Anatomy can feel overwhelming at times. I mean, it might seem like there's so much information to learn. Honestly, there is so much new information about the human body that we're learning every single day. But I love teaching anatomy and have taught anatomy in numerous yoga teacher trainings.
In this episode we'll cover the following terms: Anatomy, Physiology, Muscles, Tendons, Ligaments, Fascia & Connective Tissue, Proprioception, and Interoception.
Over the years I've developed ways to help you understand key terms you should know in relatable ways, which makes it easy for you to learn, envision, and finally understand.
Anatomy can feel overwhelming at times. I mean, it might seem like there's so much information to learn. Honestly, there is so much new information about the human body that we're learning every single day. But I love teaching anatomy and have taught anatomy in numerous yoga teacher trainings.
In this episode we'll cover the following terms: Anatomy, Physiology, Muscles, Tendons, Ligaments, Fascia & Connective Tissue, Proprioception, and Interoception.
Over the years I've developed ways to help you understand key terms you should know in relatable ways, which makes it easy for you to learn, envision, and finally understand.
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I know. Anatomy can feel overwhelming at times. I mean, it might seem like there's so much information to learn. And honestly, there is so much new information about the human body that we're learning every single day. But I love teaching anatomy and have taught anatomy in numerous yoga teacher trainings. So I found ways to help you understand. Some key terms in relatable ways, which makes it easy for you to learn in vision and finally understand. 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 podcast. It's been an exciting few weeks over here in my world. I was interviewed for three podcasts, super excited about that. Those will be going live over the next couple of months. And, I will for sure. Let, you know, when they do go live, so you can go and have a listen. Yolk yoga, a new social media app. That's just for yoga. Launched and I'm a founding teacher on it. Yay. And I'm so excited about it because if you've ever scrolled social media, Looking for yoga. You might feel overwhelmed. You might feel like you're seeing images that don't really, show the true essence of the yoga practice. And so sometimes it might feel like yoga kind of gets lost in the social media world, but that's not the case for this new app yolk yoga, you can download it, it's available, for iPhone and Android users. So go on. And get on it. There's some great yoga teachers. that are also founding members on the app too. And I'm just so excited to be a part. Of the shift in how we. Consume yoga. Online and on apps. So check it out. And finally, we've just welcomed a brand new guest teacher in my online studio. The Alliance, her name is Krista Janine. And she is amazing. And I'm super excited to be able to share her with my members. I'll also add a link for more information about the studio in my show notes. So check the show notes is what I'm saying. There was lots of goodies linked below. So check it out. Okay. Onto this week's topic. Of anatomy terms you should know. I know that anatomy can feel overwhelming at times. And yes, there's mountains of information to learn. And honestly, new information that we learn every single day. But I love teaching anatomy and I've taught anatomy in numerous yoga teacher trainings. So I found ways to help you understand some key terms in relatable ways, which will help make it easy for you to learn, integrate, and understand. Okay, for real this time, get your journals. So you can write down the terms and their definitions. I'm going to give you for each of them. A central idea to relate it back to plus how to associate it and analogy and some visual imagery. I'll finish up with an explanation that ties it all together for you. Okay. My time on like a lot right now, but it's going to make sense as I go through. Each term. But to be mindful of your time, I'm going to limit this episode to these terms. Anatomy. Physiology. Muscles tendons ligaments. Fascia and connective tissue. Proprioception. And in taro ception. All right. I'm going to do another episode and share more terms because there's a plethora of terms that you should know. And I would be more than happy to. Explain a term. If you have one that you don't quite understand, so you could text me and let me know about a term that you want more information about and. I'll add it to an episode. Actually. That's making me super excited right now. Can you hear it in my voice? All right. Let's get started. We're going to start naturally with anatomy, just so that we all have a basic understanding of what this term means. So anatomy is the branch of science concerned with the bodily structure of humans, animals. And other living organisms. Especially as revealed by dissection and the separation of parts. The central idea that I want you to put in your mind is of a blueprint of a building. Okay. So put your mind around them. Think of anatomy as the blueprint of a building. Detailing the structure and placement of every component from the foundation to the roof. Just like a blueprint. Outlines every part of a building, the rooms, the doors, the windows. Anatomy maps out every part of the body. Oregon's bones, muscles. So visualize this. Imagine yourself unrolling, a large detailed blueprint of a skyscraper. With every floor, room and structural element meticulously labeled. This is similar to how anatomy charts, the human body showing each organ and its location. Okay, let's wrap this with an explanation. So a blueprint provides a detailed plan for constructing a building. Specifying where each component bits. Similarly anatomy provides a comprehensive map of the human body. Detailing the structure and placement. Of Oregon's bones, muscles, and other parts. This helps you understand the body's layout just as a blueprint helps you visualize a building's design. Okay, moving on. Physiology. Physiology is the scientific study of the functions. And mechanisms in a living system, it focuses on how organs, tissues and cells. Work. Okay. The central idea around physiology is the operation manual of a car. Okay. Stay with me. I want you to relate physiology to the operation manual of a car. Explaining how each part functions