PART III:  ANATOMY OF ASANA (36 Contact Hours)
MusculoSkeletal Anatomy & Kinesiology of Yoga Asana

Part III of the course is geared toward yoga teachers or students desiring to dive deeply into the application of musculo-skeletal anatomy and kinesiology to the study of yoga asana.  It is much more experiential in nature than Part I & II, and therefore can not be attended as an independent home-study option.

During this course, we’ll examine a few yoga postures in every major posture category to determine:

1. ‣the potential benefits of each posture from a musculo-skeletal point of view (i.e., what does it strengthen? what does it stretch?)
   

2. ‣skillful vs. unskillful alignment/technique within each posture, from a kinesiological perspective
   

3. ‣the actions that are occurring at selected joints, which muscles are contracting to create or control these actions, and the implications if these muscles are weak
   

4. ‣which muscles are being stretched in the posture, and the implications if these muscles are tight
   

5. ‣alignment issues might arise in each posture, and what might be causing them (from a musculo-skeletal perspective)
   

6. ‣for more challenging postures, which muscles need to be strong and which need to be flexible, in order to practice the posture skillfully?  if these muscles are not currently strong and/or flexible, how could we strengthen or stretch them with more basic postures or exercises?
   

Prerequisites:  Part I (Skeletal System) & Part II (Muscular System)
Required Book:  None

Notes on Part III (The Anatomy of Yoga Asana)

1. ‣Part III is more experiential in nature than Parts I & II... it'll feel like you're attending a yoga workshop, but we'll be looking at postures through the lens of musculo-skeletal anatomy.
   

2. ‣Part III is of obvious interest to yoga teachers, but is also open to other movement professionals who have completed Parts I & II and want to learn more about how to apply their studies to the field of human movement
   

3. ‣To enroll in Part III, you must first complete Part I & II or receive prior permission (you need a strong background in musculoskeletal anatomy and kinesiology)