How To Teach Yoga Anatomy Like a Rock Star

I love teaching anatomy in yoga teacher trainings. LOVE IT. Sharing the mystery and miracle of the human body is incredibly inspiring and satisfying. However, teaching anatomy in a yoga teacher training course can be difficult, and it’s easy to fall into traps that can turn anatomy into a drag!

Top mistakes I see?

• Cramming in too much information
• Failing to teach the application to the yoga asana practice
• Teaching names, not function

And I know, my dears, that we are not always set up for success. Often the anatomy portion of a 200 or 300 hour training is shoved into one weekend (who can remember their femur from their fibula after six hours of lecture??), which leads to brain overload for the students and a lack of relevance to the rest of the program.

So step number one for success:

Whenever possible, teach anatomy in bite-sized chunks.

Ideally, an anatomy session should be two hours max, and should directly relate to the other content (asana) that is being taught. Do your best to fight for a sane schedule. What good is including anatomy in a program if the students can’t remember it?

Teach relevance, not details.

What’s more important: remembering the names of the knee ligaments, or understanding why pigeon pose is hard on your meniscus?

Avoid bogging your students down in seductive (and irrelevant) details. Do they really need to know the word, “talus?” Focus on the big picture, and apply the anatomy that you teach immediately to the practice and teaching of yoga asana. For example, you would want to consider:

• Why is understanding the labrum of the hip important for warrior two?
• Why is understanding shoulder impingement relevant to chaturanga?
• What is happening to a woman’s body in third trimester that may affect asana modification?
• How does blood pressure relate to inversions?

Applied anatomy is the only kind that counts. For every module you teach, ask and answer, “how is this information relevant to a general yoga practice?”

Focus on the Scope of Practice

Dr. McCoy from Star Trek used to say, “Dammit, Jim, I’m a doctor, not a Klingon navigator!” Well, in this case, we are yoga teachers, dammit, not chiropractors or physiotherapists. Relieve students of the pressure to know everything. New teachers are afraid of hurting their students (for most of us, this is one of our greatest fears). However, you can’t possibly learn enough about anatomy in twenty five hours to have more than a layman’s understanding of the human body. While I am a firm believer in studying anatomy (yes, yes, more please!), we have to encourage our students to be realistic about their expectations. Help your trainees understand that their scope of practice as yoga teachers is to teach a healthy population a safe and effective yoga practice, and to offer students common sense modifications when appropriate. That’s it.

Inspire

The human body is amazing! As anatomy teacher trainers, we have the privilege of helping students understand the magnificence of the human body. What astonishing work! Have you seen a human tendon? Exquisitely beautiful. Have you considered the relentless and steadfast beating of the human heart (85,000 beats a day for your entire life)? How awe-inspiring. How about the mysterious electrical machinations of the nervous system? Sorcery!

If you are excited about sharing this mystery, your students will get excited too. Share your passion and enthusiasm. Not only will your energy make teaching anatomy fun, it will inspire your students to connect more deeply and respectfully with their work as asana teachers. After all, as hatha yoga teachers, we use the physical body as a vehicle for divine expression and transformation. How marvellous to appreciate the mysterious depths that lie within us  – right at our fingertips.

Teach well.

Plan your lessons carefully. Be clear why this information is relevant and important. Use photos and videos (respecting copyright of course) to make the anatomy visually exciting and understandable. Incorporate group exercises and fun activities that will bring the anatomy to life.

To get some inspiration and see how I do it, check out one of my free anatomy lesson plans. Plan in advance how you will get students out of their heads (memorizing details and words) and into their bodies (applying anatomy to the practice). Experiential learning is where the anatomy will best stick.

Happy teaching!