together to make the car run. Just as an operation manual describes how the cars engine. Breaks and electrical systems work physiology explains how the body's organs systems and cells. Function. Picture yourself, reading through an operation manual. That explains how the engine ignites, how fuel is converted to energy. And how the brakes stop the car. This is akin to physiology explaining how the heart pumps blood. And how muscles contract to create movement. And operation manual provides detailed instructions on how a car is components. Function together. To ensure a smooth operation. Similarly physiology studies, how the body's organs and systems work together to maintain life. Explaining processes like blood circulation Respiration. And digestion. Often you'll hear anatomy and physiology together. Whether it's a training or a workshop, but you see why now? Right? Because they are linked. It's not enough to only know anatomy and you can't understand physiology. If you don't have a basic understanding of anatomy, they go together. Anatomy being the understanding of the structure and physiology, the understanding of how the components of the structure work together. This is how I start my teaching on anatomy, because it's not helpful. If we gloss over terms, getting a good foundation from the start, solidifies your knowledge. And that's what we want. Super smart yoga teachers like yourself. Alright, the next few terms. I'm going to share them together, but then we're going to break them apart. Okay. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments. All right. What are muscles muscles are tissues that contract to produce movement. Tendons are tough. Fibrous tissues that connect muscles to bones. And ligaments are strong fibrous tissues that connect bones to other bones here's the central idea, and I really need you to visualize this and you might want to pause and rewind and listen to it again, just so that you get the. Imagery. Okay. The central idea. Is of a puppet and strings. Okay. First let's talk about muscles. Think of muscles as the puppeteers that create movement. So put that in your mind, the puppeteers that create movement. Muscles are like the hands of the puppeteer pulling strings. To move the puppets limps. Visualize a puppeteer controlling a puppet. Where the muscles are the hands of the puppeteer creating movement. Okay, keep that in your mind. Next is tendons. Tendons. Connect muscles to bones, right? Consider tendons as the strings that connect the puppeteers hands. Or the muscles right to the puppets limbs or in our bodies case, the bones. Tendons are like the strings that transmit the puppet tears muscles. Movements to the puppets. Bones. Or limbs. Okay. Picture the strings of a marionette being pulled by the puppeteers hands. Transferring the movement to the puppets limbs. Got that in your hand. Okay. We've done mussels. We've done tendons. Now let's talk about ligaments. Remember ligaments, connect bones to other bones. I think of ligaments as the strong hinges that connect the puppets limbs together. Ligaments are like the hinges on a puppet, holding the limbs together, securely visualize the hinges on a puppets joints. Keeping the limbs attached while allowing movement. Now, I don't want you to get confused here and think about joints, right? Between the two limbs or the two bones. Just think about the two bones being attached to each other. And they are attached via ligaments. In this analogy, muscles act like the puppeteers hands. Tendons are the strings transmitting the motion. And ligaments, are they hinges? Holding the Puppet's limbs together. This helps you understand how muscles create movement, tendons, connect muscles to bones and ligaments connect bone to bone. And provide stability. Okay. If you need to pause and listen to that whole part again, Write it down in your journal so that you get a good, healthy understanding of the differences between muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Alright, the next two terms. And again, I'll present them to you together, but then we'll separate them and talk about them separately. the next two terms are fascia and connective tissue. All right. First fascia, fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen. That attaches stabilizes and closes and separates muscles and other internal organs. Connective tissue is tissue that supports binds together or separates other tissues or organs. First let's talk fascia. All right. The central idea around Fatia is plastic wrap covering. Food. Okay. I think of Fatia as the plastic wrap that covers and holds food items together just as plastic wrap envelops and secures food Fatia envelops and supports muscles and organs, keeping them in place. Visualize wrapping a piece of food tightly with plastic wrap, ensuring it's secured and protected. This is similar to how fascia wraps around muscles and organs, plastic wrap, tightly covers and secures food, preventing it from moving around and protecting it. Similarly fascia surrounds and supports muscles and organs, maintaining their position and providing a protective layer. This analogy helps us understand fascia is role in the body's structural integrity. Alright, now let's talk about connective tissue. Try to relate connective tissue to the scaffolding used in building construction. Providing support and structure. Joseph's scaffolding holds up and gives shape to a building during construction. Connective tissue supports and binds together. Other tissues and organs in the body. Picture the metal framework of scaffolding around a building, under construction, supporting the structure and ensuring it stays intact. This is similar to connective tissue, providing structural support within the body. Scaffolding in construction provides a framework. That supports and shapes the building. Connective tissue in the body functions, similarly supporting binding and connecting other tissues and organs ensuring they maintain their proper structure and function. This analogy helps us understand the crucial role of connective tissue in maintaining the body's integrity. Sometimes the use of the terms fascia and connective tissue have been used interchangeably. But remember this fascia is everywhere. Fascia is the soft tissue component of the connective tissue system. Now there are four types of fascia that I'll just go into just a little bit of detail here. I won't do a deep dive. Maybe I'll save that for a future