Body and Breath

Each month a new series of 10 questions will be posted on the Test Yourself page. The following month the questions will then be posted here along with the answers and explanations.

Answers to the February 2002 questions are posted below. ( View Archive )

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.

81. Which three of the following six postures/exercises are not expressions of isometric muscular action?

a) nauli
b) warrior I
c) fire exercise (chapter 3)
d) boat with a keel
e) bellows breathing
f) intermediate level locust

The answers are a, c, and e, all of which by definition involve movement, and therefore isotonic exercise. On the other hand, b, d, and f are all expressed holding still and necessitate isometric muscular action. The acts of coming into b, d, and f of course require isotonic muscular activity.

82. In which one of the following circumstances is paradoxical breathing appropriate?

a) Lifting up as high as possible in the cobra (not supported substantially by the upper extremities)
b) Full capacity standing whole-body backbend
c) Buffy slays the vampire
d) Lillian Gish saves the children from Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter
e) Alan Ladd polishes off Jack Palance in Shane
f) Paul Newman's Cool-hand Luke eats 50 eggs

My answer is c, although one might argue that Buffy is too cool to ever breath paradoxically. Lillian Gish, on the other hand, was definitely too cool. And Alan Ladd (the fast-draw artist) wouldn't have had time. In any event, paradoxical breathing is best reserved for surprises and emergencies. It is rarely appropriate for postures (although a complete breath has a paradoxical component), and it is certainly inadvisable during the course of eating, much less overeating.

83. In which two of the following circumstances does the glottis have to be closed?

a) uddiyana bandha
b) even breathing
c) A and P breathing
d) spinal twist
e) nauli madhyama

The answers are a and e. For uddiyana bandha, one exhales maximally and then tries to inhale thoracically but with the glottis tightly closed. The exercise cannot work otherwise. Nauli madhyama is simply the superimposition of the contraction of the rectus abdominis muscles onto uddiyana bandha. For b, c, and d, the glottis is left open at all times.

84. Which two of the following curvatures are kyphotic?

a) cervical
b) thoracic
c) lumbar
d) sacral

The thoracic and sacral curvatures are kyphoses, or kyphotic curvatures, whereas the cervical and lumbar curvatures are lordoses, or lordotic curvatures. The kyphotic curvatures are also called primary curvatures, since they were first formed in the embryo and fetus, whereas the cervical and lumbar curvatures are called secondary curvatures, since they develop in the infant.

85. Which six of the following ten backbends are relatively passive, in that the use of the deep back muscles for maintaining the bend is optional?

a) camel
b) advanced locust
c) upward-facing dog
d) classic cobra
e) pigeon
f) intermediate locust
g) beginner's whole-body standing backbend
h) bow
i) prone boat
j) advanced lumbar backbend

Keeping in mind that the question forces one to pick six out of eleven postures for maintaining the backbend, I think the best answers are a, b, c, e, h, and j. Taking them one at a time, the use of the deep back muscles for maintaining the bend is optional for intermediate and advanced students in the camel, advanced locust, pigeon, bow, and advanced lumbar backbend, and the use of the deep back muscles is optional for everyone in the completed upward-facing dog. And for the rest, which include the classic cobra, the intermediate locust, the beginner's whole-body standing backbend, and the prone boat, use of the deep back muscles is required not only to come into the posture, but to maintain it.

86. What is unique about the posterior stretch (paschimottanasana) for highly flexible students who can come fully into the posture?

a) inhalation increases tension and exhalation decreases tension
b) the stretch is initiated with a straight back
c) there is an emphasis on bending from the hips
d) the abdominal organs are compressed
e) the pose is completed by flattening the back

The only possible answer is e, because a, b, c, and d are more or less true for everyone. The startling (and unique) characteristic of the posterior stretch for highly flexible students is that they invariably flatten their backs as they press their torsos down against their thighs, whereas those who are less flexible tend to force their backs into an even more rounded position when trying to complete the posture.

87. Comparing three classes of postures (forward bending, backward bending, and twisting), which two of the following are not unique characteristics of twisting?

a) always asymmetric
b) inherently neutral with respect to gravity
c) creates axial compression
d) compresses abdominal organs
e) exercises respiratory diaphragm
f) creates torque

Keeping in mind that the question forces you to pick two out of six, the best answers are d and e. The others (a, b, c, and f) are all unique to twisting. On the other hand, all three classes of postures (forward bending, backward bending, and twisting) compress abdominal organs, and all three classes of postures are likely to increase intra-abdominal pressure and thus create more tension on the diaphragm during inhalation.

88. Which three of the following seven muscles are not part of the rotator cuff family?

a) supraspinatus
b) infraspinatus
c) latissimus dorsi
d) subscapularis
e) teres minor
f) pectoralis minor
g) trapezius

The answers are c, f, and g. The rotator cuff muscles, named for the manner in which they form a cuff of tendons that originate from the scapula, insert just below the head of the humerus, and stabilize the head of the humerus in the glenoid cavity of the scapula, are the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor. The latissimus dorsi bypasses the scapula entirely to insert on the humerus, and the pectoralis minor and trapezius assist in stabilizing the scapula.

89. In comparing the shoulderstand with three other classes of postures (standing forward bends, standing backward bends, and standing twists), which three of the following characteristics are not unique to that inverted posture?

a) gravity returns blood efficiently from the lower extremities
b) forced flexion of the head and neck
c) functional residual capacity (FRC) is markedly reduced
d) venous return increases from the abdominal organs
e) intra-abdominal pressure is invariably low
f) increase in tension for inhalation occurs
g) whole-body expression of energy is the rule

The answers are d, f, and g. Considering each item, the gravitationally-aided return of blood from the lower extremities is unique to the shoulderstand, as is forced flexion of the head and neck. Likewise, the marked reduction of the functional residual capacity, as well as a low (approximately neutral) intra-abdominal pressure, are characteristic only of inverted postures. On the other hand, all four classes of postures improve venous return from the abdomen. And backbending and twisting increase tension for inhalation (as does the shoulderstand, in which the diaphragm operates to press the abdominal organs toward the ceiling as well as draw air into the lungs). And finally, all four classes of postures create a whole-body expression of energy.

90. Which seven of the following eleven autonomic nervous system reactions are facilitated by the sympathetic as opposed to the parasympathetic nervous system?

a) constriction of the pupil
b) secretion of salivary digestive enzymes
c) increase in heart rate and strength of contraction
d) inhibition of blood flow to the stomach and intestines
e) constriction of bronchioles in the lungs
f) resistance to the initiation of urination
g) free flow of urine
h) constipation
i) impotence
j) sexual excitation
k) orgasm

The answers (sympathetic responses) are c, d, f, h, i, and k. The organ-specific parasympathetic responses, on the other hand, are a, b, e, g, and j.