Advanced Yoga Teacher Training: Teaching Biodiversity in Anatomy
Advanced Yoga Teacher Training: Teaching Biodiversity in Anatomy
Biodiversity, the variety of life, is the simple premise that every being is different on many different levels. From our genetic makeup, our experiences through life, our personalities, to the cells in our bodies, biodiversity is abundant.
As a yoga teacher, advancing your training to view yoga asana through the lens of biodiversity is paramount and will allow your students to experience a safe and fulfilling practice. When teaching asana with unique body structures in mind, yoga inclusively addresses functional movement in a welcoming manner.
Advancing your training as a yoga teacher to learn about the biodiversity of the human form becomes the guiding force for teaching yoga and uniting your yoga community.
Anatomical Biodiversity in Yoga
On a grand scale, biodiversity begins as differences between species and humans. No two are alike, even twins. Within the individual, biodiversity is seen across the sagittal plane - the body's left and right sides are asymmetrical. There are differences in bony structures, soft tissues, and the consequences of injury within ourselves.
The skeletal system is the human framework, and each person's frame has obvious and more subtle diversity than others. Height and weight are easy to distinguish.
When examining anatomy on a deeper level, it's evident that lengths, angles, and torsions of bone vary greatly. Tendons, ligaments, and all manner of muscle and fat cover the skeleton as well as have differences in length, flexibility, weight, and strength.
Aging, injuries, scar tissue, arthritis, and disease alter anatomy, perhaps enhancing the asymmetry that already exists. Processes like aging and arthritis take their time, slowly shifting the body and influencing the range of motion and comfort. Injuries and subsequent scar tissue is often sudden and creates that biodiversity quickly. Joints may also be hypermobile with a tendency towards dislocations and sprains.
Respectfully teaching yoga with the intricacies of anatomy takes education and practice, often beyond your initial yoga teacher training.
The Hip Joint as an Example of Individual Biodiversity
Examining the hip and femur, we find that the neck of the femur can vary wildly. Not only the length of the femur's neck, but the angle at which it attaches to the shaft of this long bone differs.
The attached muscles, such as the piriformis, quadratus femoris, biceps femoris, and the gluteus family of muscles, connect the upper part of the femur to the hips, pelvis, and down the leg.
Within the hip, the femur head interacts with the acetabulum of the pelvis, resting in the labrum, surrounded by strong ligaments and cartilage.
When the hip joint moves, the pelvis interacts with the femur and creates a range of motion - how far and in what directions the femur moves. Ligaments in the joint, the shapes of the bones, and the surrounding muscle mass and weight define those boundaries.
Injuries like labrum tears and fractures influence the range of motion, too. The hip joint also interacts with the knee, ankle, and spine. Even perfectly similar hips and femurs in two different individuals create different experiences in movement due to the surrounding structures.
How Biodiversity in Anatomy Interacts with Teaching Yoga
When we know these layers of anatomy and place them over yoga asana, it becomes clear to advanced yoga teachers that "one size of a yoga pose does not fit all."
Cueing asana without consideration of the individual's complex anatomy does not serve the student. Not all bodies can point their feet in the textbook direction for a pose. Not all bodies can reach full expression or textbook alignment and remain safe and comfortable.
The yoga pose must adjust for the body. Allow the hip joint and its neighboring joints to determine the comfortable place for asana. Hip-centric poses such as Virabhadrasana II, Malasana, and Kapotasana transform into safe, nurturing, and unusual-looking variations from the models seen in books.
Enrolling in advanced yoga teacher trainings to learn about biodiversity in anatomy will allow you to create a more inclusive practice. Your advanced guidance will encourage your students to feel and breathe their way into asana, their biodiversity within will create their alignment and comfort.
Become a More Inclusive Yoga Teacher with Advanced Yoga Teacher Training
One challenge for yoga teachers is creating a welcoming space while teaching a varied group of students. The art of teaching yoga advances when extensive anatomy and biomechanics knowledge makes yoga accessible to all body sizes and shapes.
Advanced yoga teacher training programs not only focus on anatomy, they include Ayurveda, pranayama, practical skill development, and a deeper look into the rich history of yoga. A rounded curriculum reinforces the guiding principles of mind and body that you will take to your students.
The human form is a wonder, indeed, and continuing your yoga education supports everyone's development and understanding of yoga.
Start your journey and build your skills with advanced yoga teacher training online.
Did you know you can advance your skills as a yoga teacher online with Online Advanced YTT Trainings? We’d love to invite you to better serve your pupils by enrolling in Prema Yoga Institute’s Functional Anatomy Training.
The Functional Anatomy Training is now available online and trains yoga teachers how to:
Develop your confidence teaching to all different types of bodies
Think critically about biases that often go overlooked in anatomy and movement science
Gain support and education to skillfully move away from a "one size fits all" type of teaching
Learn to better see and "Read" bodies in order to better meet your student's varying needs
Interface more effectively with doctors and health care professionals
Advance your teaching towards a Yoga Therapy Certification
And more (click here for details)
Additionally, The Functional Anatomy Training counts as 50 CE Credits with Yoga Alliance OR towards your RYT500 at Prema Yoga Institute.
Visit Prema Yoga Institute to learn more about our training, which is now available online with interactive trainings through 2022!
PYI is an accredited program based in New York city, teaching students around the globe through online classes. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you advance your yoga practice and teaching!
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