Altman - Yoga Deconstructed®: Movement science principles for teaching

Table of Contents

HANDSPRING PUBLISHING LIMITED

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First published 2021 in the United Kingdom by Handspring Publishing

Copyright Handspring Publishing Limited 2021

All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without either the prior written permission of the authors and publisher or a license permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

The rights of Trina Altman to be identified as the Author of this text have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Acts 1988.

ISBN 978-1-912085-44-6

ISBN (Kindle ebook) 978-1-912085-45-3

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

Notice

Neither the Publisher nor the Author assume any responsibility for any loss or injury and/or damage to persons or property arising out of or relating to any use of the material contained in this book. It is the responsibility of the treating practitioner, relying on independent expertise and knowledge of the patient, to determine the best treatment and method of application for the patient.

All reasonable efforts have been made to obtain copyright clearance for illustrations in the book for which the authors or publishers do not own the rights. If you believe that one of your illustrations has been used without such clearance please contact the publishers and we will ensure that appropriate credit is given in the next reprint.

Commissioning Editor Sarena Wolfaard

Project Manager Morven Dean

Copy-editor Susan Stuart

Design Bruce Hogarth

Cover art and illustrations Dionna Gary Bunn - www.designedbydg.net

Indexer Aptara, India

Typesetter DSM, India

Printer Melita, Malta

TRINA ALTMAN , BA, E-RYT 500, YACEP, NCPT, STOTT PILATES certified instructor, is the creator of Yoga Deconstructed and Pilates Deconstructed, which shows movement teachers and clinicians how to modernize their teaching and create a more sustainable practice through an interdisciplinary approach based on current movement science.

Trina has over a decade of teaching experience and has taught throughout North America, Central America, Europe, and Australia.

Trina has presented at Kripalu, PURE YOGA NYC, Yogaworks, SYTAR, the Yoga Alliance Leadership Conference, ECA, Momentum Fest and multiple yoga conferences. She also created and taught a Pilates continuing education course for physical therapists and was part of the faculty for the Brain Longevity conference at UCLA. Her work has been published in Yoga Journal, Yoga International, and Pilates Style magazine and her classes and courses have been featured on Yoga International, Yoga Anytime and Fusion Pilates EDU.

She also consulted for Equinox to help develop their signature program Best Stretch Ever, which utilizes the mobility stick to improve functional range of motion, body awareness, and total body strength. Her teaching fosters body cognition and self-discovery, firmly grounded in anatomical awareness.

For more information on Trina and her online classes and courses, visit trinaaltman.com

Trina Altman sets the proverbial record straight when it comes to the art of designing classes. Her kindhearted approach invites you into an intricate unraveling of the unvalidated status quo. She speaks to the reader as a friend and comrade, sharing her own struggles along her teaching journey when her continued education did not align with the rules that had been laid out for her. This book does not tell you what to do, instead it tells you how to do what you want with purpose. And that, in itself, is a huge accomplishment.

I first met Trina close to ten years ago when we were both at a major turning point of our teaching paths. We had both found our own individual mentors that we truly admired, who had shown us there was another way, yet we both had our own ideas about our futures. I was organizing an event and remember inviting Trina to teach a few workshops. She was confident, and incredibly clear, about the content she was offering and her expectations for the event parameters. That assertiveness, combined with an enormous commitment to those lucky enough to study under her, is what fills the pages that lie ahead. Yoga Deconstructed is brimming with information on what it can look like to compassionately teach an embodied practice to wide variety of populations.

My own teaching path has sent me to across the globe, providing continuing education to yoga teachers both online and in person. I often find I share a significant student base with Trina, meaning I am witness to the complexity and progressive nature of this audience. You are curious and sharp-minded. You are open to criticism, both of yourselves and of systems that have failed your communities. You demand change yet respect the roots of the practice. You are keenly aware of the inequalities that are present within the hierarchies of modern postural yoga. On occasion, Trina, herself has been a student in my courses. I learned that she too, shares the qualities of this cohort. She is not teaching from above, but from within.

In Yoga Deconstructed, Trina guides you through her process in a step-by-step manner, pausing frequently to give an abundance of practical examples. You will want to read this book in an environment where you can get on the floor and experience everything she offers! Additionally, she frequently provides teacher considerations, where you have the opportunity to assimilate the content into your own teaching style and educational background before moving on. Trina starts with a foundation, progresses into the more complex topics, then introduces a powerful awareness tool. It all comes together as she walks you through building a sequence from start to finish. Presenting the book in the same way in which she teaches a class is brilliant! It is a must-read for any post-lineage yoga teacher.

Jules Mitchell MS, LMT, RYT
Yoga Educator, Research & Adjunct Faculty
Arizona State University
Author: Yoga Biomechanics:
Stretching Redefined