Yoga Anatomy for December 3, 2008

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and are enjoying your weekend.

The last 3 Wednesdays of our Fall trimester will cover the mouth and throat structures, and the pelvic diaphragm.

Our next class will focus on the anatomical locations in the mouth where sound is produced. We will utilize the phonetic structure of the Sanskrit alphabet, which maps out these locations in a very beautiful way.

We will be joined this Wednesday by a special guest, Jo Brill, who will be leading a Sanskrit training at The Breathing Project March 6-8. I'm sure she'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about the training, or about the Sanskrit language.

This is always one of the most fun classes of the entire course, and I'm very much looking forward to sharing it with you.

Yoga Anatomy Homework for October 22, 2009

Here's a homework assignment based on Wednesday's class:

As if you were speaking to a beginning student, BRIEFLY explain (in your own words) how the contraction of the diaphragm creates 3-dimensional expansion of the chest cavity.

Also, in preparation for next week's class on the accessory muscles, please review the text and video at the following links from Ray Long's Bandhayoga website:

http://bandhayoga.com/keys_access.html
http://bandhayoga.com/keys_access2.html

I'd like to know what you think about the info, so please feel free to send me your comments.

Yoga Anatomy Homework for October 15, 2009

Sorry this took so long, but we finally hope to have our e-mail list and blog distribution up and running as of today.

This Yoga Anatomy blog is where I will post links, homework, announcements and other items of interest. Its subscription is only open to people who have participated in trainings, intensives and workshops that I've taught. If you're not in my NYC classes, but have questions, please feel free to use the "Comments" feature of the blog below. No anonymous comments, please.

For this week, I'm sending you some links about breathing.

Here's something from Mike White's website. He doesn't give his own definition, but lists many perspectives from the World Book dictionary:
Breathing Defined

Here's a page from Andrew Weil's website. Based on our last 3 sessions, see how many red flags get raised by his statements:
Breathing - the Proper Technique

I'd also like you to review the following three breath animations, and be prepared to discuss them in class. No need to reply to any of this, just make some notes about the three, and what you see is right or wrong about them based on our discussions so far.

1. http://www.indiana.edu/~issgraph/breath.html

2. http://www.biotopics.co.uk/humans/inhexh.html

3. http://pennhealth.com/health_info/animationplayer/breathing.html

Saturday, October 4 - Yoga Anatomy Demo and Guided Tour at NYC Bodies Exhibition with Leslie Kaminoff

Saturday, October 4 - 1pm to 4pm, 5pm to 8pm

Come to a Special Yoga event at "Bodies, the Exhibition," and meet Leslie Kaminoff, Amy Matthews, and the team that brought you the best-selling new book, "Yoga Anatomy."
There will be a free book signing, talk, slide show and Yoga demonstration in the exhibit hall's lobby from 1:00 to 4:00PM on Saturday, October 4th. Afterwards, join Leslie and Amy for a special guided tour of the amazing Bodies Exhibition from 5:00 to 8:00PM. The cost of the tour is $40.00, and all proceeds go to the Breathing Project's Advanced Studies Program scholarship fund.

Book signing, Talk, Yoga Demo: 1:00 to 4:00PM
Guided Tour of Exhibit: 5:00 to 8:00PM

Location: South Street Seaport Exhibition Centre 11 Fulton Street, NYC (at the corner of Front Street)

Cost: Book Signing, Talk, Demo: FREE (books will be on sale at the Exhibition's book store, or you can bring your own copy for signing)
Guided tour of Exhibit: $40.00

I’m Not a Yoga Therapist Anymore!

This piece will appear in the 2008 (Volume 18) issue of "The International Journal of Yoga Therapy." It was written at the request of the editor of the Journal, and is based on many discussions I've had with my IAYT colleagues over the past few years. e-Sutra readers are getting an exclusive preview prior to its publication. I urge everyone to join IAYT, get the Journal and attend SYTAR so you can take part in this essential dialogue. Please feel free to comment - I promise I will pass your feedback along to the IAYT leadership.


