basic workshop description

I’ve now taught the basic workshop over 80 times in the past 6 years. The basic workshop lays the foundation of information that then gets applied in all the other workshops I teach.

The information is always presented in a simple and straightforward manner, as opposed to many other anatomy workshops students have attended. This workshop gives participants an opportunity to understand concepts and principles that apply directly to yoga and are often talked about but less often fully understood.

It begins with a fundamental shift in how the body is constructed and how it is discussed in Western scientific terms, which has both its positives and negatives. It’s important to understand how the Western concept of the body can be used to help clarify and process what we’re doing in our asana practice. Combining that understanding with yogic principles makes for a well-rounded perspective of what’s happening in our bodies and why it may benefit us.

The beginning of the workshop also creates a sense of how well integrated the body is and defines the four components that allow, restrict and create movement in the body, namely the skeletal, muscular, connective tissue and nervous systems. Just understanding the nature of these components and how they function together creates a very dramatic shift in understanding movement and the practice of asana.

In the second segment of the workshop we explore the leg as a whole as well as looking at the major structures that make it up, including the foot, ankle, knee, and hip joint.

In the foot we look at the arches, how they develop and play themselves out in our practice and what they represent. With the knee we focus on structure and function of this somewhat vulnerable joint and to that end we look closely at its dysfunctions, how they show themselves in the practice, and what to do with it in the practice to prevent further dysfunction.

In the third segment of the workshop we bring our focus to the center of our body’s structure, the spine and the psoas. The spine is the central structure of our torso and the line along which the energetic centers of the body align themselves. As a result, understanding the movements, structures and functions of this joint become essential on all levels of the practice of asana. Movements of the spine and the asanas that go with it can have a significant impact on the movement of energy in the body.

Tying into this idea is the psoas muscle that would be considered the single most important structural and postural muscle of the body. It is located around some of the most important of the energetic centers, and sandwiches the spine on either side, initiating flexion or forward movement of the legs.

The last segment of the workshop covers breath and arms. Breathing is fundamental to life as only a few minutes without it can put is in a very precarious situation. Breath is also an important focal point for concentration and meditation and is one of the most commonly used elements used to bridge together mind and body.

The shoulders and arms are our most mobile elements, with increased range of motion comes a loss of stability and more muscular effort to find it. Understanding the complicated combinations of joints at that create the shoulder girdle is the main focus here until we get down to the hand and wrist where common strain may be a problem for practitioners.
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