That’s what the yoga instructor said as he called my name in class, “puff your kidneys!” I am still capable of quipping back in a New York minute - “say WHAT?”

Developing a heightened sense of where your kishkas are may come after many years of yoga practice and study, but that instruction had me puzzled for the rest of the class. It’s not the first time I’ve heard it in an Anusara class either, so I’m guessing it’s part of the language learned by all Anusara instructors.

The instructor was kind enough to come over and place his hand on my back but I still wasn’t able to fulfill his idea of a proper “puff”!

I’ve just spent the past two weeks writing instructions for yoga sequences so I know how difficult it is to choose the words that will help, and not hinder, a yoga student’s understanding of the posture. But when you get into internal organs, most people barely know which side their appendix is on, never mind their spleen, gall bladder or kidneys. And part of this may be because really we need a 3-dimensional point of view to understand their positioning instead of just front and back which is what we’re reduced to in our limited vocabulary.
So although I also frequently call on the organs during final relaxation (more for the sake of naming and creating awareness of their function); I’m not sure what to make of this language, including “lifting the heart” (closest I can see it means “puffing” the chest!) - another popular one in Anusara Yoga. And I won’t even mention (again) the spiraling thighs! I can almost see a whole cartoon animation series illustrating these instructions - but on a human body, I don’t know…

Tags: anusara yoga, kidneys, yoga practice, yoga poses