Body and Breath - Test Yourself

These questions may be used for any purpose other than electronic transmission or publication in books or pamphlets so long as the source--bodyandbreath.com--is acknowledged. Their purpose is to provide teachers of body and movement therapies with a bank of questions that can be used in examinations or for self study.

Each month a new set of questions will be posted. The answers to the previous months questions can be found on The Answers page.

Test yourself, September, 2001

Note: For each of the following questions (one for each chapter in Anatomy of Hatha Yoga), please answer in 100 or fewer words using complete sentences.

31. Why is rapid adaptation of receptors for touch and pressure so significant when one approaches and then quietly holds a posture?

32. What muscles are involved (at the end of exhalation) in keeping the upper half of the body lifted in the cobra variation with tightly engaged lower extremities (fig. 2.10), and what muscle lifts the body higher during inhalation?

33. What architectural plan of the rectus abdominis muscles and their innervation by motor nerves enables one to practice agni sara as described in chapter 3?

34. Why is breathing such an important issue in standing backbends?

35. Why are the locust postures generally more demanding than the cobra postures?

36. In ideal circumstances of strength and flexibility, what are the main joints in the body that are of primary interest in forward bending postures?

37. Considering all the alternative classes of postures in which one can accomplish twisting (inverted, standing, sitting, and supine), what order might be suggested for beginners in going from safest to most demanding?

38. For someone of average height and good health who has had extensive experience in doing the headstand, what is the expected systolic/diastolic blood pressure in muscular arteries at the top of the head, at heart level, and in the ankles? First list the pressures standing up and then list pressures that would be expected in the headstand.

39. What warnings prior to using a 5-inch shoulder support for the first time (lifted shoulderstand) are appropriate for a student who is otherwise experienced in practicing the classic shoulderstand? And second, what warnings prior to trying the classic shoulderstand are appropriate for a student who has always used a substantial prop for the shoulders.

40. How would you make an older student who is stiff and whose neck and lower back are uncomfortable more at ease in the (supine) corpse pose?