Yoga Anatomy & Physiology | GOYA CEC & Yoga Alliance YACEP

Explore how the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems and connective tissue work together in yoga, examining joints, fascia, and nerves like the sciatic nerve and brachial plexus.

Explore the bare bones of the skeleton, including axial and appendicular regions, the shoulder girdle, pelvis, spine, and key joints like the glenohumeral and ac joints.

Learn how joints are named and classified, from fibrous and cartilaginous to synovial, and explore the six synovial types—ball‑and‑socket, hinge, pivot, saddle, ellipsoid, gliding—for yoga practice.

Move with intention in yoga anatomy, focusing on movement over posture. Learn relative terms (superior, inferior, anterior, posterior, proximal, distal, medial, lateral) and planes for pelvis, knee, and hands.

Clarify terms of movement in yoga anatomy, detailing flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, rotation, circumduction, and related planes to deepen understanding of postures safely.

Explore how muscles act as agonists, antagonists, and synergists, with isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions, plus origin and insertion concepts and reverse muscle action.

Explore upper body muscles, trapezius, deltoids, pec major, lats, teres major, rhomboids, their origins, insertions, and actions, plus scapular movements and yoga implications.

Explore the rotator cuff and the SITS muscles, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis, and their roles in shoulder rotation and abduction, including the first 15 degrees.

Explore arm and forearm muscles, including brachial, biceps, brachioradialis, and triceps. Review elbow flexion and extension, wrist flexors and extensors, and finger movements.

Explore how the pelvis and abdominal muscles work with hip actions: flexion, extension, abduction, and rotation, featuring the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and piriformis.

Explore leg and thigh muscles, detailing hip flexion, knee flexion, and ankle movements: dorsiflexion, inversion, and eversion, plus adductors, quadriceps, hamstrings, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, and soleus.

Explore how stretch and strengthen in yoga anatomy and physiology arise from eccentric and concentric contractions across key postures, with mindful cues for safe, individualized practice.

Understand injury and pain in yoga, recognize acute signs like redness, swelling, heat, and differentiate from chronic pain; learn safe teaching, pain-free options, and the biopsychosocial approach.

Explore common yoga injuries such as groin strains and ligament sprains, plus sciatica, frozen shoulder, and arthritis; learn safe modifications, warm-ups, breath cues, and client-centered planning.