21. Which one of the following is NOT a connective tissue?
a) neuron
b) adipose tissue (fat)
c) blood
d) tendon
e) fascia

The answer is a. All the others are connective tissues, along with bone, cartilage, the dermis (leather), and hypodermis (subcutaneous connective tissue).

22. Which one of the following represents the total amount of air that is left in the lungs after an ordinary exhalation?
a) vital capacity
b) residual volume
c) functional residual capacity
d) tidal volume
e) expiratory reserve volume

The answer is c. A is the total amount of air you can inhale after a full exhalation, b is the amount of air left in the lung after a full exhalation, d is the normal amount of air inhaled and exhaled under resting circumstances, and e is the amount of air you can exhale after an ordinary exhalation. C, the correct answer, is the combination of b and e together.

23. Which one of the following cavities is unaffected by superimposing contraction of the rectus abdominis muscles on uddiyana bandha (the abdominal lift)?
a) nasal cavity
b) peritoneal cavity
c) abdominal cavity
d) pleural cavity
e) thoracic cavity.

A is the answer, which is obvious to a skilled test-taker, even if he or she does not really know the answer. In any case, a substantial vacuum is developed in all of the other cavities (b through e) when doing this maneuver. Note: doing uddiyana bandha by itself produces a substantial vacuum in the pleural and thoracic cavities, but only a slight vacuum in the peritoneal and abdominal cavities.

24. Which one of the following is incorrect regarding coming into standing forward bends from the hips in beginning students?
a) stresses lower backs that are unprepared or chronically stiff
b) stretches the hamstring muscles
c) posture should be supported either by upper extremities with hands braced against the thighs or by reaching out to a wall or table
d) most beginners are frustrated by an instructor’s emphasis on bending from the hips
e) hip flexion is impeded by the spiral of ischiofemoral, pubofemoral, and iliofemoral ligaments.

The totally false statement is e. These ligaments get loose during the course of hip flexion. A through e are usually correct.

25. Which one of the following prone backbends is relatively passive with respect to the deep back muscles?
a) classic cobra
b) pushing up moderately using the arms and forearms, with the hands underneath the chin
c) squeezing the hips together and coming up and down with breathing
d) beginner’s locust posture
e) intermediate locust posture.

B is correct, as can be easily confirmed by coming into the pose and then noticing that using the back muscles to aid the lift is somewhat unnatural and contrived. You can do it anyway, but a, c, d, and e automatically produce back tension.

26. Which two of the following are NOT characterized by an emphasis on nutation?
a) expert’s accomplished pose (siddhasana)
b) passive standing backbend with the knees slightly bent
c) standing 3 feet from a wall with thighs abducted, bending forward from the hips, leaning against the wall, and thrusting the coccyx up and to the rear
d) easy cross-legged sitting pose
e) standing whole-body backbend with kneecaps lifted and arms overhead.

The two correct answers are d and e, both of which generally emphasize counter-nutation.

27. Which one of the following sites reveals the least twisting?
a) cervical spine
b) thoracic spine
c) lumbar spine
d) sacral spine
e) hip joints.

The sacrum is a fixed bone, so it permits no twisting at all, by definition. Apart from that, the lumbar spine permits less twisting than a, b, or e because of limitations in its vertebral joints and because the axis of the twist falls to the rear of the vertebral bodies and intervertebral disks.

28. With the arms abducted straight out to the side in a standing side stretch, where in the cardiovascular system (at heart level) is blood pressure the lowest?
a) aorta
b) muscular arteries of the arm and forearm
c) capillary beds in the upper extremities
d) veins of the arm and forearm
e) vena cava where it enters the right atrium.

The correct answer is e, with pressure decreasing from a to e in that order.

29.Which one of the following is the least complementary to the shoulderstand series?
a) threading-the-needle
b) sitting forward bend
c) inverted action pose
d) fish
e) plow

My answer is b, because forward bending or the tendency to express forward bending in one or more parts of the body is the essential feature of the series. Threading-the-needle, the inverted action pose, and the plow all fit in the pattern of supporting the series, and the fish is complementary because it is the opposite. It seems to me that sitting forward bends are least supportive to the series as a whole.

30. Which muscular region is generally the most difficult to relax?
a) forearm
b) hand
c) face
d) leg
e) foot

The answer is generally c. It is not surprising that the facial muscles are frequently used for biofeedback training. The distal muscles of the extremities, on the other hand, are less intransigent. Deep muscles of the torso, it might be added, are also frequently a problem, as are proximal muscles of the extremities.