I’ll be brutally honest with you: when I did my first yoga teacher training, I didn’t understand the mandatory anatomy part. At all. For three long, painful days, I tried to concentrate really hard and write down everything the teacher was talking about, but to me it was a mountain of information in a foreign language (Latin! Even harder than Sanskrit!) that seemed overwhelmingly, impossibly vast. I have clear memories of muttering to myself, “Come on, Sarah, focus! You need to get this!” but to little avail. When, as a fully-fledged yoga teacher a few months later, someone asked me about their IT band, my stare was just this side of blank.
Anatomy and Accessibility
I felt badly about how little I knew, and guilty that I couldn’t do more for the students who had paid money for my teaching ‘skills.’ It motivated me to study on my own, so that I could better answer students’ questions and perhaps actually offer some guidance as to how to modify poses or take care of their bodies. The more I worked at it, the more all the pieces began to fit together into the shape of the human body. (But let’s be clear: this is a process that has taken several years, that is still ongoing, and that I expect will continue for the lifetime of my teaching career.)
I began to take more seriously the concept of “first, do no harm,” and recognize that not all poses fit on the myriad body types that come to class. I believe the real skill of a teacher lies not in how gymnastic their own practice is, but in their ability to give everyone something to do. “Just don’t do this pose,” has got to be the most frustrating thing for a student to hear, especially if they’ve come to class with special needs or an injury and are hoping you can help them.
Safety First
Speaking of injuries: did you know that over 5500 yoga-related injuries were reported in the United States in 2007? Given that statistic is almost five years old, I bet the number has grown since then (and I bet there are even more unreported ones). And here’s this gem from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons website: “Common yoga injuries include repetitive strain to and overstretching of the neck, shoulders, spine, legs and knees.” Isn’t that just pretty much your whole body at risk? It’s vital, then, that as yoga teachers we truly understand what it is we are asking of the bodies that have given themselves over to our instruction, and we make informed decisions as to what those bodies should or should not do.
[With that said, there will always be the student that ignores your advice and does handstand on their rotator cuff injury. If you have clearly explained why that would be a bad idea, and they do it anyway, I’m of the belief that you’re not responsible for any negative outcome.]
Helping Your Students, Helping Yourself
Here’s the bonus: the more you know, the better teacher you become. You build a reputation as the teacher who is informed and educated, and your students have confidence in the choices you present to them for their practice (and they in turn become more educated about their own strengths and limitations). This confidence will broaden the community that you can reach (and believe me, they’ll start to seek you out!) and you may even find that you’re interested taking your newfound knowledge into populations with special needs. It’s also entirely possible that you’ll end up loving anatomy so much, you’ll morph into the kind of bona fide yoga dork that teaches anatomy to other yoga teachers!
Your Next Steps to Anatomical Fluency
- Review the list of upcoming Tune Up Fitness Trainings to help you broaden your anatomical fluency
- Join us for our MOVE BREATHE ROLL online classroom where the learning never ends.
- Try these myofascial release tools to empower your education and self-care journey
[Reprinted with kind permission from Teachasana.]
I absolutely believe that anyone who teaches a movement practice MUST learn at least the basics of anatomy. For me, it totally opened up the portal to “bona fide yoga dork” land and I really enjoy learning about the human body – in all its variations!
I had a really hard time understanding anatomy in my first teacher training too, and yet here I am well on my way to becoming a bona fide body nerd teaching it other teachers. I think part of why it was really hard to retain was because I’ve never been great at memorizing things and I’m super visual. I’ve started paying close attention to how people effectively teach anatomy in a way that can be more retained because its being understood rather than memorized.
One of the things I loved most about the Yoga Tune Up® Level 1 Teacher Training was the comprehensive anatomy part, especially since it was taught by none other than Laurel Beversdorf. As she told us, it’s not something you will get overnight, rather it requires repetition and studying a little bit every day. As teachers we must never stop being students.
The only class I failed in high school was Anatomy. Funny that this is the route I’ve take so many years later. Thank you for making anatomy less scary, overwhelming, and dare I say, fun? What an amazing teacher you are.
