Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Anatomy Studies for Yoga Teachers!!!!!

I was taking a break from the blog while I completed the 108-hour Anatomy Studies for Yoga Teachers certification with Jason Brown.  It was awesome!

First we studied the bones and joints, then the muscles and their roles. The final component was a week-long intensive where we analyzed poses from an anatomical perspective to figure out where strength or flexibility is needed and how to facilitate that in the poses. We also discussed the potential benefits from a musculo-skeletal perspective, skillful alignment,  as well as alignment issues that might arise and how to approach those challenges in class. This last week brought everything together beautifully and I feel like my understanding has shifted from black and white 2D to 3D HD.  Instead of just regurgitating poses as I was taught to - I can now confidently analyze what is going on in the body for each pose and use that understanding to build a sequence that makes a whole lot of sense.

I am proud that I completed this course. It is indispensable and I highly recommend  it to any movement professional. In fact I think it should be a requirement!

I am looking forward to returning to the Iyengar sequences to see how this new perspective will affect my experience and understanding of them. Here's to anatomy! Thank you Jason!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an amazing shift. What a great example of knowledge making a difference to your understanding, and then it being applied. This is so neat. I'm just reminded how limited our understanding is, generally, of our bodies, unless we seek it out and self-educate. You're a true yogi!

ariana said...

Thanks! Yes - generally our knowledge of our bodies is so limited. Wouldn't it be great if anatomy was part of our core academic curriculum?

The Domestic Yogi said...

Amazing! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to hear more about how this plays out in your teaching and practice!

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Unknown said...

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