The Heart of Hips

Dear reader,

A good friend — new to yoga but already curious and committed — texted me this week. He’d been trying Square Pose (Sukhasana), and one of his knees started to complain. He asked the question nearly every sincere student will eventually ask: “What should I do to modify?”

It’s such an important question that I wanted to devote this week’s 60‑minute Yin Yoga practice — The Heart of Hips (Part One) — to exploring it. This is a complimentary practice, free for all subscribers, offered in the spirit of hip and heart opening.

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The Myth of the “Right” Pose

So many of us arrive at yoga carrying an invisible rulebook: the pose is supposed to look a certain way. New students often try to imitate their teacher’s body. Alignment‑based practitioners may strive for tidy lines and right angles, as though geometry were the essence of yoga. But in a functional approach, none of this applies.

In functional alignment, the only “right” pose is the one that works for your body — for your bones, your joints, your tissues, your lived reality.

What Hip-Opening Really Means

When we speak of “hip‑openers,” we’re not referring to one magic posture. We’re talking about a whole family of shapes that target the muscles and connective tissue of the pelvis.

Technically, that includes:

• external and internal rotations of the thigh in the socket,

• flexion and extension at the hip,

• adduction and abduction of the thigh.

In this first part of the series, we’ll focus on external rotation: postures like Swan (sometimes called Pigeon), Square, and Shoe‑Lace.

And here’s the key truth: not every external rotation pose will work for every body. Yin teachers know this, but it’s something every practitioner deserves to know. The task is not to fit yourself into the pose, but to let the pose meet you.

A Practice of Collaboration

In this week’s practice, I’ll share several ways of finding the version of these poses that works for your unique anatomy. Think of it as a collaboration: you bring your curiosity and your body; the practice offers options and support.

Bernie Clark once put it beautifully: “We don’t use our body to get into a pose; we use the pose to get into our body.”

I echo that wholly. We don’t practice to mold ourselves into ideals of perfection; we practice to uncover and cultivate a wholeness that is already there.

So when you roll out your mat this week, bring a spirit of inquiry, creativity, and compassion. These are the qualities of the Heart’s Fire — and they will carry you far beyond your hips, into the deeper truth of your practice.

With care,

Josh