Body and Breath

Each month a new series of 10 questions will be posted on the Questions & Answers page along with the answers and explanations.

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Qustions & Answers, May & June, 2003

You are scheduled to teach an all-day (six hours total) lecture and practicum on yoga and anatomy to 30 hatha yoga teachers using Anatomy of Hatha Yoga as a textbook. The assignment: Outline the third of four, 1½ hour sessions (which run 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, 4:00 to 5:30 PM, and 7:30 to 9:00 PM) covering at least a few representative postures and topics from chapters eight, nine, and ten. You can assume that everyone has a book in front of them, that no one has studied it critically, and that five of the 30 teachers have a biomedical background. Please design your course as a whole (and this third session) so that it does not bore the five students with some background in biology and that at the same time does not leave the remaining 25 students frustrated and lost.

Answer:
First 30 minutes on chapter eight
Cardiovascular system
Blood pressure, venous return, pulmonary circulation
The two headstands, crown headstand, bregma headstand
Upper extremities
Breathing issues
Strength and flexibility
Second 30 minutes on chapter nine
Anatomy of the shoulderstand
Inverted action postures
Beginning shoulderstand
Plow
Sequelae
Third 30 minutes on chapter ten
Muscular relaxation
Corpse and crocodile
Autonomic nervous system
Meditation postures
Props
Six meditation postures