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Why Anatomy is Not “Just” About Anatomy

One of the questions we receive occasionally about the Yoga Anatomy Academy Online Yoga Anatomy mentorship is: “Is this mentorship just about anatomy, or do you also talk about things like biomechanics [or kinesiology, physiology, etc] ?” The answer is we talk about all the things. We do not talk and teach ‘only’ about anatomy. […]

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Why You Cannot Square Your Hips in Warrior I or Warrior II

Older White Female Yoga Teacher in Warrior II

From my earliest days of practicing yoga, I heard teachers instructing “Square your hips” in Warrior I (virabhadrasana I) and Warrior II poses (virabhadrasana II). [Scroll to the video at the bottom of this page to see the essence of this blog post in video format]. I repeated this phrase in my own yoga teaching […]

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How to Cue the Shoulderblades for Handstand, Down Dog, and more

how to move your shoulderblades in down dog, handstand and more

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 […]

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Malasana: How to Overcome the Struggle in the Deep Yoga Squat

how to get into garland pose deep squat butt to heels

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 […]

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5 Actions to Get Your Foot Up Between Your Hands

stepping your foot between your hands in yoga, from downward facing dog or down dog

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 […]

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Two Tips for Rotator Cuff Strengthening in Yoga

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 […]

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How to Avoid Destroying Your Hips in Yoga

yoga hip injuries, hip injuries yoga, hip injury, hip injuries in yoga, yoga mentor, yoga mentorship, yoga podcast, yoga anatomy, yoga injury

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 kind […]

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Balancing the Science & the Mystery in Yoga

Teaching anatomy for yoga practitioners is about much more than relaying the nuts and bolts (muscles and bones). In order to understand anatomy in the context of the vastness of yoga, we must understand how yoga, yoga classes, and yoga teaching influence bodies and fit in to a larger conversation about the intersection of yoga […]

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More from “Why I Quit – Confessions of an Authentically Fake Yoga Teacher”

davis burroughs yoga

Yoga Teacher Burnout is real, and although today’s post may seem a little off-topic, it isn’t. After all, I run a mentorship program for Yoga Teachers. Questions often come up about the realities of the profession of yoga teaching. Davis Burroughs, author of “Why I Quit – Confessions of an Authentically Fake Yoga Teacher”, struck […]

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Three Anatomy Wisdom Nuggets (Podcast! + FREEBIE)

Three golden nuggets of anatomy wisdom on M.B.Om – Mastering the Business of Yoga Podcast Yoga Anatomy Academy had the great privilege of being featured on yet another podcast (the third in 3 months!), in which we share three of our most audio-friendly nuggets of anatomy wisdom. (If you missed the first two, please check […]

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