form™ Women’s Anatomy and Authentic Alignment

Although seldom discussed, Hatha Yoga poses were developed by men for men.   When a woman practices traditional yoga poses, differences in female anatomy effect everything from knee placement to pelvic positioning to the angle of her elbow joints and the curve of her low back. These differences make a woman more susceptible to injury when she practices classical poses.

Yogis (men) developed traditional Hatha Yoga poses based upon their experience of the male body. Many of the popular styles of Yoga currently being taught in the United States were  created by men. With the modern emergence of Hatha Yoga practice in the United States, a spiritual discipline historically limited to male seekers is now being practiced by thousands of women without significant regard for the gender differences in female and male structural anatomy.

For example, the structure of a woman’s bony pelvis differs from a man’s. Her pelvis is rounder and wider and, unlike the male pelvis with hip joint sockets that face to the side, a woman’s hip joint sockets are positioned slightly on the diagonal. When certain yoga poses, for example, the forward bend, the cobra or the seated spinal twist, are performed in traditional form, these structural differences may cause a woman to experience sciatica and/or lumbar, sacroiliac or hip joint pain and injury.

In the traditionally led Cobra Pose, the feet are held together. This feet-together alignment can be problematic for many women as it may subject the female sacroiliac (SI) joints to undue stress. Repeated joint stresses due to a woman’s bone structure can lead to micro-injuries. These micro-injuries become more significant as we mature since we heal more slowly at age 50 than we do at age 25.

A simple variation of the Cobra Pose that can relieve the structural stress on the Sacroiliac Joints is to allow the feet and legs to separate gently. This variation is more supportive of the skeletal structure of most women.

Yoga in the Female Form Workshop
What others say . . . .

This material is so crucial – most of our students are women – but we can all learn to listen to our body wisdom once we understand the limits of our physical anatomy.
Diane, Yoga Teacher

Thank you for helping me understand for the first time in 6 years that I have been asking my Sacroiliac joints to do the impossible for my body.
Nancy, Yoga Student

Adrienne’s energy, enthusiasm and knowledge were phenomenal. I learned more about the body in this three hour workshop than I did in all my previous physical fitness and yoga trainings.
Allen, Yoga Teacher & Personal Fitness Trainer

You have a great way of respecting “The Yoga Establishment” while empowering us to deviate as our own bodies tell us to.
Catherine, Psychotherapist 

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