Hi happyyogachik
Awareness is half the ‘battle’ won. It is great that you are observing your body and simply noticing that you need to adjust your hips. Would it help you to know that every student has to spend time in every class to focus on their hip alignment in this pose?
The main reason for this is that because of the multi-curve construction of the spine, the body cannot bend to the side in a pure lateral bend. There is constant adjustment to give the perception that the body can move purely in that sideways bend.
The most commonly missed points in set-up of this pose are:
Pushing the hips forward beyond the feet (opening pelvis and hips) AND
Bringing the arms back and lifting the chest to open chest and shoulders.
If you manage to incorporate this into your set-up then your body is in an ever-so-slight backbend. The weight is back in the heels.
When you go to the side these conditions will more easily help you to swivel your hips as needed and at the same time adjust shoulders.
If you cannot fix your hips then retreat from the pose enough so you can restore your set-up conditions. Work on breath first, then alignment before depth.
I would love to hear how you go.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂
