Boat PoseNAVASANABOAT POSE Our bodies are intelligent and adaptive, often finding ways to compensate when certain muscles are underused. Over time, these patterns can create imbalances, leaving some muscles overdeveloped and others neglected. In yoga, one area often...
Build Towards A Bind
Build Towards A Bind
MOBILITY
BUILD TOWARDS A BIND
I remember watching a clip on Matt’s Instagram years ago, breaking down how to achieve the bind in Side Angle. At the time, I was chasing the bind the only way I knew how—by trying to get “more open.” I thought the key was in pushing further, straining deeper. But every time I tried to force it, I could feel my body resisting and the potential for injury growing. Then Matt said something that stopped me: “Internally rotate to get under the leg first, bind, and then open the chest.” Internally rotate? It felt so backward. But I gave it a try. And it worked—immediately. I was hooked. That single shift reshaped everything. That’s the beauty of Chromatic Yoga—it’s not about chasing flexibility but cultivating clarity, structure, and progressive strength. When we build towards a bind, it’s not about forcing. It’s about strategizing. It’s about understanding.
SCORPION 2-HOUR ONLINE WORKSHOP
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
- Learn how to access pain-free heart openers
- Shoulder Alignment, Bio-Mechanics Strength & Mobility
- Wrist Strength & Health
- Technique-infused 2-hour workshop
- Step-by-step tutorials for each heart opener
- Decrease low back discomfort
- Increase spinal strength, stability, and support
- Injury Awareness: Avoiding spinal compression
- Debunk popular alignment with anatomy knowledge
- Skillfully guided sequence by the founder of Chromatic Yoga, Matt Giordano
- ON DEMAND: Available immediately, lifetime access
CHROMATIC YOGA
Chromatic Yoga is not a style—it’s an intelligent system rooted in education and exploration. It’s designed to help us move through the practice step by step, anchored by awareness and strategy. When we build towards a bind, or any posture really, it’s the clarity of process that takes us there. Matt’s approach is inspired by the Koshas—the five layers of self. It’s a reminder that we’re not just muscles and bones, but energy, breath, intellect, and spirit too. By understanding and differentiating these layers, we can direct our energy and attention with precision. Our intellect—our buddhi—benefits from breaking things down into digestible steps. We learn to ask the right questions, to discern between physical challenge and mental resistance. This way, we move inward with purpose. When we explore a bind, we do it from the inside out—layer by layer, building both body and insight.
FORWARD FOLD SHOULDER DRILL
Matt opens the practice with a Forward Fold shoulder drill that begins the biomechanical journey toward a bind. While folded, we interlace the hands behind the back, initiating internal rotation in the shoulders. Pressing the thumbs together activates the rotator muscles and teaches the body coordination between internal and external movement. As we retract the shoulder blades and straighten the elbows, gravity helps draw the arms toward the ground, but we don’t surrender entirely—we press into the thumb side of the hand for isometric engagement. Coming to stand while keeping the arms lifted above the buttocks, we move dynamically between forward fold and upright chest expansion. This alternation wires the neuromuscular system to support a bind without passivity. The triceps, rear deltoids, and even the rhomboids come online. Strength, not just openness, becomes our guide. It’s a powerful, foundational step as we build towards a bind with stability.
WATCH THE VIDEO
BUILD TOWARDS A BIND: MOVE FROM PROCESS TO POTENTIAL
WHAT IF THERE’S TOO MUCH RESTRICTION?
When we explore Humble Warrior, the bind-like position behind the back can feel like a wall. For many of us, pressing the palms together isn’t accessible—and Matt explains why. Tightness in the anterior deltoids and pectoralis major may be the culprit, making it hard to broaden the chest enough to narrow the back body. But that doesn’t mean we’re blocked. Instead, we explore with a prop: a block placed between the hands behind the back. This increases the space between the arms, making the rotation accessible while still building strength and proprioception. As we squeeze the block, we learn the actions of the bind without forcing the shape. It’s a tool for re-patterning. Restriction isn’t the end of the road—it’s the beginning of better inquiry. Each adjustment and prop is an invitation to explore smarter, so we can safely build towards a bind, even in a modified form.
