I have been trying to do a proper plank , but it seems that my scapula is over contracted and the pose does not seems to be right.
can anyone advise if i am doing it right?
Cass,
It’s great that you’ve sent a photo of yourself - super helpful.
Your legs look strong and your stance long enough. I can see where you’d be feeling restricted in the shoulders. Try the following steps. It would be helpful for you to do this alignment on your hands and knees first before applying it in plank so you’re not working as hard while learning.
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With your inhale lengthen from your hips to your armpits so your side body gets longer and your back feels full and lifted.
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Open your throat by lifting your chin just enough so your head feels balanced and you have the natural curve in your neck. Notice in this photo that your head is dropped.
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Keeping your side waist back (mid back full) and arms strong, soften your heart toward the floor so the head of the armbones come back and your shoulder blades come more on your back.
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Keeping the thighs lifted (they look pretty good here) scoop your tail bone just enough that you feel your lower abs tone. By doing this your core will be more integrated and help you out in the pose more fully.
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Keeping this alignment, from your pelvis extend out through your legs and from your pelvis out through your heart, through the crown of your head, and down through your arms. Once you’ve done the previous alignment this extension makes the pose feel more balanced so it isn’t over contracted, and it’s where you can really feel the full expression of the pose shine.
Let me know if this helps! 
Dear Katrina ,
Thanks for the advise and information. I will try out and post another photo here and see if i got it right.
Sometimes . a simple pose , it takes time and effort to master it.
Love and peace.
cass
Cass,
“Sometimes . a simple pose , it takes time and effort to master it.”
Wise words you’ve written here.
One of the things I love about yoga is how you can continue going into the simple poses to find the most amazing insights, both physically and on other levels. When you can come from the perspective of a beginner’s mind, you can find something fresh in you thousandth downward dog or cobra.
When we penetrate one thing, such as these foundational postures, with enough sensitivity, awareness, and skill, it can become the doorway to a whole new experience.
I look forward to hearing your feedback on how you do with the new alignment.
Hello Cass,
When viewed by a well trained yoga teacher the pose is looked at in three planes represented by the x, y, and z axes. Your photo gives me only one and that would allow me to comment at a rate of about 33%. A third of an answer is not much of an answer.
Furthermore, the task of a teacher is to move students toward the aligned expression of the pose. This presumes an alignment-based practice as I cannot speak for others. The task is not to perfect the pose, per se. So I would use care in making a myriad of adjustments without feeling any one of them at all.
As though this is not enough, seeing a student in only one pose would be like asking you one math question then concluding you can’t do algebra. Far more information needs to be taken in by the eyes of a teacher in order to accurately assess the particular adjustments suited to you.
That having been said, it is apparent that some bits of you are out of the line of the pose. That line, in one dimension, runs from the heels, ankle bones, knees, greater trochanter, spine, shoulders…up through the crown of the head.
gordon
Hi Gordon ,
When i demonstrate this pose during our ttc class, the teacher did not comment much and to her i am okay. But , one of my classmate commented that my pose is wrong as we were comparing it with what is shown on yoga books. So , i tend question my self if i am really out of alignment or is just my scapular are huge making it over contracted?
i will try on again on this pose and post it again and show u guys if i have got it right.
Thanks for sharing
love and peace.
cass
Gordon, you make an excellent point - to fully asses the alignment of a pose it is necessary to see the big picture of the pose, and have multiple angles to observe subtleties.
At the same time, it is possible to see apparent misalignments in one photo, though to be sure of them you would need more visual and possibly verbal information.
The alignment suggestions I posted describe how I would verbally instruct someone into an aligned plank pose according to the alignment I practice and teach. There are many ways to approach an aligned expression of a pose. This is simply one that may take you there.
The other thing I would like to add is that, rather than thinking of a pose as ‘proper’ or ‘wrong’ I personally would prefer to look at it as one version of the pose which has strengths and places to enhance like any pose. I always find it helpful to remind myself that it is a practice and each pose is constantly evolving with each refinement and breath.
To me you are okay too!
Not everything needs to be micro-fiddled. Safety issues need to be addressed first. Will there be time in the pose for more than that? It simply depends.
I don’t know your teacher but I suspect there were motives for not addressing what was not addressed AND for addressing what was addressed.
The attachment to a right and wrong pose, or a right and wrong yoga, or a right and wrong diet is merely an ego manifestation toward dogma. And, obviously, yoga does not include such things. In fact yoga strides assertively in the opposite direction. So please, while working forward toward the posture you see, allow the sutures of your cranial bones to flex and accept (santosha) that there are other possibilities.
But I look forward to another photo. Fun stuff!!
gordon
[QUOTE=cass;23164]Hi Gordon ,
When i demonstrate this pose during our ttc class, the teacher did not comment much and to her i am okay. But , one of my classmate commented that my pose is wrong as we were comparing it with what is shown on yoga books. So , i tend question my self if i am really out of alignment or is just my scapular are huge making it over contracted?
i will try on again on this pose and post it again and show u guys if i have got it right.
Thanks for sharing
love and peace.
cass[/QUOTE]
Hi Gordon,
This is for u
Namaste