Yoga Adjustments: Philosophy, Principles, and Techniques

Mark Stephens has given the yoga world another excellent resource. Yoga Adjustments addresses the subject of hands-on instruction, specifically, how to use touch to encourage improved alignment, provide support and guidance, and clarify instructions. As always, Mr Stephens’ approach is student-focused and sensitive. Ask permission before touching. Respect personal boundaries and know that these can change during a session. Teach to the abilities of the person in front of you. Guide the student toward developing awareness and awakening through the asanas. The scope of the book covers everything from the purposes of touch to where and how (and how not) to touch. Stephens begins with the seven basic principles of hands-on teaching—teaching what you know, asking permission, clear intention, move and breathe with the student, staying safe, teaching the essential asana elements, and supporting stable foundations. From here, he moves on to defining the various responses we hope to elicit, from elongation and activation to stabilization and relaxation. He also is clear about types of touch that can confuse, injure, or cross personal boundaries. His five basic steps to giving hands-on cues and assistance include setting up the asana with a stable base, eliciting elongation and then motion of the spine, followed by refinement and deepening the asana. He outlines nine stances for positioning yourself to maximize stability, comfort, and safety, and nine different hand positions and motions for cueing. Then the fun begins. Stephens devotes seven chapters, one for each asana family, to a detailed application of these techniques to 99 asanas, showing specific hand placements for encouraging proper alignment and refinement. For example, for Dhanurasana (Bow Pose), he shows cueing for the hips to encourage posterior pelvic rotation, shoulders to draw them down and away from the ears, and knees to prevent splaying. Modifications include using a blanket under the top front of the pelvis to reduce pressure on the low back and to ease the weight of the position farther back, and a strap if it’s difficult for the student to grasp her ankles. The suggested progression is to explore Side Lying Bow. The section ends with references to pertinent pages in Teaching Yoga and Yoga Sequencing and Stephens’ website. The descriptions for assuming the poses are the same as those given in Teaching Yoga. Some of the discussion of touch is also from that book, but in Yoga Adjustments, it is elaborated and expanded. It makes for a valuable companion volume to Stephens’ other books. Motivated home practitioners will find the cues for individual asanas helpful in refining their poses, and will also benefit from the suggested modifications and progressions. Thank you, Mr Stephens, for sharing your knowledge and philosophy with others. Yoga Adjustments is a worthy and important addition to anyone’s yoga library.

In my experience this is very useful book in guiding the vast array of students that may come to your class. Stephen's does a great job of recognizing the uniqueness of physical and emotional qualities that each student brings to the mat. This book sets up a strong foundation of knowledge and guiding principles that apply to all adjustments, but that you can adapt to each individual need. It offers alignment cues on how to correctly guide students into a pose, then goes on to explore possible adjustments. Stephens offers both images and text to clarify the explanation of adjustments which has proven to be incredibly useful. For each pose he also offers ways to explore deeper or how to modify. As a teacher, I appreciate the realistic, easy to understand feel of this book. One things I really like about this(and Stephen's previous 2 books) is how he recognizes and talks about the roots of this ancient practice, while making the information relevant to the place where yoga is today. He builds a strong foundation in philosophy, history, and principles before going into detailed descriptions of set up and adjustment for a huge number of asanas. I like that this book has such strong alignment and structural foundations but also talks about the more subtle, energetic and spiritual side of this practice. Stephens does a good job of reminding us of the strength of each person's inner teacher. As we are adjusting, guiding, and teaching we are helping students find and recognize this inner light. Great book, would definitely recommend it to anyone on the teaching path!

I was quite excited to read Mark Stephens’ "Yoga Adjustments: Philosophy, Principles, and Techniques" to learn different techniques for giving tactile cues. The detail and illustrations, which highlight various tactile cues for over 100 asanas, are clear and concise. Along with the extensive details and application, this book draws on, and gives relevance to, the great works of yoga philosophy ("Hatha Yoga Pradipika," "Yoga Sutras of Patanjali", and "Bhagavad Gita") as well as Western Philosophy (Plato, Socrates, William James and others) to give a broad historical overview of thought regarding the body's innate intelligence. Finally, I found it quite useful that Stephens offered an extensive notes and references section that allows the reader to dive more deeply into the information presented in the book. I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface of the content in Stephens' book and I am sure I will be continuing to go back and uncover deeper layers upon each subsequent reading. I definitely recommend this book for yoga teachers and those interested in Somatic Theory, and anyone interested in exploring the intelligence and connection between the body/mind.