As I enter my 30th year as a Yoga teacher, and the 25th year of full-time employment doing Yoga-based work with individuals, I’ve just recently figured out something that I consider to be vitally important: I no longer wish to known as a “Yoga therapist.”
This bit of clarity is largely due to the opportunity I’ve had to bounce ideas off my colleagues at IAYT and attendees at SYTAR, so it seems fitting to share this perspective in the pages of this journal. The process of producing a written summary based on repeated discussions with teachers, students, and friends is very familiar to me. It’s what I did 10 years ago when I started the email newslist e-Sutra with the following post:

I have been personally engaged in countless discussions [about standards for Yoga teachers and therapists] for at least the past seven years. In those seven years, my fundamental views about certification standards have not changed, although my arguments supporting those views have become simpler and clearer with each new discussion...I will now present to you what I hope will be a clear and persuasive overview of my position...(click "Read more!" below to continue)

When I first wrote that, the topic was the establishment of national certification standards for Yoga teachers, which culminated in the birth of the Yoga Alliance. IAYT’s recent ongoing dialogue about the scope of practice and definition of Yoga Therapy is an extension of this debate. In my view, the fundamentals underlying both issues are identical, and can be summed up by the following question: “How can we define our professional activities in a way that preserves our freedom to conduct our relationships with our students in a manner that honors the core principles of Yoga?”

To fully explain my answer to this question, a little personal history will be necessary. Back in 1993, when the certification dialogue was just starting, I was serving as vice-president of a non-profit group called Unity in Yoga, and I was the principal author of the following official position statement:

We enthusiastically support the ongoing dialogue addressing higher personal, professional, and ethical standards for Yoga teachers and therapists.
We are in support of a process that results in the establishment of Yoga as a respected personal and academic pursuit, and any certification or accreditation that may result.
We are, however, opposed to the establishment of any entity that assumes the authority to license or regulate Yoga teachers as professional practitioners and to enforce its standards on the Yoga community.

Against my objections, Unity in Yoga’s executive board decided to release only the first two sentences─an action I saw as a critical error. Shortly thereafter, I resigned from Unity in Yoga. Four years later, I witnessed another group of Yoga teachers make a similar error in collective judgment just before I resigned from the ad hoc committee that turned into the Yoga Alliance when it acquired Unity in Yoga’s non-profit status.

The error is this: It is not enough to say that you are supporting and establishing high standards for Yoga teacher training and certification. That’s the easy, obvious part. You must also state clearly, consistently, and defensibly what you are not supporting, on ethical grounds. Yoga ethics are very clear on this point. The teaching concerning what we should avoid (yama) is presented before the teachings about what we should pursue (niyama). Furthermore, the very first injunction is ahimsâ, the avoidance of doing harm. In the context of professional standards, what exactly must we avoid harming? The process of teaching Yoga. What is the vehicle for this process? The student-teacher relationship.

Therefore, the professional “yama” I adhere to is “I avoid engaging in any action that will lead to third-party interference in the student-teacher relationship.” My “niyama” is “I support and protect through my actions the sanctity, integrity, and freedom of the student-teacher relationship.”

Those statements are the core of my ethical and practical values as a practitioner, and it would be impossible for me to overstate their importance in my life. They reflect fundamental principles that tell me which actions to avoid, and which to pursue. Without consciously identifying those principles and validating their truth through my life’s experience, I could easily become lost and confused. My actions could proceed from fear and ignorance, and I could end up doing harm to myself, my students, and my profession.

The value of my original 1993 statement on standards has been repeatedly confirmed for me, and I continue to vigorously stand by it, with one exception. In the first sentence, I used the phrase “Yoga teachers and therapists.” I now realize that this phrase is redundant, confusing, and potentially harmful.

As the title of this piece implies, I am stating for the record that I no longer wish to known as a Yoga therapist. I have come to the conclusion that my continued use of the term would misrepresent the nature of my work, both to the public and to myself, and would violate the professional ethics I’ve outlined above.

This does not in any way mean that I intend to stop doing my job. In fact, I will be able to work far more effectively, having identified my actual job title: “Yoga educator.” In retrospect, I realize that from the moment I taught my first group âsana class until the present day, I’ve always had the same job. I’ve just been doing it more effectively by learning how to better tailor the teachings to individual needs. I used to unquestioningly assume that my education in anatomy, biomechanics, bodywork, physical rehabilitation, and philosophy granted me the right to call myself a therapist. But, in fact, it just turned me into a highly-educated Yoga teacher.