Wonderful article, that I believe, many can benefit from reading – student, and teacher alike. I can totally relate with this. A 110%! There was a time where I felt very confused, unaware, and uneducated about the human body (who knew there was so much going on to keep us functioning). It is so hard to learn the human anatomy over the course of a 200 hour yoga teacher training, there is just so much to cover! I agree that it is important to seek further education in human biomechanics, or find other ways to further knowledge of the human body. Once we begin to peel away the layers of knowledge we can become more confident, educated and trusting in how we practice, how we teach, or how we tend to others.
My first exposure to anatomy was in a 12th grade physical education class. I was fortunate enough to have a compassionate and inspirational teacher who’s teaching of movement allowed all body shapes and sizes to walk away feeling confident within their own tissues. I realized as I moved through University, teaching and coaching that this was not everyone’s experience. The importance of a positive experience in movement regardless of body type cannot be emphasized enough. As a Yoga-Tune Up teacher I pride myself in making modifications available. Modifications, designed by Yoga Tune Up and the ones I create allow my students to walk away from practice empowered and at ease with their experience. I thank you Miss Robson for being one of my Roll Models so many years ago. I feel gratitude for finding a place in the Yoga Tune Up community to continue my love and curiosity of learning human anatomy for the benefit of others.
So important! We often first learn as teachers that to teach a pose, we should teach a shape, and many teachers (including some very popular teachers!) teach that way their entire careers. But anatomy knowledge helps us understand that rather than putting our students into shapes, we are putting them into positions that can help them be in their bodies. And since their bodies are all different, the shapes will be different for each of them. (I think it’s so strange that this idea was once news to me!) Understanding how to read each student’s body as their personal map can give us the power to respond to them as the individuals they are.
Being a dancer my entire life I was very fortunate to have a sister who is a Physical Therapist and an Anatomy Teacher for college students. When I got to college and continued dancing and began taking yoga, I soon realized that I wanted to know how my body worked so I could use it properly. I’m so thankful every time I’m in class, that I have the education in anatomy that I do. I cringe when I have a teacher who clearly doesn’t know what he/she is talking about in respects to anatomy. That’s how people get seriously injured, and there are so many misconceptions about the human body.
Thank you Sarah for writing this great article! This is the very reason I decided to take the YTU Level 1 training. After I finished my yoga 200 hour teacher training I realized that I really didn’t learn enough about anatomy, I felt like something was missing from my new skill set. I had that same feeling, what if a student came to me about something that was going on in their body, I really didn’t have the understanding to know how to help. Now that I have gone through the YTU training I’m just starting to see how important this anatomy stuff is! The concept of “first do know harm” is so important, and I want to be the best teacher I can be. It is so true, the more you know, the better teacher you become.
Sara, I can totally relate to this blog. Even though I understand anatomy going through level one, its because I’m a massage therapist. But, I can say, I understand it so much more clear since taking a few days of level one training. I’m able to fully understand the relationship and limitation of our muscles and joints in yoga. I started my yoga teaching with the injured population. I just assumed that they couldn’t do many poses, so I was much more of a restorative practice. But with YTU and changing pose orientation, I feel like I can teach a whole new for of yoga! And your right, it lights a fire inside oneself and you want to continue to educate people on anatomy!
Thank you Sarah!!!! I felt exactly same after my first TT and 2 years down the line after Yoga Tune Up® level 1 training, everything has changed..Teaching has never been the same. ‘ I believe the real skill of a teacher lies not in how gymnastic their own practice is, but in their ability to give everyone something to do. ‘ resonates very much in my mind so it was a total pleasure reading this article. Brightened my day..Thank you..
I’m currently taking an anatomy course from Trina Altman. The course is giving me an honest interest to learn about anatomy; something that hasn’t been interesting to me at all before. I’ve been teaching for 2 years and a quote from our manual really resonated “As a teacher, being able to transmit not only the art but the science that underlies yoga…..” . When I read that I had that epiphany moment that said “It IS important for me to be able to speak intelligently about the muscles and sturctures of the body affected by the poses”.
Anatomy is amazing, but extremely difficult to understand from one teachers training. It definitely takes time, and a serious personal investment to begin to not only understand what the anatomy is, but how it works within individuals bodies and poses. I agree that the more you know the better teacher you become. I feel like I am currently beginning to experience that transformation within myself as I work through my Yoga Tune Up® Level 1 Certification.
