Yoga Anatomy Articles
Yoga postures deserve better explanations than what muscle should contract and which should relax or stretch. Yoga postures are dynamic and always in a state of process. Check out handstands, sun salutations, padmasana, upward dog, and down dog.
The yoga anatomy articles are organized into categories such as, Injuries, Postures, Your Questions, Yoga, Anatomy, Yoga Anatomy Research Project, and even Yoga Adjustments.
They are also broken down more specifically by muscles, bandhas, breathing, sit bone pain, shoulders, psoas, and knee pain.
Forward Bends and Hamstring Injury: Have You Injured Your Hamstrings?
Hamstring injuries are prevalent in yoga. In our survey, we found some very interesting relationships between forward bends and hamstring…
Jump Forward in Sun Salutations: Part 10, A Return to the Beginning
When jumping forward in sun salutations, we are really jumping up and forward. We have to resist gravity with the…
Sun Salutation 9 – Downward Facing Dog – You’ve Arrived!
I hear so many questions about downward facing dog. Where should your feet and hands be? Where should your shoulders…
Bakasana to Handstand: What Muscles are Used to Press Up?
So this month’s question comes from Jessica Payne and she asked a very simple question, well, she asked a complex…
Binding Marichyasana C, Which Muscles Prevent It?
The question of the month was: Which muscles or muscle groups prevent me from binding in Marichyasana C? As usual,…
Sun Salutations 8 – Tricks for Up Dog to Down Dog
Transitioning from Up Dog to Down Dog can be as simple as flipping your feet. Why not take advantage of…
Sun Salutations – Part 7 – Upward Facing Dog
In Part 7 of the Sun Salutation Series we move from chaturanga dandasana to upward facing dog. Sometimes it’s the…
Sun Salutations Part 6 – Lowering Into Chaturanga
In part 6 of the Sun Salutation series we take a closer look at the landing and lowering down into…
Jump Back in Sun Salutations – Part 5
Now that we have established some hand foundation in Part 4 of this sun salutation series, let me say something…
Observing Yoga Students Before Adjusting Their Posture
There is no better place to start discussing yoga adjustments than with what initially creates our desire to adjust or…
Sun Salutations – Part 4 – The Look Up
Part 4 of the Sun Salutation Series explores the small but important movement of “looking up” after folding forward. There…
Sun Salutations – Part 3 – The Forward Fold
In part 3 of the Sun Salutation series we look at the forward fold that happens after you raise your…
Sun Salutations – Part 2 – Arms Up!
Sun Salutations are a vital part of any system of yoga. In this part of the series I will break…
Sun Salutations – Part 1 – Tadasana
Sun Salutations are a vital part of any system of yoga. In this series I will break down all of…
Turning Your Feet Out When Doing a Yoga Dropback?
The inspiration for this month’s article comes from a question posed in an email. The question, from Catherine, asks specifically…
Flex Or Extend The Foot In Lotus Posture
Learn whether we should flex or extend our foot when doing lotus posture. Find out why flexing our foot in…
Your Shoulders In Upward Facing Dog
Take a look at the anatomy related to the shoulders and what you should do with them in upward facing…
Your Shoulders In Downward Facing Dog
Your shoulders in downward facing dog: What should we do with them? Where does the movement come from? Get answers!…
Injury In Supta Kurmasana: Supta Kurmasana Goes Pop!
Find out where injury in supta kurmasana can occur. Learn why the sternoclavicular joint is vulnerable when doing supta kurmasana.…
Yes, You Can Get Injured Doing A Headstand
Learn how the hand position you choose affects your headstand. Find out where your shoulders should be relative to your…
To Squeeze Or Not To Squeeze? Upward Facing Dog
Find out whether we should or should not squeeze our butt in upward facing dog, back bends, and drop backs,…