By understanding that a “Yoga therapist” is nothing more than a very good Yoga teacher, I can eliminate the troublesome word “therapy” from my job description. I no longer need to define what I do beyond stating that I educate people about how their bodies and minds can be more fully integrated through the use of breath, posture, and movement. Even when I employ touch as part of that process, it is only for the purpose of educating, not fixing.

Why is the word “therapy” troublesome? Let’s start with the dictionary. Judge for yourself which definition is closest to what we do:

Therapy (from the Greek therapeutikos, to attend or treat): treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder; relating to the treatment of disease or disorders by remedial agents or methods...
Educate (from the Latin educere, to draw out): to train by formal instruction or supervised practice; to give intellectual, moral, and social instruction to someone; to provide information...

I submit that even the most highly skilled and experienced Yoga “Therapist” does not “treat disease...by remedial agents or methods.” This is the province of a medical system, whether it’s allopathic, naturopathic, or Ayurvedic. Yoga is not a medical system. Yoga is a set of principles that show us we are interconnected, multidimensional beings composed of body, breath, and mind. These teachings suggest strategies for identifying and reducing obstructions that can occur in any of these dimensions. When obstructions (klesha) are reduced, it is the human system itself that reestablishes a healthy balance. We simply show people how to make more space (sukha) in their bodies so prâna can flow more freely. It’s the body’s own resources that do the healing. In other words, the teacher doesn’t heal the student, the teachings do. This is my definition of Yoga therapy - it's Yoga applied to the individual.

As Yoga educators, we must constantly remind ourselves of and preserve this essential truth by minding our yama and niyama.

We must not attempt to integrate ourselves into mainstream healthcare delivery by posing as a new therapeutic profession. Not only will this take us further from the truth of who we are, it will create destructive turf battles with established fields like physical therapy, massage therapy, dance therapy, and so on.

We must not seek third-party reimbursement (de facto regulation) for our services, which are very affordable compared to medical treatment. If we are concerned about under-served populations, we are free to charitably offer our skills to them. This will be vastly easier to do without health insurance bureaucrats dictating our rates while wasting our time filling out their paperwork.

Most importantly, we must not seek out or surrender to government control (licensing) over our precious and unique field. This would be a betrayal of our students, who have sought us out precisely because we are outside the mainstream. After all, Yoga is ultimately about freedom. How can we represent that freedom if we allow ourselves to be co-opted by an oppressive system?

How then do we reach all the patients and doctors within mainstream healthcare who desperately need our skills? My answer is that we already are.

All across the world, we Yoga educators are sharing our vital work in every area of healthcare delivery by virtue of what we do best: connecting with people. This sharing will only grow exponentially as more doctors, nurses, administrators, and business people become our students, transform their lives, and advocate on our behalf. If we continue to take a strong stand for our own freedom as educators, we can have nothing but a positive influence on everyone. This is especially true for those working and being treated within mainstream healthcare, whose freedoms have been severely eroded by the destructive aspects of a system that’s forgotten to honor above all else the practitioner-patient relationship.

Is some form of government regulation of our field inevitable? Perhaps we can’t avoid it forever, but consider this: would you rather be answerable to the authorities as a healthcare provider, or as an educator?

Lastly, committing ourselves to the educational/academic model reveals perhaps the most important area we should be pursuing: the institution of undergraduate and graduate Yoga training programs at the university level. There is no reason on earth why serious students shouldn’t be able to acquire bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate-level training in any and all aspects of Yoga. A university-based Yoga program would unite in an unprecedented way many existing departments: anatomy, kinesiology, physiology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, religion, Sanskrit, to name just a handful. The majority of the necessary resources are already there. All that’s missing is a staff of experienced Yoga teachers to design and administer the Yoga training.

Think of what a valuable resource a full-blown Department of Yoga would be to a university! Students, teachers, and administrators in every department would benefit from the availability of ongoing, high-level, campus-based Yoga training. If we really want to be more accepted by doctors, there is no better way than to teach them Yoga while they're still in medical school.

I guarantee that the first university with the vision to create a degree program in Yoga would be deluged by applications from highly motivated, deeply-committed students. It’s a cherished dream of mine to see this happen in my lifetime─perhaps soon enough for my younger sons to take advantage of it.

This brief piece does not permit me to explore all the implications of my view, and I am well aware there are a great many (including what the “T” in IAYT might be changed to). I sincerely hope a lively dialogue will emerge as you consider the possibility of re-identifying yourself as what you truly are: a Yoga educator. I’d love to hear from you.