Sarah touches on points that have felt very prominent to me throughout my TT so far. In addition, she instills knowledge throughout this article that I actually have been very fortunate to hear from teachers already. The relatable feelings include being overwhelmed by the influx of teachings and vocabulary that is being tossed around as well as the understanding of wanting to be prepared to teach others. What I like about this article is that it is realistic; it emphasizes that in order to be the best teacher you must start from within. As a teacher you are only going to be as prepared and knowledgeable as you want to be and this is dictated by how dedicated you are to being better each day. This is something that will continue to stay top of mind as I continue to my training.
Apparently, in hospital Emergency Rooms, yoga is found to be the number 1 culprit of ALL sports related injuries, even more than football & other aggressive sports. … Yes, you’re right. It’s not really yoga, it’s the ego or mis-information of those practioners who don’t listen to their bodies, & who press beyond their bodies’ healthful limits. This is exactly where Yoga Tune Up training is brilliant. The intriguing, inciteful, innovative ways to hone & nurture the body are completed by the ‘ahimsa’, non-harming charter of the lineage. Thank you, Sarah.
It’s essential for yoga instructors to know why we teach a certain pose and how does it affect our body anatomically. Our teachers have been telling us that downward facing dog is a resting pose, then we go out in the world and tell our students the same thing without hesitation, without research, without questioning. Anything has a power to heal, will also has a power to destroy one’s body. I wish we have learned more anatomy in teacher training so we would understood better the boundary of the body and directions of movement and why they’re important. The more I know, the more I know that I don’t know much. Just like Einstein put it “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
And when one realizes that life being a process of continuous learning as Sarah points out in her teaching, we realize that we are always learning in every moment of life.
Sometimes it is difficult to accept that one would be better off not doing a pose until a misalignment or unbalance is address is
a most difficult learning experience.
Hear! Hear! I could not agree with you more. I think it is imperative for yoga teachers to embark on an ongoing study of anatomy. Ongoing because it really never ends. The more I learn the more I realize I don’t know. But I am cool with that because what I have pieced together so far has informed how I teach. I actually love learning anatomy but I understand how it can be overwhelming for new teachers. I am trying to be extra sensitive to that as I create an anatomy curriculum for my first teacher training this winter. Wish me luck!
Your observations are right on Sarah. I walked out of my 200 hr Yoga Teaching Training feeling like I had just graduated kindergarden. That was almost three years ago. Since then I have completed an anatomy course at SMC, a 9 month comprehensive Pilates training, TRX certification and now my first Yoga Tune-up training. I now feel like I have officially graduated grade one!! The amount of anatomical knowledge still to be absorbed feels overwhelming sometimes but I know that in order for me to be the best teacher I can be, I need to keep pushing forward. As Jill said in our class this week “There is no summit, only the climb”.
I took my first anatomy class over 10 years ago and hated it. Since becoming certified to teach it is now something that inspires me to learn more. I started following yoga and fitness professionals who emphasis anatomy and biomechanics in their teachings. The more I learn the more I know I need to learn.
Thanks for this excellent post. So empowering and illuminating to dive into human anatomy. I suspect that the YTU training sankalpah “I am a student of my own body,” will stay with me for a lfietime.
Thanks for this honest and direct article about what so many of us eventually have to face; LEARNING. Rather than teaching because we think we (already) know, it is in understanding and honoring the humbleness of knowing we need to really learn about our bodies to be a responsible teacher that takes us to a higher level of sharing our expertise. And I love how you point out that learning anatomy is a continuous process, another metaphor then for the very practice of yoga itself. Due to a cervical herniation, I have been one of those students who was told, “just don’t do this” during a class. You’re right, not only is is frustrating and off putting, but I find it an easy way out for a teacher, hence, not one that I would seek out week after week. It is the teachers that anticipate modifications, know how to work around injuries, and look and listen to their students’ needs that are informed and prepared, and they can’t be those things without a solid knowledge of anatomy and how our bodies truly work.
