Use Knowledge of Biomechanics: Choosing & Arranging Poses

Joint Movements

• Moving joints through their full range of motion can help prevent injury as well as relieve joint pain and stiffness.
• And knowledge of which joint movements are involved in each pose enables identification of specific anatomical issues related to students’ particular challenges.

Move the Joints Through Their ROM

Begin by considering the various ways that these joints can move and then select postures that take [them] through all their degrees of freedom. Table 1 shows these degrees of freedom for our main joints. – YinYoga.com

Muscle Pairs

The agonist / antagonist muscle relationship shows that when one muscle contracts, another muscle stretches.

• This key relationship among muscles for movement can guide the intention you set to address an anatomical area.
• Avoid choosing too many poses that use similar muscular actions.

Details Provided in a Structured Way

The following material builds knowledge on this topic sequentially. The last lesson (Key Muscles Pairs in Movement) concludes with a section on Teaching Applications which includes Sequencing & Class Planning:

• Muscle Movement and Contraction
• Joint Movements, Joint Mobility & ROM
• Key Muscle Pairs in Movement – Agonist / Antagonist Relationship

See Also

• Structural Yoga Therapy – In this excellent book, Mukunda Stiles details the joint-freeing series: a set of specific movements to systematically move all joints. (p 121)