Month: July 2015

Being in the same space as the renowned teacher, Judith Hanson Lasater, and listening to her speak in this language made me want to pull out my anatomy book to decode (well, it’s written by her) and review (it was my textbook from teacher training…) She has a workshop called “Experiential Anatomy” coming up ! Let’s sign up:) Never thought I would be interested as anatomy was not the subject area I was particularly interested in during my yoga teacher training but an area I just felt I needed to merely get through and be done with… BUT She makes anatomy interesting, even exciting and fun, not boring dry subject you are praying that you can just memorize with flashcards or whatever method you use to remember those darn vocabulary – all the muscle group and bones names and get tested on and then … just … forget about. It was a section I prayed to be over with asap in our training so we can get onto that more exciting “spiritual path”:) Yes, confession of a yoga teacher – I was never one to be all that interested in bodily parts, preferring poetry and literature over biology or physiology BUT … something changed by being in Judith’s presence… Anatomy is an integral part of getting to know the Self – yes, the physical Self not the astral, subtle or the more esoteric Self (while fascinating also) but the REAL meat and bones of our touch and feel makeup. Why? Because we want to find comfort and ease in our own skin, right now, the way we are, whatever we inherited from our mothers and fathers.

Her gleeful enthusiasm on the subject of anatomy is catchy … yes, her interest in the body’s makeup is infectious – your body after all is a house we need to tend to and would be good to know how it works, how it functions … the design, the layout, the plumbing and wiring and all … without having to go to med school – to really see it as a whole moving, integral organic part of your whole being – a living house, a loving home to your … soul.

So here’s a run-down on even the basics I had forgotten a bit when you combine the anatomy with movement … is that called kinetics (mechanics)… a good time to review – who talks like this though? It’s just one of those – being able to be more specific when you are explaining… just another way to … exercise your brain muscle:)

extension is movement that straightens of opens a joint moves along the sagittal plane (example opening fingers from a fist)

flexion movement that bends a joint and brings it closer together moves along the sagittal plane (example bringing your knee up to your chest)

adduction joint that brings a limb to the midline (example hugging yourself)

abduction joint that moves limb away from midline (example getting on a bike)

medial rotation at shoulder and hip joints turns joint into midline (example slapping someone from the outside of your body to the inside)

lateral rotation at shoulder and hip joints turns joint away from midline (example writing words on paper)

rotation relates to the axial skeleton moving either left or right (example reaching behind you from on a ladder to grab a box)

circumduction any part of your body that can make a circulair movement (example rolling your wrist in a circle)

elevation moves joint or bone superiorly (example shrugging your shoulders)

depression moving joint or bone inferiorly (expample open your jaw as in shock aka :O )

lateral flexion occurs at the axial skeleton left or right (example bending your back left or right)

supination in relation to the foearm when the palm of your hand faces up (example holding a cup of water from its base)

pronation in relation to the foearm when the palm of the hand faces down (example spilling glass of water)

inversion pointing the bottom of your foot to the midline of your body – not yogi’s inversion I guess.

eversion pointing the bottom of the foot away from the midline of the body

plantar flexion movement of the ankle when your point your toes (example ballerinas dancing on their toes)

dorsiflexion movement of the ankle when you flex your feet (example standing up on your feet)

protraction moving your jaw forward away from the spine

retraction moving your jaw back to the spine

– from Trail Guide by Andrew Biel (then onto YogaBody… Judith’s book that is directed to yoga practitioners so all the above examples would be as it relates to asanas.)

Do we actually speak like above in the class? Noooo; maybe sometimes.
Does speaking like the above make us a better yoga teacher? Not really – BUT does clarify by being specific when that’s necessary – otherwise, I too prefer more poetic or even just everyday use of language … still

it’s just …

fun.

We are teaching to PEOPLE, asanas, not asanas to people.

– Judith Hanson Lasater

Ironically assisting those who gathered to learn to teach relaxation techniques can be exhausting – so exhausting that you end up needing to do … restorative yoga to RESTORE the depleted energy from so much serving of the others. What is valuable at this point is not so much the techniques for me as …why the h… we are teaching (after all, I somehow pursued and managed to get bestowed the advance level trainer designation…). The higher purpose… that’s not ego-centric … what is it?

What I value about Judith’s teaching is about the TEACHING itself. How to teach; why we teach … Does it make a difference? A lot of teachers may talk a lot about it but … come on, 44 years of teaching? There’s substance of what she knows technically – then, the wisdom gleaned only though years of … experience.

I know what it’s like in the trenches. I know how it feels when you rearrange your whole day and week’s schedule to teach and have only 4 students show up to that class.
BUT what you are doing is valuable.

then she says …

In the olden days students/patients would have brought you peaches from their tree or something; There’s value and people recognized that (& we only want to teach those who knows the value); if you want a class no one comes to, have a free class.

Despite the 2 parking tickets on the streets of San Francisco, plus other matters at home front, some people my think I am crazy but … I am happy I assisted this teacher I so respect. We are drawn to LIGHT and Brilliance … and to know that LIGHT and Brilliance she possesses comes not only from her great mind but from the source called … yoga … and regular practice of restorative yoga … is the most convincing reason to engage in this practice. Her light, her brilliance and creativity is all derived from and fueled by … Restorative Yoga.

Seeing her teach tirelessly, that’s a good enough reason for me to learn it, teach it, practice it.