You are amazing Sarah. I relate so much to this blog. I was lost during the anatomy portion of my ytt which was barely any information. I started teaching shortly after and noticed myself repeating a lot of what I’ve heard other teachers say in class. As I continued to find my own voice and figure out the teacher I wanted to become, I knew that not hurting people was my main goal. I started noticing that the teachers that I was gravitating towards and taking class from were anatomists and so knowledgeable about the body. The desire to have more anatomy training was haunting me. I kept searching for the best continuing education until I found YTU. YTU has changed my life. Not only as a teacher but also as a student. I never thought that I would love to learn anatomy as much as I do now. It is an ongoing process and I’m sure I’ll always have questions but I feel so much more confident to step in front of a group and teach them properly.
I have always been fascinated with anatomy, but not disciplined enough to sit down and teach myself. I am so lucky that the anatomy portion of yoga is built into the yoga training program. You bring it all to life, even though “the dead parts excite you”!
I have in just two days, learned an amazing amount, that I will continue to delve into and develop a better sense of as I go on this journey as teacher/ student. Even in the ball tune up exercise, as I practice my script aloud, it is so helpful to say the names of the muscles and tendons with a clear understanding of what is happening in the body.
I would much rather put my body into the hands of somebody with this knowledge, and I will not only seek the information the information as a student, but as a teacher. I would much rather not be saying elevate when it’s flex, or wow you should see a doctor cause I have no clue what that is, unless of course I really don’t know. But knowledge is going to be a key fundamental and the details have already expanded my view of Yoga as a practice.
Thank You Sarah! You are a true fundamental of this process. And my back still says, “Ha Ha”, because my partner thought I’d remember my Humerus this way!
Margo
It’s been a pleasure experiencing your passion and enthusiasm for anatomy this past week in Level 1 training. Seeing poses through directions of joint movements and agonist/antagonist muscles makes it so much easier for me to come up with intelligent sequences – which was a challenge for me in the past. It also really helps me understand how relevant Yoga Tune Up is to many more activities.
I love this post! Also, it’s reassuring to know that you were once at this place as well. I’m amazed by how much I’ve already learned in the Level 1 YTU training and am excited to continue on this journey. I can already see that this training will help me take both my teaching and my own practice to much deeper (and safer) levels! As a psychologist, I know that everything I say and do in a session should be guided by a treatment goal. Everything I do is an intervention for which I should be able to provide a thorough rationale based on sound scientific knowledge. I had an ‘aha’ moment in class today when I realized that teaching yoga is no different. It’s both exciting and humbling (and scary) to realize how much more there is to learn and to be on this journey! Thank you so much for being an ambassador for embodiment, safety and smart use of anatomy in yoga. Go Team Anatomy!
And this is why so many of us are being drawn to Yoga Tune Up. As more of the general population is practicing yoga and more people are choosing to become yoga teachers it becomes even more evident that teachers need to elevate the level of their anatomy, physiology, kinesiology and compensatory pattern understanding. As Jill might say, we need too “shine a light on our creepy posture”.
i just completed my yoga tune up week-end as part of my teacher training and I am blown away with the knowledge and information I received.. It was very intimidating at first and I thought I could not possibly get all this and what would I do with it? When I came home tonite and my fiancee complained about his pain on his shoulders and chest from playing tennis and I placed massage therapy balls under his rotator cuff and under his clavicle area and have him roll and watch him be amazed of the immediate relief he got.. This is why we need to learn anatomy and help our clients and be mindful of what their bodies need.. Thank you Maura for a wonderful class and thank youSarah Court for this great blog.
Taking my knowledge even further, I’m now finishing the level 1 training. After I read this blog, I realized that I commented on it already over 6 months ago when I was an embodied anatomy student with Trina. The more I learn, the more I know I want to learn more.
I was having a conversation late last year with another YTU teacher in which the general gist was that it is our job to empower our students with knowledge of their body and movement patterns. It is not our job to dumb it down, when our students hear anatomy terms they are more informed about how they want to live their lives, to give them any less is now no longer an option.
And this blog wraps up my week at the Level 1 YTU training – everything Sarah stated is exactly the tools and resources that Jill Miller has culminated into this training! It is all so motivating!
You are lucky that there was anatomy in your YTT. I came through teacher training at a time when there was no required anatomy training. I managed to piece together information on my own and through various teachers I have studied with over the years.
