Yoga Cues I Don’t Use Anymore (And Why I Ditched Them)

Whether you're a yoga teacher or a student, chances are you've heard, or said, something like, “I’m here to guide you through your practice,” or “Thank you for letting me guide you today.” It’s a lovely sentiment, and a good reminder that teaching yoga is more about offering direction than barking orders.

Cues should support each student’s own experience, not force their body into someone else’s blueprint.

Some cues land right away. They make sense, feel good, and help bodies move into shapes with ease. Others… well, they get repeated like lines in a play. You memorize them in teacher training and never challenge them with a beginner’s mind.

Then one day, mid-class, it hits you as you word vomit the direction that you’ve repeated in all of your classes, “Now swan dive towards the floor...”

“Wait... how the heck does a swan dive?”

Here are a few yoga cues I’ve happily retired, and why I stopped using them.

Retired Cue #1: “Pull your shoulder blades down your back”

Nearly every time a teacher cues a pose with arms overhead, you will hear something like, “Now, pull your shoulder blades down your back.”

Raise your hand if you’ve heard this one in Warrior I or High Lunge. Keep your hand up and throw the other one up there too! Where are your shoulder blades?

When you lift your arms overhead, your scapulae naturally rotate upward and slightly elevate. That’s your body doing exactly what it needs to do to access full range of motion! Forcing the opposite action (pulling them down), can restrict movement and, over time, create tension in the neck or impingement in the rotator cuff.

What you might be seeing in class is a tensing or shrugging action (aka “turtle-neck”). Instead of cueing against the body’s natural pattern, you could switch to:
“Relax the sides of your neck,” or “Find space between your ears and shoulders, relaxing your traps.”
Way clearer, way kinder.

Retired Cue #2: “Front shin parallel to the front of the mat”

A standard pigeon pose cue, this one makes sense in theory because a parallel shin can deepen the stretch in the outer hip, glutes, and piriformis. But it assumes everyone’s hip structure is the same, which…it’s not!

Trying to square the hips and keep the shin parallel can jam the hip joint, stress the SI joint, and torque the knee.

Instead, bring the foot closer to the groin, let the knee widen to align outside the shoulder, and support the front hip with a block or blanket (if it’s hovering above your mat). By both supporting and keeping the hips squared, you also stretch the back-leg hip flexor. Double win!

Retired Cue #3: “Wrap your back hip forward”

In Warrior I, this cue sounds helpful, but actually feels awkward in most bodies. With your back foot turned out at about 45 degrees, your pelvis wants to open slightly. Fighting that natural movement just causes frustration and, often, the back heel to lift creating an awkward, unnecessary pressure on the back knee.

Instead, root through the back heel, internally rotate your back inner thigh, and allow the pelvis to be where it is. The twist to square your body towards the front? It comes from the ribcage, and the cue becomes: “Wrap your back ribs forward.” Way more accurate and efficient.

Retired Cue #4: “Stack the top hip over the bottom hip.”

In Triangle pose, this sounds precise, but often leads to students yanking their top hip way too far open and straining the groin. A better idea? Let the top hip slightly rotate down towards the mat.

The rotation doesn’t need to come from the pelvis, it should come from the thoracic spine. Think: “Shine your chest toward the side wall.” Still Triangle, just less geometry-wizard, more feel-good flow.

Teaching yoga is a learning journey for everyone. The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. Or maybe that’s just me!! The more you practice or watch your students, the more you realize some cues sound lovely but don’t feel lovely.

Ditching them doesn’t make you an imposter, it means you’re paying attention. And honestly, that’s the best cue of all.

Curious about both new and outdated cues? Then you’ll love my No Bullshit Yoga Pose Library: 90+ yoga poses broken down with clear alignment tips and real-world modifications for all bodies and levels. Perfect for anyone, teachers and students, wanting to either deepen or refresh their practice!