Ep 28: Let's Talk Anatomy!

I believe with my whole heart that it's not enough to only create sequences and themes for classes. You should know & have a basic understanding of how the poses and transitions are affecting the students' bodies. And I think you're doing a disservice to your students if you don't study anatomy.

If an injured student shows up to class and you have no knowledge of anatomy, how can you serve them responsibly? I am in no way, suggesting that you solve your students' injuries! Instead, I'm suggesting that you stay within your scope AND be informed and smart.

Do you love anatomy? Does it feel overwhelming to learn? No worries, I would love to walk you through the process.

In this episode we'll start by discussing why an understanding of anatomy is crucial for you as a yoga teacher.

I can't wait for you to listen!

Transcript

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I believe 100% and with my whole heart. That it's not enough to create sequences and themes for classes. If you don't know or understand how the poses. And transitions are affecting the students' bodies. And I think you're doing a disservice to your students. If you don't study anatomy. If an injured student shows up to class and you have no knowledge of anatomy, how can you serve them responsibly? And within your scope of practice? I am in no way, suggesting that you solve your students' injuries, I'm suggesting that you stay within your scope. But be informed and smart. So let's talk about why understanding anatomy is crucial for you as a yoga teacher. Welcome to the Essential Conversations for Yoga Teachers podcast with me. I'm Monica Bright, and I've been teaching yoga and running my yoga business for over a decade. This is the podcast for you if you're a yoga teacher, you're looking for support, you love to be in conversation, and you're a lifelong student. In this podcast, I'll share with you My life as a yoga teacher, the lessons I've learned, my process for building my business, and helpful ideas, tools, strategies, and systems I use and you can use so that your business thrives. We'll cover a diverse range of topics that will help you whether you're just starting out or you've got years under your belt and you want to dive deep and set yourself up for success. I'm so glad you're here. Listen, I don't take myself too seriously, so expect to hear some laughs along the way. Now, let's do this together. Welcome back to the pie cast. It's me. I'm Monica and we are pivoting. And that's why I'm loving this podcast space so much because we get to discuss all kinds of subjects. Now if you know me. You will know that I love. Anatomy my love and appreciation for it started in my 200 hour yoga teacher training. When my cohort had the opportunity to visit a cadaver lab, I was hesitant, but I knew that it was a rare opportunity. So I figured I'd go. But I had initially decided that I was just going to stand back and observe. And next thing, you know, I was holding a brain. And smiling about it underneath my mask. I saw knee replacements, hip replacements. With the breast looks like with cancer, it was such an amazing experience. And that honestly really started it all. I went on to take more anatomy workshops, searching for deeper learning and understanding of the human body now because of my background. In education. I do understand that learning and integrating information is layered and diverse. So you may learn differently than I do. So get to know the ways you learn best and dive in. I learned best by reading, studying, integrating, and then teaching. That's just my way. By now you may have surmised that I believe in understanding of anatomy is necessary. If you're teaching any kind of movement modality. It's not enough to create sequences and themes for classes. If you don't know how the poses and transitions are affecting your students' bodies. And if an injured student shows up to class and you have no knowledge of anatomy, how can you serve them responsibly? And within your scope of practice? That's the big question. Okay. I cannot wait to start discussing injuries, which is my true love, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. I am in no way, suggesting that you solve your students injuries. I'm suggesting that you stay within your scope of practice, but be informed and smart. So let's talk about why understanding anatomy is crucial for you as a yoga teacher. Because it directly impacts your ability to guide students safely. And effectively. And from an informed space. Okay. I'm going to share nine reasons why you should have a working knowledge and understanding of anatomy. And these are in no particular order. And yes. I am trying to convince you. So just know that. Um, if you use a journal while you listened to the podcast, I bring it out because you'll want to jot these, nine reasons why. Okay. Number one. Alignment. So I'm not going to go into what is proper alignment or not. Because again, if you know me, it varies. So, if you have an understanding of anatomy, you understand that bones have slight variations from person to person. Which is part of the reason why it's okay. If poses look and feel different and not everyone in class will have the same. Alignment. When you have a solid understanding of anatomy, it can help you provide clearer language on alignment. Helping students find the correct positioning, imposes that suit their bodies. Number two. Better queuing. Anatomy knowledge enhances your ability to give affective verbal cues. I think I'll record it. An episode on the different types of queuing. You can give when you're a teaching, because you can offer all types of different queuing language when you understand the human body and movement. For