But truthfully, I am still a novice. I know some movements and body parts really, really well. However, the scope of my knowledge isn’t nearly enough and the learning curve is still steep. It’s daunting but I see how hard NOT having this information has made my job. My professional future depends on it. Thankfully I found YTU!
Oh sheeeeoooot! I’ve been in class working crucifix(both arms crossed in front the body) while laying on the belly and have been asked what it was stretching out,”the shoulder” I replied, “what part of the shoulder?” asked the student-I gave a similar blank stare to him not really knowing exactly what part of the shoulder it was that we were trying to affect. I had to sit in my body real quick and notice which part of my shoulder was feeling it-the posterior deltoid. I told him “the back of the shoulder” I felt like an ass… But that said, not every student or even the majority of students are coming to a yoga class to learn anatomy. I beat myself up over that class for a couple days and didn’t feel so hot coming into my class the next time. I had to realize that I wasn’t going to have all the answers-and I never will, that’s just how it’s going to be. Most importantly I had to be good with that…
I’m in my first teacher training, and luckily got a crash course in anatomy from some really amazing, awesome people. I didn’t quite understand why anatomy was so necessary, but now I can say it’s absolutely mandatory to understand what makes the body work, and how to make it a better body to live in. While the wealth of information I was given makes me feel a little discouraged (because there’s so much to know), it opened my eyes and makes me really excited and interested to learn more about the body. I even gave my boyfriend a massage recently, and before I had no idea what I was doing, but now that I know the bony landmarks and the muscles around them, I actually enjoyed giving a massage. It was as if I was feeling the muscles for the very first time. It was amazing! While I’m at the beginning of what will be an amazing journey in my life, I’m so thankful that there’s so many people out there who are increasing their knowledge to help my increase mine.
I posted earlier today on what I see in tens of thousands of people doing yoga every day in ways that put their body at risk. I appreciate the statistic on injuries. It is simply more evidence for what I observe. And while all YTT programs offer anatomy, my sense is that many pay lip service. While other professions that teach movement education also may not have the grounding in anatomy to fully understand and appreciate the risk that yoga can pose (not pun intended) if not done safely, we as YTU teachers owe it to the profession to advance the understanding of anatomy, not for knowledge sake but so that we can be more effective in what we do and in reducing injury or pain to our students.
It is heartening that many students ask me if I have a medical background or when my students who are osteopaths or physiotherapists, or massage therapists can really get excited about what I have just taught them in yoga. And I am beginning to see it doesn’t take much for students to understand the problems inherent with incorrect postural alignment or insufficient strength around particular joints. For example, most students can quickly grasp the potential problems that can arise from sitting at a computer for hours with hunched shoulders and poor hip and spine alignment. Once doesn’t have to get too technical for them to understand how their own alignment can improve with a modified approach to traditional yoga.
Thank you for your article Sarah. I am a yoga teacher, yoga alliance 500. So I had some anatomy in my 200 hour training (what I consider not nearly enough) and 5 days worth in my 500 hour training. The more I learned about anatomy the more I realized how little I knew! I considered myself a very safe teacher but soon realized that I was really lacking in the anatomy department and questioned how safe I really could be as a teacher. I was introduced by a friend and fellow yoga teacher to Yoga Tune Up, first in a workshop and then in a training module. Now I am finally taking the Anatomy module and I am so excited, thankful, curious, humbled and ready to soak it up. I can already feel how this is going to change my yoga and my teaching in an amazing way. I will be a better educated and safer teacher for it.
Well said Sara! We Have a responsibility to keep our students safe. I agree the 200hour trainings don’t even scratch the surface of the knowledge needed to keep ones body safe. YTU is the most accessible program I’ve come across for teachers to deepen their skills. I’m scared for those you have little body awareness and put so much trust into potentially unqualified teachers . Hopefully YTU is a step in the right direction for better regulation for yoga.
Great article! The first week of Level 1 training has past, and I believe anatomy is the hardest part. I felt I would never be able to understand and memorize all the details. After reading about your experiences, I feel more confident and persuaded that it is possible to learn anatomy and apply it to my practice. Thanks!
Nice article Sarah, there’s a lot if great points brought up and as Yoga teachers we really need to have an in depth understanding of anatomy which is a complex subject and sometimes like anything holds contradicting information. Like static stratchng vs dynamic and when should we be stretching and how often and also when have we stretched too far and now need to strengthen. I love YTU because of how it is an out of the box experience and includes so many dynamically stretching poses.
