Table of Contents
By Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., PT
Relax and Renew
Living Your Yoga
30 Essential Yoga Poses
Yoga for Pregnancy
Yoga Abs
A Year of Living Your Yoga
Yogabody
What We Say Matters
(with Ike K. Lasater)
To Charles Kampmann Lasater
Acknowledgments
MORE THAN MOST people realize, writing a book requires the support of a number of people. This book has been particularly shaped by two people. The first is my son, Charles Kampmann Kam Lasater and the second is Dr. Ruth Williams.
Years ago I was preparing to travel for the second time to India to study yoga with my teacher. Plans had been set for a year, and I was excited each time I thought about the trip. However, on our first sons second birthday, we learned that a second baby was coming. I cancelled my trip, and at the suggestion of my husband, I spent the time I had set aside writing the outline of an anatomy and kinesiology book. I used those outlines frequently as the basis for articles and workshops through the years. Now I am finally fulfilling a lifes dream by writing the book I planned so many years ago. Because of Kam, I began this book more than two decades ago. For his part in its creation, and for the joy his life has brought me, I am so grateful.
The other person who helped shape this book has shared her talents for months, doing the not-so-exciting work of reading and helping with the manuscript. Ruth Williams started her lifes work as an artist. Her next project was raising three daughters. As they grew up, she reconnected with an early love of science, returning to school to study biology and chemistry. Upon graduation she received a research and teaching fellowship in gross anatomy and neuroanatomy at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, where she completed a doctorate in anatomy.
However, I did not meet Dr. Williams in an anatomy class but in a yoga class. She was participating in a teacher training I was giving. In addition to her teaching of anatomy, she had become a yoga teacher. We instantly connected around our love of the two disciplines, and within a matter of hours I had asked her to help me with this book. I appreciate not only the competence but also the good nature with which she did so. The truth is that Dr. Williams has made this book a much better one, and we all benefit. I am deeply grateful.
My gratitude is also especially offered to Jill Jalaja Korengold, not only for the admirable and helpful job she did reading the completed manuscript but also for the work she does in the world. She has studied and taught yoga science since 1988 with the blessings of Sadguru Sant Keshavadas, Srimad Rama Mata, and Sri Haricharandas. In addition, she is a bilingual teacher of elementary students and shares her love and knowledge of yoga science with them.
I extend my appreciation to Angela Zaragoza, D.C., and Athena Kyle, P.T., both of San Francisco, who answered my questions about anatomy and function whenever I asked, and did so graciously and competently every time.
I would also like to thank my publishers at Rodmell Press, Linda Cogozzo and Donald Moyer. This is our seventh book together, and I continue to enjoy our working relationship and treasure our friendship.
Finally, my familys support is always part of the writing of my books. My thanks and love to them.
Introduction:
The Shape of Yogabody
IF ANYTHING IS SACRED, THE HUMAN BODY IS SACRED.
WALT WHITMAN
THE ANCIENT INDIAN philosophy of yoga has many schools of thought and a variety of techniques, the most popular of which is asana. The practice of asana has historically been taught to prepare the sadhaka (seeker) for the prolonged practices of meditation. Today, however, yoga asana is being used by millions of people throughout the world for other reasons as well: to reduce stress, improve health, enhance athletic performance, recover from injury and illness, as well as to simply improve the enjoyment of daily life.
As a result of this popularity, an increasing number of yoga teachers are teaching classes in all imaginable venues. This book is written for you. My goal is to offer to the experienced and the novice teacher a thorough presentation of the basic systems that create and control movement in the body. Furthermore, it is my wish to present this information in a manner that will render it immediately useful in your yoga studio class. This book is also for you, the yoga student, to help you understand how your body functions so you can become your own teacher when practicing on your own. What follows is a brief explanation of the emphasis and organization of this book.
Anatomy is the study of the structure of the human body. To study anatomy, the structure of the organism, is like learning the letters of the alphabet, the basic building blocks of words. Kinesiology is the study of the movement of that body through space; to study kinesiology is to put those letters together to make the words of movement. You cant fully understand the dynamic movement of asana without first understanding the basic structure of the human body.
This book will focus on both anatomy and kinesiology in relationship to asana practice and teaching. By understanding the structure and function of the locomotor system, you will become a more effective and efficient practitioner and teacher. You will be better able to quickly decide what might be able to help you and your students move with more enjoyment and less difficulty or pain.
My emphasis is on macroanatomy, the anatomy of the major structures of the body. I do not discuss microanatomy, such as the structure of the cell or the specific fibers of muscles. I have written Yogabody as if I were teaching an anatomy class. My hope is twofold. The first is that this book will be a direct and friendly connection from me to you, and then of you to the subject matter. My second hope is that what you learn in the pages of Yogabody will be interesting and immediately applicable to your practice and teaching, not merely a collection of facts about the body. This book does not include all the details about the anatomy of the body, but it does, I hope, include enough to keep you interested and learning for a very long time.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
Yogabody is divided into five parts: the locomotor system, the vertebral column, the lower extremity, the trunk, and the upper extremity.
Each chapter focuses on a specific region of the body. In addition, there is a chapter each on the diaphragm and the abdomen, even though these areas are not as directly related to the locomotor system as is the vertebral column, for example. I include the diaphragm and abdomen because I feel it is useful for you to understand the structure of these parts of the body when teaching yoga asana. You will only benefit by knowing where all the abdominal organs are, their relationship one to another, and how these organs could be affected by the various positions, such as inversions.
