Tips to identify imbalances

Understanding how you move your body is key to feeling stronger, more balanced, and even injury free. Both sides of your body are designed to operate in the same way, but that’s most often not the case.

We have imbalances.

Years of movement patterns and postural habits lead to these imbalances. Are imbalances always bad? Absolutely not! It may be advantageous to have great upper body strength if your job requires it. And if you’re right-handed then your right arm could easily become stronger. On the other hand, an old injury may cause you to favor one side, leading to an imbalance. Or years of sitting at a desk can lead to weak back muscles and tight hip flexors.

Your nervous system tends to use the same movement patterns, and the same postural habits, over and over. Advantageous or not, we bring these habits with us everywhere. Becoming aware of your body’s tendencies helps you correct any imbalances that aren’t helpful.

Yoga is a great way to pause, study, and make adjustments if needed. And it’s not because of the yoga poses.

Yoga emphasizes self-study or self-reflection, Svadhyaya, in Sanskrit. This means increasing your self-awareness, not just physical patterns but also mental ones. The point is not to be harsh with yourself, but to observe and learn. This is a practice you can do on and off the mat.

Satya is one of the Yamas, or moral codes, in yoga. On the surface it means truthfulness. But it also means to observe your reality, your current situation, without judgment. What kind of differences do you find in your body? Are there any movement or postural patterns that could contribute to those differences?

Understanding imbalances increases your awareness.

Below are several ways to start to identify any differences between the sides of your body. Try them out and mentally note how it feels on each side.

#1 Start with your breath

Listen to your breath and notice how it feels as you inhale and exhale. You can do this for 1 minute or longer if you like.

1. Sit tall or lie down.

2. Close your eyes.

3. As you breathe in and out of your nose notice:

   • Are the inhale and exhale smooth, or is one a little rough? I often say it feels like it catches when it’s rough.

   • Is one longer than the other?

   • As you inhale do both sides of your body do the same movement or do you feel it more on one side?

4. If your inhale or exhale is shorter then you could choose to lengthen it for a few breaths.

#2 Spinal mobility

Our spine is capable of different movements, including flexion (picture a sit-up) and extension (backbending). A great way to feel how your spine moves is in cat/cow.

1. Come to your hands and knees.

2. Hands under your shoulders or just in front of them.

3. Press your palms into the ground.

4. As you inhale let your belly drop and your gaze can lift slightly (extension).

5. As you exhale reach your belly toward the sky and your head drops (flexion).

6. Repeat 5-10 times using your breath.

   ** These movements can be small ones.

   ** Notice the sensations you feel as you move.

   ** If you spend a lot of time sitting then spinal extension (dropping the belly) might feel really good.

#3 Arm in front to birddog

A great way to notice differences between arm and shoulder strength is to reach one arm at a time.

1. Start on your hands and knees.

2. Hands under your shoulders or just in front of them.

3. Press your palms into the ground.

4. Keep pressing the left hand down and inhale your right arm forward – thumb up.

5. Keep your ear in line with your upper arm so you don’t drop your head. No forward heads here.

6. Now reach your left leg back.

   • Keep the ball of the foot on the mat or

   • Lift the foot, flex the foot by reaching the heel back. Toes pointed down toward the floor.

7. Breathe here for 5-10 breaths.

8. Keep pressing into the left hand so you don’t sink in the shoulder and not use certain muscles.

9. On an exhale lower arm and leg back down.

10. Repeat on the other side.

• Both of your arms are working and engaging important shoulder stabilizers, including your rhomboids, rotator cuff muscles, serratus anterior, and middle to lower trapezius.

• When your leg is lifted you are also engaging your glutes and back muscles (erector spinae).

• Your front abdominals are also working here.

#4 Side body stretch

A side-body stretch, called lateral flexion, can be affected by repetitive movements. And it can feel so good to stretch sideways.

1. Start on your hands and knees.

2. Hands under your shoulders or just in front of them.

3. Press your palms into the ground.

4. Shift your weight into your left hand and knee.

5. Lift your right hip skyward as you reach your right leg back, foot on the ground.

6. Inhale as you reach your right arm up, then overhead.

7. Notice how it feels from your fingertips to your foot. Hopefully, you’re feeling a nice side-body stretch.

8. Breathe here for 5-10 breaths.

9. Repeat on the other side.

#5 Lunge on knee

If you spend a lot of time sitting then your hip flexors and hips could feel very tight. And the right side might feel very different from the left.

1. Start on your hands and knees.

2. Bring your right foot forward. Have the shin straight up and down.

3. Inhale and raise your torso up, placing your hands on your hips.

4. Keep your right hip reaching back, but keep your right knee over your ankle (it’s a balance).

5. Flatten your navel toward your spine.

6. Notice how it feels on the front of your left hip.

7. Breathe here for 5-10 breaths.

8. Repeat on the other side.

• You can have the back knee under your hip or behind it. It depends on your knee and also how tight the hip flexors are.

#6 Tadasana

Mountain pose, tadasana, is a great way to notice how your body “sits” when you stand.

1. Stand up tall and place your feet under your hips.

2. Look at your feet – what do you see?

   • Does one foot naturally turn out?

   • Are you gripping your toes?

3. Look at your knees.

   • Do they point in the same direction?

   • Are you leaning more weight into one foot?

4. Is the weight forward into the toes more than the heels?

Let’s see if we can even things out.

1. Face your toes forward – have your big toes a little closer than your heels.

2. Lift your toes, spread them, and then set them down. I often use my hands to assist with this.

3. Evenly press into both feet.

4. Have a little more weight into the heels, imagine you’re grounding down through the center of your heel.

5. Keep the center of the kneecap pointing between the 2nd and 3rd toes.

6. Make sure your shoulders are over your hips.

7. Breathe here for 10 breaths and notice how it feels. If you had to make a lot of adjustments then this could feel really different.

* Try to bring more awareness to how you stand throughout your day. You may be surprised at your tendencies.

#7 Balance

Balancing on one leg is one of the best ways to not only strengthen muscles but also highlight imbalances between your right and left side.

1. Stand in tadasana.

2. Make any necessary adjustments from above.

3. Shift your weight into your left leg. Ground into your heel, it helps to hug in the outer hip. Don’t grip with the toes.

4. Keep your navel flattening toward your spine and your shoulders over your hips.

5. Inhale and lift your right knee.

6. Breathe here for 10 breaths and notice how stable you feel.

   • Notice how your standing leg feels.

   • Notice how high you lift the right knee.

7. Repeat on the other side.

Your regular movement patterns and postural habits impact your body over time. Take the time to bring more awareness into your body.

Did you discover any imbalances? Comment below!