Online Mentorship and Courses in Yoga Anatomy
High hamstring tendinopathy (tendinopathy = an updated version of “tendinitis”) shows up as an ache, burning sensation or other pain near your sitting bones. The sitting bones, or ischial tuberosities, are the upper attachment point to the three hamstring muscles on each side. In the yoga world, this uncomfortable sensation has a name: “Yoga Butt”. […]
A pose that comes up frequently in yoga classes, yet seems to be quite challenging – even defeating – for many is side plank, vasisthasana. Many people simply don’t have the strength for side plank, and don’t know where to begin. This post will break down three myths about side plank, and offer you a […]
Admittedly, this is a picky post. But people do the darndest things in savasana. (Skip straight to the video about this post here.) If you teach yoga for long enough, eventually you’ll see some interesting alternatives during this time for relaxation. There are gradients, of course: sometimes you see students (like Energizer bunnies) doing headstands […]
Three Fun Tips for Teaching Shoulderblade position in Down Dog, Handstand — and any time your arms are overhead. There’s an enduring myth out there in #yogaland (ok, many enduring falsehoods) that our necks will tense up if we shrug / lift up / elevate the shoulderblades toward our ears. False. Your shoulderblades were designed […]
The most common request heard by yoga teachers is “hip openers, please!”. After all, students come to yoga most of the time after sitting. For hours on end. They feel the need to stretch out the stiffness. If you teach yoga, know this: sitting is a passive stretch. As you sit, most of the posterior […]
In my early thirties, I noticed something that shook my self-concept. Many of my friends had infants and toddlers. Although I was a doctor of physical therapy and had been teaching yoga for over a decade, it was sometimes uncomfortable to hang out on the floor with babies. WTH. To play with these little ones […]
Here’s a comprehensive guide to getting more comfortable in Malasana Plus, if you scroll down far enough, 7 Steps to Better Ankle Mobility We at Yoga Anatomy Academy love malasana and are on a mission to make this deep squat more accessible to more humans. The motivation is this: a large chunk of what we […]
The Instagram is full of fluid movers, yogis who can gracefully place a foot between their hands in slow motion, usually on the way down from a single arm hand balancing feat with a glass of wine between their toes. Not a drop spilled. What is less common: actual instructions in yoga class on how […]
The rotator cuff (RTC) is a well-known group of muscles that are important in stabilizing the shoulder, basically no matter the activity. When it comes to keeping the arm bone centered in the “socket”, these are the guys for the job. The larger the weight or force that an arm lifts, the more important the […]
Francesca Cervero kindly invited me to be a return guest on her podcast, The Mentor Sessions: Support and Strategy for Yoga Teachers to talk about HIPS, specifically yoga hip injuries. (If you missed the first episode on anatomy-informed yoga, you can listen here). Francesca and I both experienced major hip injuries, as in the […]