I’ve never been so thrilled to admit I don’t know as much as I thought! Being in the level 1 training this week, just 2 days in I realize that it’s not just about knowing the names of the often repeated, commonly cued bones/ joints/ muscles, but a comprehensive grasp, an ongoing thirst to learn, the why/what/hows of a pose, and the ability to find a modification that will help even the most limited student is so very important. Anatomy, after my first teacher training seemed to be a TON of information that I only digested part of, some by choice, some because I thought I could “get by” with what I knew. Wrong! I realize that knowledge is power, and applicable to my own practice and my students. Most importantly, knowing your anatomy will help give clues on how to more efficiently and specifically help someone heal… And that’s just awesome.
Thank you so much Sarah! I must admit when I first started teaching, I was caught off guard by how much I didn’t know. The YTU Embodied Anatomy has got me all dorked out with Anatomy and I can’t wait to be that geeky teacher for my students!!
The lesson I learned having just finished Jill’s Yoga Tune-up training is that continual growth is imperative to becoming the teacher that lives within us. Teaching is a dynamic state. How we teach in our first year may be completely different than how we teach in our second year. The anatomy basics and fundamental movements of the body we explored during our training will lead me toward a new and deeper level of teaching and expression. I know it will take time for all the teaching we encountered to truly become ingrained in my being and understanding, but I so look forward to embodying this knowledge and being able to incorporate this into the next part of my journey as a teacher.
Our body has been with us our entire life and most of us don’t know how or why we work. The complexity or our bodies are amazing. It is a very important job to educate our clients/students about what, where, why & how to help them be safe in their practice. I know I don’t always have the answers, but I do know where to look & then maybe incorporate that into the next time I work with them.
Knowledge of the human body is so important for any movement educator; this is the only way we can keep our students safer, and it’s really embarrassing when a student asks a question that I can’t answer. This has motivated me to really brush up on my anatomy, and continue to educate myself. Yoga Tune Up training has been an huge help, and I have already learned so much by the third day!!
Anatomy is essential for me as a yoga teacher and massage therapist. It is key for me to know what I am working with so that I can educate my students and clients when I found trouble or blind spots with them. I have used the knowledge I have gained from yoga to share with my massage clients and the knowledge of massage into my classroom all through understanding anatomy, directions of motion, and specific exercises that will target their needs. I find YogaTune Up an immense tool to pull my two worlds together and I am so grateful for the knowledge I am receiving during my training.
Hello Sarah, thanks for your reassuring blog about anatomy. It can be a very overwhelming subject, indeed. I too have studied it many times over– in high school, in college twice, in massage school, in previous yoga trainings three times–and still I feel like I am just scratching the surface. One of the things I particularly enjoy about the YTU approach is the immediate physicality of it. Look at it, talk about it, roll around on it, use it in a pose. Now THAT is the way to really learn something. How refreshing, how exciting, how practical. Anatomy is a living study, not a dry and boring list of unpronounceable latin words. Thank you YTU and Jill Miller and also Maura Barclay, who is leading the YTU TT that I am currently attending. Learning has never been so fun.
Thank you for your post, I think anatomy could lead to true yogic enlightenment.. I remember the anatomy taught in my 200 hour training, or do I? I was also taught alignment but the alignment and the anatomy never correlated. The functional anatomy I am being taught in YTU teacher training surpasses even my college level Anatomy. I am learning about muscles in action, how alignment relates to specific muscles, muscle groups, skeletal and connective tissue. This knowledge can only make my teaching stronger. I will now close my eyes and visualize the piriformis abducting the hips
Such a critical piece of education to yoga asanas, and if we do not understand how exactly the parts of the body move safely then it is like giving the keys to a car that may not be in a good mechanical condition and un-clear directions, to somoen who has never driven before, and hoping that they and the car will safely make it.
Our Yoga Anatomy weekend was great! Looking back on it now, it is incredible how much I absorbed, and how much there is still to learn!. I’m happy I also furiously scribbled in my notebook. I am looking forward to learning more about the fascinating machine which is the body. “I am a student of my own body!”
