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Dynamic Anatomy Series for Practitioners in the Healing Arts:
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Schedule
Avoiding Injuries Dates ~ Note: Dates are subject to change, please check this website for updates. Fees: $85 / 7 days in advance $95 / thereafter. No refunds after 24 hrs before the event. CEUs available per hour of workshops. Location: YogaKula 1700 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, 510-486-0264. > Click for Map > |
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Workshop DescriptionsAll of the anatomical and physiological content of these classes will be presented with slides, lecture and discussion. The implications of our structures and their functions will be examined from the perspective of yoga, other movement modalities and massage therapy. They are intended to deepen the understanding and effectiveness of practitioners and students of the body and mind of all kinds. Understanding, Dealing with, and Learning to Avoid Injuries: This workshop will offer ways to prevent and rehabilitate physical injuries that commonly happen in the course of our daily lives and in our practices. You will gain a concrete understanding of the nature of the various tissues involved in injuries, the healing resources of the body-mind that responds to these injuries, and the early warning signs that could help us head them off. These insights and skills will greatly accelerate your yoga practice, your movement reeducation process, and your overall well-being. The Feet: How We Establish Grounding and Balance: Our feet are our direct connection to the Earth and the platforms of our complex bipedal balancing act. The price that we have paid for the immensely creative use of our arms and hands has been the great responsibility thrown upon our feet for support, balance and locomotion. To serve us well they need to be exquisitely sensitive, extraordinarily strong, and consciously supported in their alignment and development. We will look in detail at the anatomy and function of the feet, discuss their roles in yoga and other movement modalities, and their treatment with massage therapy. Breath: The Tidal Rhythm of Life: Replenishing oxygen and eliminating carbon dioxide are our two most pressing and constant needs; they determine the metabolic vitality for every cell in the body. This is why focus on breathing is at the core of so many somatic disciplines and therapies--yoga, athletics, the work of Wilhelm Reich, meditation, bodywork, and so on. Full breathing engages, to one degree or another, almost all of the body’s skeletal muscles, and the distribution of these gasses engages our most extensive group of autonomic muscles, the circulatory system. The process of breathing also straddles the functions of our conscious and our unconscious minds, voluntary when we choose and involuntary when we are otherwise occupied. We repeat this tidal pattern over 4,000 times every 24 hours, making it the most habituated muscular sequence of our entire lives; exactly how we have learned to do this-- consciously and unconsciously--sets the foundation for all other movements. In this workshop we will examine the anatomy and physiology of breath, a primary source of our ch’i. Connective Tissue: Web of Structure, Web of Ch'i: Collagen, the molecules of connective tissue, are the most plentiful protein in our bodies. Long thought to be merely a structural tissue--the tough webbing that holds our muscles, bones, and organs together--more recent research has revealed that connective tissue has a wide array of additional properties and plays many energetic, biochemical, developmental and healing roles in our organisms, truly our organ of ch’i. This workshop will present the micro- and macro-structures of connective tissue, its evolutionary history, its many aspects and roles in our physiology, and principles for working with it effectively in sports, massage therapy, yoga and other physical pursuits. The Gamma Motor System: How We Establish Patterns & Habits & Control Movement: The gamma motor system is one of the best kept secrets concerning our sensory-motor functions and motor learning. It controls the largely unconscious and highly reflexive processes of learning and preserving skills, developing habits, and imposing blocks and limitations in movement. In addition to controlling all our movements, the gamma system is the special sense that informs us about weight, momentum, resistance, ease--in short, everything that has to do with our sense of mass and substance. This workshop will present the neuro-anatomy of the gamma system, its integration in the muscles, the spinal column and the brain, and discuss approaches to facilitating its function with regard to learning skills, drifting into habits, and creating blocks. The Spine: Core of Stability & Movement: The spine is the neural and structural axis of our bodies, the physical and functional lynch pin of all posture, movement and sensation. It is the largest and most complex of our skeleto-muscular systems--25 vertebrae with more than one hundred separate articulations, and it is supported and moved by scores of muscles, including some of the largest and some of the smallest muscles in the body. Its structural integrity, alignment and freedom of movement are essential to the healthy function of all our muscles, organs and senses. We will examine the anatomy of the spine, with a special emphasis upon managing it optimally in yoga and other forms of movement and addressing its problems through massage therapy. The Pelvic Girdle: The pelvis and low back are at the intersection of the strongest physical forces at work in our bodies. The pelvis is the loco motor and postural bridge between the two legs and is also the foundation for the support of weight and alignment of the spine and upper body. More muscles attach to the pelvis than to any other bone. Because of the strength and complexity of their functional relationships, this area is vulnerable to many chronic imbalances, misalignments, stress and pain. And because so many physical and energetic operations are centered here, these chronic difficulties impact many vital functions from our head to our toes. We will look at the anatomy of the pelvic girdle and low back with an eye to their support and function in yoga and other movement practices and to their successful treatment in massage therapy. The Shoulder Girdle: The muscles that empower the arms extend from the skull to the pelvis, attach to every vertebra and encompass the entire rib cage. They include some of the largest muscles of the body, as well as some of those that are the most prone to occupational and emotional stress. They are the source of a great deal of our creativity in the world; on the other hand they are also the cause of a wide variety of difficulties that can develop in relation to their habituated holding patterns--apparent "spinal" discomfort, diminished lung capacity, poor postural balance, inefficient locomotion, wasted energy, and compromised blood and lymph flow and neural conduction. We will look at the anatomy of the shoulder girdle, and its complex functions in our daily lives, our yoga or other movement practices and approaches to effective treatment in massage therapy. The Neck and Jaw: The jaw and throat are the site of some of the strongest muscles in the body--those used for biting and chewing--and some of the most delicate and subtle in their operation--the muscles of articulate speech. The neck is the bridge between the brain and the rest of the body, through which has to pass all nourishment, every inhale and exhale, every drop of blood feeding the brain and clearing it of waste materials, every drop of lymph that supports the immunity of this vulnerable opening, and every sensory and motor nerve impulse that informs the brain and controls the body. This is also the physicality of our fifth chakra, the source of our self- expressiveness and verbal connection with the world. We will examine the anatomical structures of the neck and jaw, and ways to eliminate the many tensions they tend to accumulate. Vessel of Consciousness: The Body As the Landscape of Perception: Our bodies and their relationship to our minds are the windows through which we view our world. A large part of the work of self- development and healing is the cleansing of these windows so that we can perceive a reality that is wider, more vivid, more complete and unified, and one which offers its rich potentials to us more readily. Jason Brown, a contemporary neurologist and long-time student of Zen Buddhism, has developed over many years of clinical observation a theory of consciousness that is the most exciting I have come across. It is the only one that offers a description of how my mind works that corresponds to my actual experience of it. His is a neurology of the soul, and he offers a concrete understanding of how that soul is grounded in the immediacy of the body¹s processes.
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