In closing, I salute the leadership of IAYT for their enlightened stewardship of our field, and for their open-mindedness in allowing my ideas to appear in their journal. The fact that you are reading this is ample evidence of their commitment to a truly open dialogue, and I am deeply honored that they have welcomed me into this forum.

Leslie Kaminoff is the founder of the Breathing Project, a nonprofit educational corporation in New York City dedicated to the teaching of individualized, breath-centered Yoga practice. He is also the author of the book Yoga Anatomy.

Week-long Yoga Breath Anatomy Immersion with Leslie Kaminoff

New York City August 4 - 9, 2008 (Monday - Saturday)

Encompassing 44 hours of direct contact hours, this is the first time Leslie Kaminoff is offering the core material from his year-long Yoga Anatomy course in an intensive, week-long format. In addition, a wide variety of hands-on learning, therapeutic and assisting techniques will be demonstrated and taught. These methods have been developed and practiced by Leslie over the past 30 years of his experience as a yoga educator, breathing coach and bodyworker. Whether focusing on group or individual teaching, yoga therapeutics or hands-on modalities, these techniques will provide participants with a broad range of highly adaptable and refined tools for transforming breath movement and posture.

This intensive is geared primarily towards experienced yoga teachers, core strength trainers and bodyworkers with at least 2 years experience in their fields. Participation is limited to 20 students, and enrollment is on a first-come first-served basis. For out-of-town participants, economical shared housing opportunities are available.

Schedule:

All sessions are 3 hours long, with one or two-hour lunch/dinner breaks in between.

Mon. Aug. 4 9:00 -- 12:00 2:00 -- 5:00
Tue. Aug. 5 9:00 -- 12:00 2:00 -- 5:00 7:00 -- 9:00
Wed. Aug. 6 9:00 -- 12:00 2:00 -- 5:00 6:00 -- 8:00
Thus. Aug 7 9:00 -- 12:00 2:00 -- 5:00 6:00 -- 8:00
Fri. Aug. 8 9:00 -- 12:00 2:00 -- 5:00 6:00 -- 8:00
Sat. Aug. 9 11:00 -- 2:00 4:00 -- 7:00

Cost:
Before July 11 $750.00
After July 11 $825.00
Required Deposit $250.00

Location:
The Breathing Project Studios
15 West 26th Street, 10th floor
New York, NY 10010

Suggested reading: "Yoga Anatomy" by Leslie Kaminoff
"The Heart of Yoga" by T.K.V. Desikachar

For more information and program topics, contact Leslie Kaminoff

The Simple Sutras with Navtej Johar

The Simple Sutras with Navtej Johar at The Breathing Project

Friday, May 9, from 3:30-5:00pm and 5:30-7:00pm

Navtej is an old friend of mine from the days we were both training with Desikachar. We are privileged to host some classes for him on the rare occasions when he passes through New York.

He is an amazing individual, and a gifted teacher who's work I can recommend without reservation. I urge you to join us for the two classes he's teaching here next Friday. I hope to see you then!

Workshop description:

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are extremely profound yet practical. They use the tangibles of the body, breath, and behavior with the aim to change the mind.

Join Navtej Johar, our special visiting teacher from New Delhi, India, as he explores the practicality of the Yoga Sutras in very simple terms and helps apply them to daily practice.

• Part I: 3:30-5:00pm
  
  Simple Philosophy: Navtej methodically delineates the philosophy without employing esoteric references, so you understand the Sutras in your own terms.


• Part II: 5:30-7:00pm
  
  Simple Practice: Navtej will introduce different methods of modulating the breath within asana practice, introducing elements such as kala (counting) & sankhya (sound) as added tools of mindfulness in pranayama. The session will culminate in a Yoga Sutras based breath-meditation involving the body, breath, mind, heart and--as Desikachar calls it--"something more".

About Navtej Johar:

A long time student and practitioner of yoga, Johar trained in Patanjali yoga at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai, under the guidance of Sri T.K.V . Desikachar.

A yoga teacher since 1985, Johar's approach is fluid and adaptable as he freely merges asana, pranayama, visualization, mediation and Vedic chanting.

Cost: $25 each part or $40 for both

Pre-registration recommended

Register

Homework for April 30, 2008

Questions for this week:

Usually, when we refer to the deeper layers of muscle in the body, we describe them as shorter, and acting on fewer joints. How does this apply to the muscles of the lower leg?