Stay on your own mat!!! Continue to learn the anatomy and become an expert, so important to be a resource to your clients.
Thanks so much for putting this out there. I am a new yoga teacher with a little over a year of teaching under my belt. All I want to do is learn more anatomy. With the anatomy knowledge comes the asana. I am currently taking Yoga Tune Up Level 1 training and it’s so much, it is so much. But it’s exactly what I need to jump start my anatomy journey. I am operating with a whole new set of tools and I can’t wait to put them in action. Thanks for your post.
Thank you Sarah. It was a ton of information in just 3 days. It’s going to be so important to review and study this information again and again. I want to be a resource to my clients, and help them work within their own bodies. My takeaway, stay on your own man, work with your own unique body, and learn something new each day about your body, it’s a process.
Sarah, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you’ve said here. I found Yoga Tune Up when I was asked to teach the asana component in a 200-hour level teacher training program. I knew there was a huge gap in my knowledge of anatomy that needed bridging before I could serve these students well. Yoga Tune seemed like the solution to this problem – offering up some pretty fun and digestible techniques for retaining anatomical information.
If you’re going to ask people to put their bodies in strange, even potentially dangerous positions, someone is bound to ask the dreaded question ‘why’ – and I dreaded the possibility of that question because I suspected I would not have the answers. Since undertaking my YTU training, and beginning the journey of filling in the gaps in my anatomical knowledge, and I have learned to welcome the question ‘why’ – finding now that I frequently have answers and solutions, and so much more confidence as a teacher
You are so right! And good for you to immerse yourself in the language of the anatomy. Although it seems like “Greek to me” at first, the more you delve in, the easier it becomes. Inferior, Superior, Medial, Lateral, etc., are ways to start classifying and really understanding what’s even more exciting than anatomy… kinesiology!
so true! After my yoga training I wanted more anatomy that specifically related to certain yoga poses. I felt i NEEDED to know more in order to safely instruct my students. Thats why i love the yoga tune up system, it finally brings light to embodied yoga anatomy!
I’m baffled by the number of fellow teachers that have little to no interest in learning anatomy. And, on the contrary, I find that the teachers who are most in tune with their own body’s needs, differences, & abilities, are that much more open and willing to dive into the needs of their students. I guess it all goes to show the importance of embodiment. And of beginning with our own breath, on our own mat – ready to explore our OWN body that’s so often ignored.
Great article! It’s true that many people who are learning to work with bodies will somehow, amazingly, learn very little anatomy (yoga teachers and personal trainers are the two most obvious examples). This sets their students up for a significantly increased risk for injury, especially when you consider that no one ever comes to us “unscathed”, as everyone has already had their fair share of injuries and chronic pain patterns that need to be adapted to when doing yoga or working out in any other way. That’s what makes YTU great! Hooray for teaching teachers how to really understand the body from the inside out!
After learning anatomy from you all weekend, I figured I would go ahead and read your blog post, which I resonated with a great deal. I felt like I was in medical school, learning so much about the body. This aspect of teaching intimidates me in its breadth, depth and importance. I understand how important it is to know the body in order to direct people. In fact, when I think about teaching, privates seem more intimidating than groups since there is less detail involved. All in all though, I am looking forward to a life time of learning the body and becoming more proficient in my understanding of it. I know that this will help my students in the future. For now, I am grateful that I understand bony landmarks, contracting as a means to go deeper into a stretch, directions of movement, etc. Thanks for teaching the class!
Thanks, Sarah, for this article. I totally agree with you that at leat a basic knowledge of anatomy is crucial for being a good yoga teacher. I’m also grateful that you talk about the issue of yoga injuries. I broke my big toe last year when falling out of an arm balance. Everybody who heard it – and mostly not practicing yoga – was making fun of me because they thought that yoga was so “harmless” that injuries were impossible.
The anatomy portion of teacher training was a blur for me as well. I was too busy trying to understand Sanskrit and the poses, let alone all of the anatomy being thrown at me in three days. The lack of knowledge hits the first time a student comes up after class and asks why a certain muscle or joint hurts and you have absolutely no idea. The Tuneup training is helping immensely because I can now focus on the anatomy and also to realize that you are never going to know everything…just keep learning!