episode, First you have superficial fascia, which resides just below your skin's layer. And above your muscles and serves to provide as a sliding action between the two. Then there's deep fascia, which surrounds bones and weaves between and through muscles, nerves and blood vessels. Third is Mina Jeal. Well, which surrounds the nervous system in your brain. And finally visceral fascia, which includes the fascia surrounding your organs. Okay. Moving on let's talk proprioception. Proprioception is known as your sixth sense. And knowing of the position of your body parts in space without having to look. As well as the strength and effort that's being employed in movement. The central idea here is of a GPS system. So think of proprioception as your body's internal GPS system, providing constant updates on position and movement. Just as a GPS system tells you where you are and guides your movements. Proprioception informs your brain about the position and movement of your body parts. Again, without you necessarily having to look to know. Imagine the GPS system in a car. Constantly updating your location and directing your movements. This is like proprioception. Which continuously provides feedback on the body's position and movement. Uh, GPS system provides real-time updates on location and guides movement based on that information. Similarly proprioception is the body's internal system that keeps track. Of the position and movement of body parts. Allowing you to move smoothly and accurately without looking. You can practice and even increase your appropriate reception through movement and visualization exercises. You can get a sense of a student's level of proprioception. If you ask them to put a body part in a particular position. And they truly believe they're doing what you're asking. But they're not. Right. And they can't see that they're not doing what. You're asking them to do, because they're not necessarily looking at that body part, but all is not lost here. Right. This is where you come in, teaching students to feel the difference between where they believe their body parts are. And a gentle shift. So they feel the difference is part of your job as a yoga teacher. I'll give you, a little example here. What I've done in the past in my teaching is if I'm trying to teach a particular alignment, What I will do is ask, students to take a different alignment. So we'll quote unquote, come out of alignment. To notice how that feels to go back into the alignment that I want them to try to bring into their bodies so that they can feel the difference between the two. If you want to visualize this. if I ask students to sit with a neutral spine, What I will then say is round your shoulders forward. So you come to a slight see curve in your spine. Notice what that feels like. Feel how your ribs. Have. Lowered. closer towards your pelvis. Right. And then also I might cue about the breathing as well. Notice how he can't really take a super deep breath in. And then I'll ask students to draw their shoulders back and just feel their rib cage lift. Away from their pelvis, a little bit more space in the abdomen. And then that way students can. In their own bodies feel what the difference is between a slightly forward rounded spine and a more neutral spine. With their shoulders pull back. So try that out, take your students out of alignment so they can feel it and then put them back into a different alignment so they can feel the difference between the two. Okay. Our final term for this episode. Because I'm cognizant about how much time we're spending together. Is. Interoception. Interoception is also known as the seventh since. And it's the sense of the internal state of your body, such as hunger thirst. Temperature and visceral sensations. So the central idea here is dashboard indicators in a car. Relate interoception to the dashboard indicators in a car. Showing the internal state, the fuel level, the temperature. And Joe says, dashboard indicators inform you about the cars, internal status. Interoception informs you about your body's internal status. Hunger thirst temperature. Picture the dashboard of a car. With indicators showing fuel level engine temperature and oil pressure. This is similar to interoception, which provides internal feedback about your body state. Dashboard indicators in a car, give real time information about internal conditions, helping you understand what's happening inside. And interoception works similarly by providing feedback. About your body's internal states, such as, like I mentioned before, hunger thirst temperature. And allows you to respond appropriately. Now the question is, can you increase your interoception? Absolutely. You can. How through mindfulness exercises, whether it's practicing yoga or meditation, or just sitting in stillness, if you practice Tai Chi or pranayama, These mindfulness exercises will help you develop and increase your awareness of the internal state of your body. And you can do this to help your interoception. And you can also teach this to your students to help them connect, to and increase their own interoception. Okay. I hope that this has been helpful. Again, I'm so excited to help you understand some terms that we often use in yoga. And when we're talking with students, If there is a term or concept that you're having trouble understanding, please. Let me know, I beg of you. I'll either do my best to help you get a good understanding of it. Or I can reach out to some of the awesome yoga teachers I know and ask them to come on the show and explain in more detail. I enjoy talking and teaching about anatomy and the concepts you should know as a yoga teacher. If you can't already tell. I want all movement teachers 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. So, if you're wondering how you can increase your knowledge of the human body and movement, there's all kinds of resources out there for you. You can 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 helps you understand terms and concepts and underscores the importance of why. 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'll take you to your messages. Don't delete the code though, because 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 loved 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 listen to these episodes, I'm so glad 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 all 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.