• Contour the hip bones around and in towards each other, condensing the front of the abdominal wall.
• Expand the inner surface of the pelvis outwards to support the body.
• When twisting, keep the hip bone of the side you are twisting towards contouring in as much as the the other one.
• Allow the two pelvic halves to be separate from the tail and the sacrum and move them onto the legs.

• As you contour the hip bones in towards each other, also connect the sitting bones forward. Depending on the pose, this might mean connecting the front of the sitting bone towards the heel (standing poses), or towards the knee (seated poses).
• Connecting the sitting bones forward does not mean tucking under. To make this clear in your body, keep the tail moving back freely away from the sitting bones so that it can remain connected to the sacrum and to the head.

Contouring the Hip Bones and the Sitting Bones

Shavasana (Corpse Pose)

• Come into the pose flat on the floor with a blanket under the head.
• Rest here for several minutes completely releasing the body into the support of the floor and the blanket.
• Become aware of the contours of the body: the arms, the legs, the torso, the neck and head.
• Become aware of the volume inside those contours.
• Become aware of the mass and density of that volume.
• Become aware of the weight of that volume and allow that weight to settle into the floor.
• Turn your attention to the pelvis and become aware of the contours, the volume, the density and the weight of the pelvis and its contents, allowing them also to settle.
• Imagine that the sitting bones had two strings connected to them that gently draw the sitting bones up towards the ceiling. Allow this to be no more than a thought.
• Imagine that there was an elastic band connecting the two hip bones together, drawing the in towards each other.

• Some into a simple resting position with the knees up and the feet flat on the floor.
• Take a few moments to allow the feet to settle into the floor.
• Allow the backs of the knees to fold up towards the ceiling and the hip creases to fold down towards the floor.
• Create a sense of separation between the pelvis and the legs at the hip.

• Pick one knee up at a time, lifting the foot a few inches off the floor, and place it back down. Allow the thigh to hinge at the hip as you lift the leg. Alternate from side to side.
• Stabilize the pelvis by contouring the hip bones in towards each other. You might find as you lift and place the feet that the pelvis rocks forward and back. You might also find that it tilts from side to side. Keep the pelvis level and unmoving from the contouring in of the hip bones, while keeping the inner pelvis soft and expansive.

• After doing the above for a few minutes, place the feet flat on the floor.
• Sway the knees from side to side, slowly making the movements larger and larger until the pelvis turns.
• As you sway, keep the feet on the floor, rolling from inner edge to outer and back.
• Do each of the following for a minute or two, until you feel you have the movement firmly established. In each of these the initiation is coming from some place other than the legs, so keep them heavy. Let them be the resistance against which you are working.

1. Take the knees to the side by initiating the movement in the hip bone. To take the hip bone to the right, turn the left hip bone across the body and down towards the floor. Bring the knees back by rolling the feet.
2. Take the knees to the side by initiating from the hip bone. Bring the knees back to the center by rolling the lower hip bone back up. Imagine that you are passing a ball back and forth from hip bone to hip bone.
3. Take the knees to the side by initiating from the hip bone. Bring the legs back by turning the tail and sacrum back up to the ceiling. Take care not to tuck as you do this. Keep the tailbone free of the sitting bones, releasing with the sacrum towards the floor.

• Place the hands flat on the floor on either side of the feet, the fingers in line with the toes.
• If you are unable to get the heel of the hand all the way down on the floor, put your hands on blocks.