200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING
GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE
- Deepen your yoga practice
- Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
- Learn foundational class structures and templates
- Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
- Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
- Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program
BOUND SIDE ANGLE
Now we’re ready to integrate the full mechanics of the bind. Matt demonstrates that the key to Bound Side Angle is starting with internal rotation in both arms. The lower we get, the more accessible the connection becomes. The front shoulder dips under the thigh, and the hand reaches around to the lower back. With that arm in place, the opposite hand finds the wrist or fingertips. Once the grip is secured, the pose evolves. We press down through the heel, initiate rotation through the pelvis and spine, and expand into the full external rotation of the upper body. Opening happens from the inside. Rather than forcing the shape, we flow through intelligent transitions. The bind becomes a result, not the goal. When we build towards a bind with sequencing, strength, and patience, we gain a deeper sense of embodiment and ease—fueled not by flexibility alone, but by integration and intention.
300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING
GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER
Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!
- Get 500 hour certified
- Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
- Expand your teaching skills
- Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
- Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
- Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang
PLAN, PROCESS, PREVAIL
To build towards a bind is to plan, process, and prevail. Our plan begins with curiosity and information—learning about our bodies, gathering tools, and choosing our path. The process is where transformation lives: in drills, props, setbacks, and moments of insight. Sometimes the route we imagine isn’t the one that leads us to the bind—but that detour teaches us more than we expected. And prevailing? It’s not just about the clasp of the hands. It’s about choosing an approach that helps us move better, feel stronger, and understand our bodies with greater clarity. For me, it started with letting go of force and embracing internal rotation. That unexpected step back became a leap forward. When we commit to the plan, lean into the process, and trust ourselves enough to pivot when needed—we always prevail. Not just in the pose, but in our connection to practice, presence, and personal growth.
Take advantage and participate in the unfolding of the Chromatic process in Matt’s upcoming Scorpion 2-Hour Online Workshop.
The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date
The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date
Article by Trish Curling
Video Extracted From: Chromatic Yoga 15 Hour Online Immersion
ONLINE ANATOMY COURSE
- Accessible, exciting, and easy to learn
- Anatomy and biomechanics for yoga
- Appropriate for both teachers and students
- Learn joint alignment vs pose alignment
- Demystify yoga poses and transitions
- Release aches and pains
- Learn how to avoid common injuries
- Caters to all levels with modifications and props
- 20 hours Continued Education Credits with Yoga Alliance
- 20 hours toward Chromatic Yoga Certification and 300 Hour
- Lifetime access
Continue Learning
Boat Pose
read more
Scorpion Pose Evolution
Scorpion Pose EvolutionVRISCHIKASANASCORPION POSE EVOLUTION Scorpion Pose, whether practiced in Pincha Mayurasana or in a handstand, blends a backbend with inversion control. It calls for deep opening through the front body, from rib cage to hip flexors and...
Side Crow Strategy
Side Crow StrategyPARSVA BAKASANASIDE CROW STRATEGY When we step onto the yoga mat with a strategy, we open ourselves up to a practice that’s both intelligent and transformational. Side Crow is one of those postures that calls for a clear plan, one that breaks down...
Build Towards A Bind
Build Towards A BindMOBILITYBUILD TOWARDS A BIND I remember watching a clip on Matt’s Instagram years ago, breaking down how to achieve the bind in Side Angle. At the time, I was chasing the bind the only way I knew how—by trying to get “more open.” I thought the key...
Strong Hands For Handstand
Strong Hands For HandstandSTABILITYSTRONG HANDS FOR HANDSTAND When it comes to building strength for handstand, it starts at the base: our hands. Developing strong hands means targeting the wrist flexors, the very muscles that help create a trustworthy foundation....
Handstand Actions
Handstand ActionsLEAN, GRIP, PUSHHANDSTAND ACTIONS Handstand isn’t something we conquer in a single class, it’s a layered process that demands repetition and refinement. There are certain key handstand actions that are non-negotiable: lifting the shoulders up to the...
THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK
When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to
- the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
- exclusive online course discounts
- exclusive blogs and videos