I can recall my first teacher training having a very brief anatomy paintbrush approach. Blurry at best, the most basic of information and very few ideas and concepts to drag them all together into one. Even the many Private trainer certifications and workshops seemed to skim or not quite hit the target. I look back and think it not so much a lack of trying on their part (although they could have stressed the need to go and know more) but rather the difficulty in presenting such vast information in so little time. My experience with Yoga Tune Up finally fits. It’s a language I now understand. This took several years of study and constant exposure to the information. It’s really a slow process and one that develops with persistence and the ability to be okay with not knowing.
As I grow my studies in Yoga tune up and Anatomy in general, I attract intelligent and curious students. I was worried that my regular flow students might turn away from the practice as I slowed it down and broke it down…and YES!- some of them did but I attracted a whole bunch more due to my authentic and embodied teaching.
Sat Nam Anatomy Lovers
It is so true how important it is to know your Anatomy as a yoga teacher. And it’s quite alarming how many newly trained teachers are certyfing other teachers. In my opinion the Yoga alliance makes it way too easy for teachers to have a yoga school. There should be stricter guidelines. Even with all the training I have had over my yoga journey MS Exercise Physiology, 200 hours of Anatomy with Tom Myers Anatomy Trains and on and on, sometimes I don’
t feel qualified. I guess there is always more to learn. Also not taking on peoples injuries is what I teach to my teacher training students. So often I hear teachers, personal trainers and group ex instructors say things like, if you have a bad back to this>>>> there are so many back issues out there from, herniated discs, spina bifida, fused discs etc It’s best to put the rseponsibility on the student and their doctor, physical therapist and work in conjunction with them. It’s much better for liability purposes.
Thanks for sharing. As a student I really appreciate when a teacher shares anatomy tips and tricks to become aligned and not hurt myself. If I have a question about something that concerns me, regarding injury etc, I feel trust with the teachers who have valuable suggestions for what do do and what not. Even if they don’t know, the willingness to help me find out and not just shrug off the issue really makes a difference. The more you know of the body, the more confident you will also be to say “I don’t know but we can find out! 🙂
Interesting to read a blog post about the importance of anatomy and correct alignment from a teacher with experience from different schools of yoga. In my mind “safety first” and modifications based on the students bodies doesn’t mean that the practice become less spiritual or enlightening. On the contrary, it may be easier to feel that post savasana bliss if your body is not aching from performing an asana that wasn’t right for you.
Thanks for sharing! Although just in the beginning in my TTC I early realised that this is a learning process until the last breath! You just have to njoy the ride! 🙂 it helps with great inspiring teacher as Jill with so much experience. I am happy to have started walking this road and thankful for everyone that started before me (and all the ones coming after! ) I also think it is à good debate now ongoing about injury risc in yoga, motivates me to really learn the anatomy and to get to know my own body after 30 years walking around in this skinbag (sanskrit Teacher name of the human body:)
Having had my first anatomy class I feel like an analfabet. It’s a relief to read your blog!
Namaste
Just starting my studies to become a yoga teacher and have been given lots of good reason
to learn more about anatomy from this articles by Sarah Court . Thank you
I couldn’t agree with you more – the more I teach the more I am presented with the variety of challenges that are in each group of students. I love to study anatomy but it doesn’t stick in my brain very well. – I think it is the responsibility of every teacher to
continually study anatomy, kinesiology and asana. We need to back off of the idea that every one need to stretch stretch stretch
— lots of students need to focus more on the strength. Stretching for the sake of stretching is what leads to”… over-stretching of the neck, shoulders, spine, legs and knees.” It is our responsibility to help the student understand healthy stretch from strain. Educating yourself as a teacher is the best way.
Hi Wendy! There are tons of great anatomy resources both online and offline – here at YTU we’re fans of all of Joe Muscolino’s books on anatomy and kinesiology. Online resourses that I like include Katy Bowman, Eric Dalton and Kelly Starrett (all with their own websites and some with weekly newsletters/blogs). Best of all you can take a weekend and study the Yoga Tune Up Integrated Embodied Anatomy program with me or one of the other IEA teachers – search under ‘Classes and Trainings’ to see when one is coming to your area!
Could you recommend a book or better yet, an online anatomy program I could do in my free time?