Seeing Your Students’ Anatomy

Observation is one of the most important skills a teacher can have. There’s a lot of information in front of you in every moment, but you’re not necessarily aware of it until someone points it out. In this workshop, you’ll learn tools that let you see more of what a student is actually doing, and not doing. That extra layer of seeing changes the adjustments and cues you give in a pose.

We start by developing your eye, first by recognizing your own biases, since those biases color what you think you’re seeing. From there we practice a formal postural analysis, a technique that trains you to see more objectively and in far greater detail.

Next we take observation into movement, starting with one of the most fundamental patterns there is: walking. You’ll practice a more visceral method of observation by mimicking the patterns you see in a student’s gait, adding a kinesthetic layer to what you’re seeing. Putting yourself inside a student’s posture, quite literally, is often the fastest way to understand what they’re actually experiencing, and how to support them in it.

Finally, we bring these skills back to the mat and observe full poses: the transitions into and out of a posture, not just its static shape. By the end, your verbal cues and hands-on adjustments are built on observations that are less biased, more detailed, and genuinely more informed.