Yoga is big business today, and teacher training programs are booming. Yoga teachers have a thirst for anatomy training, but all books on yoga anatomy focus solely on the muscles. Your Body, Your Yoga goes beyond any prior yoga anatomy book available. It looks not only at the body's unique anatomical structures and what this means to everyone's individual range of motion, but also examines the physiological sources of restrictions to movement. Two volumes are provided in this book: Volume 1 raises a new mantra to be used in every yoga posture: What Stops Me? The answers presented run through a spectrum, beginning with a variety of tensile resistance to three kinds of compressive resistance. Examined is the nature of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments, joint capsules, bones and our extracellular matrix and their contribution to mobility. The shape of these structures also defines our individual, ultimate range of movement, which means that not every body can do every yoga posture. The reader will discover where his or her limits lie, which dictates which alignment cues will work best, and which ones should be abandoned. Volume 2 will take these principles and apply them to the lower body, examining the hip joint, the knee, ankle and foot, and will present how your unique variations in these joints will show up in your yoga practice.
Your Body, Your Yoga has over 500 illustrations and photographs. For the technically astute, extensive endnotes are provided, along with a exhaustive index. Technical sidebars (labeled "It's Complicated) allow a non-technical reader to skip the heavier, more detailed discussions and stick to high-level explanations of the concepts. For yoga teachers, sidebars (labeled "To the Teacher”) are offered to help them bring the concepts into their classes. Other interesting discussions that could disrupt the normal narrative flow are also put into sidebars (labeled "It's Important), which everyone is invited to read.

AcknowledgementsHow to Read this BookForeword: The History of Teaching Alignment in AmericaTable of Contents for Volume 1: What Stops Me? Sources of Tension and CompressionIntentionsChapter 1: You Are Unique-So Is Your YogaRange of Human VariationsExamples of Human VariationsChapter 2: What Stops Me?TensionCompressionSensing Tension and CompressionFunctional Yoga versus Aesthetic YogaChapter 3: The Value of StressChapter 4: The Physiology of Our TissuesSources of TensionMusclesMyofasciaTendonsFasciaLigamentsThe Nervous SystemThe Immune SystemThe Wonder of WaterSources of CompressionBonesJoints and CartilageVolume 1 SummaryAppendix A: The Forms of StressAppendix B: Muscle Shapes and FunctionsAppendix C: The Myofascial MeridiansAppendix D: Facts About OsteoporosisAppendix E: The Types of JointsAppendix F: The Biomechanics of Joint MotionVolume 1 EndnotesTable of Contents for Volume 2: The Lower BodyIntentions1. The Bare Bones of YogaThe Planes of the Body2. The Joint Segments of the Lower BodyThe Hip JointFormThe Architecture of the Hip JointThe Bones of the Hip JointThe Joint Capsule and LigamentsMuscles of the HipThe Types and Ranges of VariationsFunction-Application in Yoga PosturesNormal Ranges of MotionSources of TensionSources of CompressionVariation in Ranges of MotionHip Joint Summary3. The Knee JointFormThe Architecture of the KneeThe Bones of the KneeThe Knee-Joint Capsule and LigamentsMuscles of the KneeThe Types and Ranges of VariationsFunction-Application in Yoga PosturesNormal Ranges of MotionSources of TensionSources of CompressionVariation in Ranges of MotionKnee Joint Summary4. The Ankle-Foot SegmentFormThe Architecture of the Ankle-Foot SegmentThe Bones of the Ankle and FootThe LigamentsThe Muscles and TendonsThe Types and Ranges of VariationsFunction-Application in Yoga PosturesNormal Ranges of MotionSources of TensionSources of CompressionVariation in Ranges of MotionAnkle-Foot Segment Summary5 Volume 2 SummaryAppendicesA. List of Anatomical DirectionsB. Variations in the Female PelvisC. Mechanical Advantage-Pulleys and LeversD. Flexion-Caused Impingement at the Hip JointE. The Dangers and Benefits of Valgum or Varum Knee OrientationF. The Movements of the Foot and AnkleSidebarsIt's Important: Beware of studiesIt's Important: Who is flying the airplaneIt's Important: Playing your edgeIt's Important: Injuries caused by yogaIt's Important: Antifragility (or no strain-no gain!)It's Important: The value of compressionIt's Important: Millimeters versus inchesIt's Important: Safely stressing jointsIt's Important: The value of alignmentIt's Important: Remember, compression can be good!It's Important: Co-contractionIt's Important: Are you valgus or varus?It's Important: Don't assume it's your ankles!It's Complicated: Averages and normsIt's Complicated: Femoral neck-shaft-angle variationsIt's Complicated: Stress at the cellular levelIt's Complicated: Sarcomere contractionIt's Complicated: Adding sarcomeresIts Complicated: Our ground substanceIt's Complicated: Other parts of our jointsIt's Complicated: Which muscles cause which movement can varyIt's Complicated: Estimating available ranges of motionIt's Complicated: Femoral acetabular impingement syndromeIt's Complicated: What is a newton?It's Complicated: Hyperextension of the kneeIt's Complicated: The trochlea of the talusIt's Complicated: What causes plantar fasciitis?It's Complicated: Arch supportIt's Complicated: Where should the dorsiflexed foot point?Note to Teachers: When students can't go furtherNote to Teachers: Stress when injuredNote to Teachers: Should we try to stress tendons?Note to Teachers: Sources of compressionNote to Teachers: Be cautious of creating alignment cues based only onyour own experienceNote to Teachers: Yoga is a self-selecting practiceNote to Teachers: Explore from the core outwardsNote to Teachers: Customizing ClassesNote to Teachers: Do not offer a correction without knowing the cause!Note to Teachers: Don't be afraid of locking the kneesNote to Teachers: Getting groundedNote to Teachers: Sickling-plantarflexion with supinationNote to Teachers: Aligning the feet in Down Dog