example, instead of giving instructional cues and saying. Draw your knee out towards your armpit. Imagine queuing a student lying on the back here. Right? Instead of instructing the movement, you can help students experience their own bodies. So you can ask, what does it feel like when you draw your knee towards your armpit? And to further this line of cuing, you can offer suggestions. Does it feel pinchy? Do you feel a stretch sensation where identify it, this kind of queuing connects you with students on a deeper level? You might not realize it. But you're teaching them to feel into your bodies. And when you have a better understanding of anatomy, That can help you with this kind of QA. Remember that Maya Angelou quote. I've learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Think about this when you are queuing. How are you going to make your students feel or how do you want your students to feel is a better question. Understanding the anatomical structure of the body allows you to use specific and accurate language that helps you guide students. Into shapes. That you want them to experience when you're clear and anatomically informed your cues. Can make a significant difference in how students experience and understand each pose. I'll give you a quick example. I hear some teachers say. flex your foot right? When really it's flex your ankle and not flex your foot, but you're flexing at the ankle joint. So just that little tweak there, it makes you more accurate in your language cues. All right. Number three. Injury prevention. Okay. You know, studying injuries is my thing. I love it. The most. I cannot tell you that an understanding of anatomy helps you identify and avoid movements or poses that could potentially cause injury to your students. However, when you understand the limitations and capabilities of different body parts, you can better design sequences with transitions that make sense and correlate with human movement. It's impossible to know your students' histories with their bodies. Either one, the, because they're not going to tell you or two, they don't necessarily remember, or three, they don't know. Maybe they've not gotten imaging or a diagnosis for any ailments that they're experiencing in their bodies. But you can attempt to protect vulnerable areas such as the lower back knees and shoulders by incorporating intelligent and intentional sequencing in your classes. But when you have a working knowledge of anatomy, And allows you to offer modifications and adjustments that can help provide a safer practice for students. Now I am not one to use language like. protect your back or, watch your D to protect your knee because I do not believe in. for lack of a better way to say it, like scare tactics. I don't want people to be afraid to move. so I don't use language like that and I would caution you. to think about. How you use your language and what kind of effect that might have on your students. All right. Number four. Personalized instruction. We know that every student's body is unique with different strengths. Weaknesses and degrees of flexibility. If you are. An anatomy informed teacher, you can better tailor your teaching to meet individual needs. Providing variations and adjustments that accommodate students, physical conditions, this personalized approach helps students progress. Safely and effectively in their practice. I've recently recorded an episode on my thoughts on all levels, yoga classes and the problems they create. It's episode number 26. You should listen to it. I offer solutions also to this big problem in the yoga studio world, because you know, I'm all about solutions. A lot of times, it's not possible to serve every student. In your group classes nor are group classes intended for this, but you can do some teaching in a group class, which will help students understand and question their body's ability to move and feel. Number five, improving your hands on adjustments. Personally, I'm not a big proponent of hands-on adjustments, because again, we don't know students' bodies instead of adjusting. I prefer assisting because assisting is not about you solely. Moving a student into a proper position, proper with quotation marks, right? It's about a two way conversation, for example. If you were to ask. What would it feel like if you moved your knee here? Follow it up with, does that feel okay? And get real-time feedback from your students. This is more empowering for students as well. I know, you know, or have experienced when a student thinks that you know everything about his or her body and they ask you to tell them what to do. But when you initiate the conversation with students about their experience in their own body, They learned to trust themselves more. And that's what we want. Right. Whether you touch or not, does it matter to me? I'm not the touch police. But when you understand anatomy, you understand the effects your touch might have on the body that you're touching. Understanding anatomy helps. You know, that the adjustments you give are applied. Uh, in a safe way, in a gentle way and effectively with respect to the joints, natural ranges of motion. And avoid pressure on some areas that might be more vulnerable. This will help build trust between you and your student and enhances the overall learning experience. I've had students who will say to me, you know, I love your touch. You can touch me as much as you want. Push deep, massage hard. And I, you know, I just follow that up with, I am hesitant. To touch people in a forceful way or to give deep massages in class, because I don't feel like it's appropriate for the class setting, but I will give you an assist in class If that's what you like. So don't be afraid to enforce your own