Is your movement practice contributing to a flat booty?
Yoga is an ancient practice revered for its ability to enhance flexibility, strength, and mental clarity. However, while it’s widely celebrated for its physical benefits, it's important to acknowledge that yoga, as we know it today, has its roots in a time when it was predominantly (eh, exclusively) developed by men. As a result, the postures and movements, originally designed for male anatomy and biomechanics, may inadvertently contribute to issues like posterior pelvic tilt (PPT), especially in women.
The Gendered Origins of Yoga
Yoga originated in ancient India, where it was primarily practiced by male ascetics and sages. The physical postures (asanas) were designed to promote flexibility and strength for seated meditation and spiritual practice. These movements were based on male bodies, which fundamentally have different proportions, strength distributions, and pelvic alignments than female bodies, as well as different physiological and biochemical considerations than female bodies.
In modern times, yoga has been adapted and marketed for a global audience, with women becoming the dominant demographic in many yoga classes. However, the foundational principles and poses largely still reflect male body mechanics. For women, this can be catastrophic to health at worst - contribute to painful and harmful movements patterns (such as what I like to call, flat butt syndrome) at best. Even if you feel amazing after your yoga practice due to all of the nervous system benefits, it’s important to consider whether your practice has longevity - that is, whether you’ll still be feeling this great after practicing every day for a year, or five, or ten.
We’d like to point out that yoga is not the only culprit here - since almost everything we are taught about anatomy and physiology is based on the male body, we see dysfunctional movement patterns in other movement practices too: barre, pilates, and spin, to name a few. What’s worse - these movement styles are marketed almost exclusively to women, without any investigation into whether their anatomical cues and physical movements may have a long-term impact on female pelvic health.
Posterior pelvic tilt occurs when the pelvis tilts backward, causing the lower spine to flatten and the glutes to tuck under. The “Deep Six” musculature of the pelvis may become chronically “tight” or locked short. The end result is a weakened core, weakened pelvic floor, and weakened glutes - all of which may be both weak and “tight,” paradoxically. In yoga, this misalignment can be exacerbated in several ways:
1. Overemphasis on Hamstring Flexibility: Many yoga poses—such as Forward Fold (Uttanasana) or Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)—place significant strain on the hamstrings. For women, who often have longer femurs and shorter torsos, deep hamstring stretches can pull the pelvis into a posterior tilt, especially if the pelvis is not properly aligned during the stretch.
2. Sitting Postures: Traditional seated poses like Lotus (Padmasana) and Easy Pose (Sukhasana) are often assumed with the legs crossed. These poses, designed for men’s body proportions, can lead to a rounding of the lower back, encouraging posterior pelvic tilt, particularly when the hip flexors are tight or when the pelvis is already tilted backward.
3. Core Engagement Without Hip Awareness: Many yoga practices emphasize core engagement to strengthen the abdominals and support the lower back. How many times have you heard the phrases, “tuck your tailbone”, “engage your glutes”, or “move your pubic bone up” in your yoga, movement, or fitness class? (Yes - yoga isn’t the only culprit here! These cues are also popular in barre, pilates, and other modern fitness styles). While core strength is important, improper engagement (especially without attention to pelvic positioning) can result in an exaggerated posterior tilt. Women’s pelvic anatomy is more prone to this due to differences in the shape of the pelvis, which can make certain core-strengthening poses less effective without proper adjustments.
The Potential Consequences of Posterior Pelvic Tilt
When the pelvis is in a posterior tilt for extended periods—whether due to poor alignment in yoga or other daily habits—it can lead to a variety of issues, including:
- Chronic Lower Back Pain: The flattening of the lumbar spine can put undue pressure on the intervertebral discs, leading to discomfort and pain.
- Hip Dysfunction: A tilted pelvis can affect the alignment of the hips and hip flexors, leading to tightness, weakness, or even injury. Hip surgeries (along with shoulder surgeries) are one of the most common surgeries among lifelong yoga practitioners.
- Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: Over time, a posteriorly tilted pelvis can place strain on the pelvic floor muscles, potentially leading to urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse. More subtle red flags that you may be practicing unsupportive pelvic movement patterns include: endometriosis, painful periods, sexual dysfunction or inability to orgasm, hernias, fertility issues, and more.
- Increased Risk of Injury: A misaligned pelvis reduces overall body stability, increasing the risk of joint and ligament injuries, particularly in dynamic yoga poses or high-impact activities.
Not only are these movement patterns potentially painful and harmful for your body - we can SEE them in how our body is shaped! If you exercise frequently and pay attention to strengthening your core and gluteals, but you are frustrated when it seems as though your low back and your bum are one continuous flatline, you may want to explore how your choices in movement styles are contributing to functional or dysfunctional pelvic movement patterns.
How to Modify Yoga Practice for Pelvic Health
While yoga can undoubtedly offer tremendous benefits, it’s important to modify certain poses and approaches to better suit female anatomy and prevent issues like posterior pelvic tilt. Here are a few tips for maintaining pelvic health while practicing yoga:
1. Focus on Pelvic Alignment
2. Strengthen the Glutes and Hip Flexors (correctly!)
3. Avoid Overstretching the Hamstrings
4. Incorporate Pelvic Floor Awareness
5. Practice UPRISE - a signature class designed to give you all of the mind-body benefits of a yoga and fitness class but created with particular attention to improving women’s pelvic mobility and alignment!
The jury is in from our students - for many of them, after practicing years of traditional yoga and still experiencing low back pain so intense they may require steroid injections (along with other chronic pain conditions related to the pelvis, spine, hips, and knees) - practicing UPRISE and our signature styles of yoga classes has them feeling amazing in their bodies, more connected to their pelvic floors, and more aware of how to properly stretch and strengthen. Plus, no more flat booties.