Yoga Anatomy Articles


I love getting your questions and answering them on video. It helps me understand what you’re interested in. Below you’ll find all of the questions I’ve answered on video so far. Submit your own questions.

The yoga anatomy articles are organized into categories such as,  Injuries PosturesYour Questions Yoga Anatomy Yoga Injuries Research , Ashtanga Yoga Research , and even  Yoga Adjustments.


They are also broken down more specifically by muscles, bandhas, breathing, sit bone pain, shoulders, psoas, and knee pain.


OR, JUST SEARCH!


Featured image for “Why Do My Muscles Shake In Some Yoga Poses?”

Why Do My Muscles Shake In Some Yoga Poses?

Muscles can shake in yoga when many individual muscle cells use up their ATP before other muscle cells are refueled…
Featured image for “Practicing Yoga With Hyperextended Elbows”

Practicing Yoga With Hyperextended Elbows

Some shoulder pain could be related to practicing yoga with hyperextended elbows since the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder make…
Featured image for “Why Is My Spine Popping After Deep Flexion In Yoga?”

Why Is My Spine Popping After Deep Flexion In Yoga?

A likely reason that your spine is popping during flexion or twisting is that the synovial fluid in the intervertebral…
Featured image for “What’s Happening In the Shoulders In Prasarita Padottanasana C?”

What’s Happening In the Shoulders In Prasarita Padottanasana C?

Flexibility of all muscles that surround the shoulder girdle can affect the mobility of the shoulders in prasarita padottanasana C.…
Featured image for “Why Is My Back Rounded In Forward Bends?”

Why Is My Back Rounded In Forward Bends?

The likely reason that your back is rounded in forward bends is that your hamstrings are tight. Tight lateral gluteals…
Featured image for “How Do I Open My Hips And Hamstrings For Forward Bending?”

How Do I Open My Hips And Hamstrings For Forward Bending?

Consistent, frequent yoga practice and scaling back on activities like running can help open tight hips and hamstrings for forward…
Featured image for “How Can I Work With Scoliosis In My Yoga Practice?”

How Can I Work With Scoliosis In My Yoga Practice?

When working with scoliosis in yoga practice, you may have to choose in poses like down dog, whether to balance…
Featured image for “Is It Okay To Adjust The Feet In Downward Dog?”

Is It Okay To Adjust The Feet In Downward Dog?

What’s more important than how you adjust your feet in downward dog is whether you start the movement from up…
Featured image for “Where Is This Knee Pain In Backbends Coming From?”

Where Is This Knee Pain In Backbends Coming From?

Common sources of outer knee pain in backbends include tension in tensor fascia latae (TFL) and the iliotibial band (IT…
Featured image for “Why Does My Leg Go Numb In Full Lotus?”

Why Does My Leg Go Numb In Full Lotus?

If your leg goes numb in full lotus, due to compression or stretching of nerves or reduced blood flow, you…
Featured image for “How Does Breathing Technique In Ashtanga Affect Our Nervous System?”

How Does Breathing Technique In Ashtanga Affect Our Nervous System?

Our breathing technique in Ashtanga may sometimes increase our sympathetic response in the short term, but ideally, we work towards…
Featured image for “What Is Happening In The Back Leg In Triangle Pose?”

What Is Happening In The Back Leg In Triangle Pose?

Unpack the anatomy of what is happening in the back leg, and more importantly the back hip, in triangle pose.…
Featured image for “Why Can’t I Put My Back Heel Down In Revolved Side Angle?”

Why Can’t I Put My Back Heel Down In Revolved Side Angle?

Learn why both tight hips, and the technique you use to do the posture, can affect getting the back heel…
Featured image for “How Do I Get Up Into Shoulder Stand?”

How Do I Get Up Into Shoulder Stand?

Learn why tension along the back of the body can sometimes get in the way when we are trying to…
Featured image for “Why Is It So Hard To Do A Press Handstand With Straight Legs?”

Why Is It So Hard To Do A Press Handstand With Straight Legs?

Find out why tight hamstrings are often the reason that going up into a press handstand with straight legs is…
Featured image for “How Do We Know If We Should Lengthen Or Strengthen The Psoas?”

How Do We Know If We Should Lengthen Or Strengthen The Psoas?

Learn why we should strive for balance rather than an overly-simplified idea that we should always lengthen or strengthen the…
Featured image for “Why Is My Mid-back Sore In Urdhva Dhanurasana?”

Why Is My Mid-back Sore In Urdhva Dhanurasana?

Learn why trying too hard to engage the muscles of the back can result in the mid-back feeling sore in…
Featured image for “Should I Hug My Elbows Into The Ribs In Chaturanga?”

Should I Hug My Elbows Into The Ribs In Chaturanga?

Learn why you might choose not to hug your elbows into your ribs in chaturanga. Instead, focus on strengthening serratus…
Featured image for “How Is Yoga Different From Meditation?”

How Is Yoga Different From Meditation?

Learn how yoga is related to meditation. Developing steady concentration in our yoga asana practice is the foundation for meditation.…
Featured image for “How Do I Control My Core In Headstand?”

How Do I Control My Core In Headstand?

Learn why setting up your foundation correctly is just as important as engaging your core for stability in headstand.…
Featured image for “Is Locking My Knee In Forward Bends Causing My Knee Pain?”

Is Locking My Knee In Forward Bends Causing My Knee Pain?

What’s the difference between straight legs and locked knees? There may be an appropriate time to keep your knees straight…