How would you describe the difference between the function of the gastrocnemius and the soleus?

Why do peoples' anterior tibialis anterior tendon frequently "pop out" when they attempt to squat?

Here are some links to Tom Myers' website:

The SBL Video we watched

Tom's introductory "Yoga Anatomy" gallery

I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday, when we will discuss the knee, and view the video of my 2 knee surgeries.

Homework for April 9, 2008

This week's homework is geared towards reinforcing the habit of thinking of anatomy in terms of the yoga concepts we use.

Based on our discussion Wednesday, how would you describe the images below from the perspective of the terms "Sthira and Sukha?" Don't be afraid to be creative.

If you like, you can print out the image and write your answers directly on the page. Bring it in next week, so we can review your answers. No need to e-mail it back to me this week.

An Apology, and Homework for February 6, 2008

I want to thank everyone who attended last week's class for their patience in putting up with Dr. Williams. I met with him for 1 1/'2 hours before the class, and I specifically asked him to respect the nature of the course, and not just launch into his "boilerplate" presentation. It seems that some people can't resist an audience. Once he got rolling, I was reluctant to cut him off, but I wish I had. I apologize for not being more insistent that he respect my request.

In any case, in our conversation, one of the main objections I raised was his reliance on Applied Kinesiology (AK) as a diagnostic method, both for identifying problems, and evaluating their "resolution." He insisted that it was objective - which it certainly is not, and I will take the first 20 minutes of class this Wednesday to demonstrate just that. A valuable lesson in all this is to recognize the power of suggestion (including placebo effect) in the work we do. Please understand, I don't doubt the claims of success we heard from Doctor Williams - it's just that I can (and must) question his belief as to the cause of the results. Dr. Williams is certainly a very knowledgeable and experienced doctor, but he is also a (sales) man on a mission, and that can certainly compromise objectivity.

Of course, we will spend the rest of our class on Wednesday examining the structural elements of the vertebrae, and understanding the principle of intrinsic equilibrium. Please be sure you've completed reading the second chapter of my book by Wednesday. If, in the course of reading, you have any questions, please jot them down and bring them to class.

I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

Special Guest presenter for Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008

I'd like to introduce a special guest presenter who will be joining us on Wednesday at 2:00 and 4:15. His name is Dr. Richard Williams. He's been doing some very interesting work related to breathing and health. Below, I'm attaching his photo, and an excerpt from an introductory message he sent me.

From time to time during the course, I like to bring in experts like Dr. Williams who can add perspective and knowledge to our studies.
I very much look forward to his presentation.

Hi Leslie,

Most of our physical programs are techniques I have personally developed over 30 years of teaching patients and family to do home care. I was in Thailand for 20 years where the infrastructure at the periphery is minimal and PT does not exist. It is a home-based self, and family administered program. This is not taught in any discipline of which I am aware although some aspects are similar to healing touch and energy work. We have been able to document the profound effects of muscle spasm (activation of normal secondary guarding and communicating components in muscle bundles) on brain, spinal cord, autonomic nervous system, and every organ. I hope to share these techniques and insights and have them expanded on from the vast experience of hands-on practitioners.

Homework for Janaury 23, 2008

This week, the homework is a visual quiz.

Here, you will find two images of half spinal twist. The anatomical sketch is based on the photo, and it contains numerous errors that need to be corrected.

Try to find as many as you can, and jot down your answers. We'll review the images in class, and see how many you found.

I look forward to seeing you next week, when we will get deeper into twists, lateral bending, and start to discuss the vertebra.

Homework for January 9, 2008

A big thank you goes out to all of our guests who helped launch our Winter Trimester with a roomful of great energy. I hope to see many of you again soon.

Questions for this week, based on my presentation: "A Brief History of the Spine:"

* What are the dual functions that the evolving spine had to provide for the central nervous system of our aquatic ancestors?

* What do the terms "ontogeny and phylogeny" refer to?

* Give two contexts of what is meant by "the primary curve" of the spine.

* Give two contexts of what is meant by "the secondary curves" of the spine.

* Why do chimpanzees have trouble walking on their hind legs?

I loook forward to seeing you next week, when we discuss in greater detail the structure and function of sections of the spine, and begin to explore their ranges of motion.