boundary. Right. If somebody says, I want you to do this, you were perfectly fine to say. Mm. That's not really in my wheelhouse or that's not really something that, um, I like to do a lot. Empower yourself, right. All right. Number six. Addressing common ailments. So many students come to yoga with pre-existing conditions, such as back pain. Arthritis or injuries and they've probably showed up to class because one of their doctors told them. To practice yoga. So if you are an anatomy educated teacher, you understand these conditions and might be able to offer appropriate modifications or alternative poses. To accommodate and possibly alleviate some sensation issues. I am going to for sure record some future episodes on pose, regressions and progressions. Because staying within the teachers scope of practice, there are lots of things you can do in class without trying to necessarily heal a student, but you have to learn and study this kind of stuff in order to teach it. When you can address common ailments, you have the ability to make yoga more accessible and beneficial. For a wider range of students. All right. Number seven. Educating students about their own anatomy, empowers them to take control of their practice. When you share anatomical insights, students gain a better understanding of how their bodies work and how to move safely and efficiently. This knowledge fosters a sense of awareness and mindfulness. Both on and off the mat. I often drop a bit of anatomy education in classes because it's the perfect opportunity for students to learn. In the moment. While they're practicing. Number eight. A thorough knowledge of anatomy enhances your professional credibility. It demonstrates a commitment to the wellbeing of students and a dedication to one of the sciences behind the practice. This credibility can attract more students and build a loyal following. As students are more likely to trust and respect a teacher who demonstrates expertise. It's also a jumping off point. For more. I taught anatomy themed workshops and facilitated the anatomy lecture in multiple yoga teacher trainings. So think about how you can incorporate your anatomy knowledge into additional offerings outside of your classes. And finally your study of anatomy contributes to a holistic understanding of yoga, connecting the physical practice with its broader benefits. Understanding how different body systems, muscular skeletal, nervous. Interact during yoga will help you integrate the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of the practice. Uh, providing a more comprehensive and enriching experience for students. Okay. Did I convince you? What do you think about anatomy? I hope I've inspired you to study it and continue to study it. One of my favorite ways to deepen my knowledge of anatomy is to take continuing education and modalities outside of yoga. There's so much you can learn about the human body what's being taught in different spaces. And how bodies adapt to movement. When you step outside of the yoga world. To sum up everything we've discussed in this episode, remember that continuing your education and understanding of anatomy on a deeper level is essential for you to provide safe. Affective and sometimes personalized instruction. It can inform you about injuries, enhance your views on alignment, help you offer better cues and physical assist. Additionally, a working knowledge of anatomy helps you better address common ailments. Empower students. And build professional credibility. And finally by integrating anatomical knowledge into your teaching, you can provide a more holistic and beneficial practice and foster deeper connection between you And your students And the disciplines of yoga. I love, love, love talking about anatomy and I want all teachers of movement. To understand how a working knowledge of it affects your teaching. I don't think we talk about the importance of anatomy enough. And if this conversation feels uncomfortable, don't worry. This is exactly where change happens. Pick up an anatomy book, watch a video series, follow accounts on social media that will teach you. Just keep taking the steps to be more informed. I hope that this episode sparks some deeper thought around why knowledge of anatomy is so important as a movement educator. I've added a link in the show notes for you to send me a quick text message about your thoughts on this episode or any other, I won't know your phone number. It's just a neat addition to the platform that I use that allows for this new and super easy way for you to communicate with me. Once you click on it, it will take you to your messages. Don't delete the code. That's how your message will get to me. And I would love to know your thoughts on this topic. I love diving into these conversations because there are so many important discussions to be had in the teaching world. You know that my goal is for you to love the yoga teaching life and allow it to be fulfilling and rewarding. And sometimes it takes some work and a few conversations to get there. If you love this episode, let me know. Subscribe to the podcast. So you're always in the know. When a new episode drops and share it with another yoga teacher who you think would love to be in on these conversations. Thank you for helping to spread the word about this podcast. If you've been taking notes in your journal, as you listened to these episodes, I'm so glad you are. And I'd love to hear about it. Finally, don't forget to join my newsletter. That's just for yoga teachers. I've got some exciting teachings coming soon. So I want to tell you about them. The link is in the show notes below, and I would love for you to join it so we can always stay connected. All right, that's it for now? Bye. Mhm.