This book is another amazing resource for yoga teachers by Mark Stephens. Teachers regardless of style or brand, will individually find insights to apply in their classes. Here is some of what the book actually covers. First, the question of why to give hands on guidance. Here Stephens connects the dots of ancient yoga philosophy with contemporary theories of touch and awareness, leading to a brief discussion of the mind-body separation question and its resolution through practices of embodiment like yoga. Next in exploring the question of yoga philosophy and ethics, Stephens adds a compelling voice to those asking that as teachers we ask permission before touching, underlying his idea in earlier books that, "the best teacher is inside," that our role as formal teachers is to guide in ways that feel comfortable and helpful to our students. The chapter on techniques goes far beyond what is currently offered in other books or magazines. If you really want to learn the fundamentals of guiding with your hands, this chapter is for you. Then go on to the next chapters and you'll find it all applied in tremendous detail with some of the best passages I've ever read on teaching yoga. It is a fantastic book that should be in the hands of every yoga teacher before they begin doing hands on adjusting with their students. The book has also very appropriately been endorsed by yoga teacher luminaries!

I purchased this book from Amazon after reviewing it extensively at a local bookstore. As a new yoga instructor, it looked like something that could be beneficial to me in further developing my skills for hands-on assists in class. (Because I work full-time as a psychologist, I currently teach 1 yoga class/week, a beginners class.) Author Mark Stephens has created a comprehensive, thorough guide for performing yoga adjustments. Of course, it is difficult to learn this from a book, but still, Stephens has put together a manual that offers very detailed instructions to build on what most teachers have (hopefully) learned in their teacher training programs. Stephens is clearly extremely knowledgeable, and the book is well-organized, first describing basis for hands-on teaching and then going on to provide both photos and step-by-step guidelines for individual postures, broken down by asana category (e.g., Standing Asanas, Back Bends, etc.). So given all of the above, I couldn't figure out why this book was not more helpful to me. Finally, the realization dawned on me--it is because all of the models performing the postures in the book are PERFECT! None of the models in the book looks at all like any of my students; they don't even appear to be in NEED of any type of adjustment. To the best of my knowledge, most of the adjustments described by Stephens are to assist students WHO ALREADY HAVE GOOD ALIGNMENT with getting deeper into the pose. In my beginners classes, however, I want to give my students assists so that they have better alignment, can achieve greater comfort in the pose, can do the posture in a way that is safe for their joints, etc. I would have loved if Stephens had addressed these issues and had included photos of models who were MIS-aligned and in need of adjustment, but this did not appear to be the focus of his book. So in the end, although I do think this book is very well-done, I'm also somewhat disappointed with it. I would suggest that YOGA ADJUSTMENTS is best suited to teachers who are mostly working with experienced students and/or all-levels classes, not with beginners.

As a yoga teacher, that provides assists and adjustments in my classes, I found this book to be the missing link in my yoga studies library. I also own Mark's "Teaching Yoga" book, and it's such a great reference. This new book is the same. It's a great reference to my studies, and teachings. I also teach a Yoga Assisting and Adjusting workshop, and this book is now the required text for the students. It's full of useful information in Anatomy, Philosophy and Principles. There are also beautiful images that compliment each assist/adjustment. I highly recommend it.

This is a brilliant book and the ultimate practical tool for yoga teachers. Reading this book, as is the case with his previous two, is like taking a class with Mark. Clear and simple (but not simplistic), direct and philosophical to a degree that is just right, appropriate and useful considering the practical nature of the subject, the book conveys the teacher's vast knowledge about and experience with teaching yoga. Mark is very generous with his knowledge which is precisely what makes him a great teacher. Regardless of who you have completed your yoga teacher training with, this book can only add to your development as a teacher. Thank you, Mark.

Love this book! I have all of Mark Stephens Yoga books on yoga including Yoga Sequencing and Yoga Teaching. Yoga Adjustments is another excellent resource that will be used frequently for myself as a yoga practitioner and yoga teacher. The pictures helpful and perfect in gaining a better understanding how make changes for yoga practitioners in different levels of their practice. This book is great for yoga teachers beginning and seasoned. It should be required reading for any studio offering yoga teacher certifications.

It is a good approach but the pictures does not match well and unclear . As it is photostated and placed

Soy maestra de yoga y todo lo que sirva para mejorar es bueno, buen libro, bien explicado. Viene en inglés.

Bel libro, spiegato bene, scritto in un inglese facilmente comprensibile anche da chi non parla fluentemente la lingua.

Recommend this book for yoga teachers who wish to aligne their students correctly. Detailed explanation with heaps of photos. Rich teaching that not only benefits your students but also your own yoga practice.

Used for textbook in ytt. Found it very good and informative. I went on to purchase sequencing and therapy. Also the sequencing deck. Great instruction.