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Old 02-10-17, 11:02 PM  
hch
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Thoughts about Paul Grilley's anatomy work or individual differences in yoga?

There are at least two recent threads that mention Paul Grilley's anatomy-related work and different people's anatomy. Does anyone have more thoughts about Paul Grilley's work or such individual differences in yoga (or other forms of movement)? (I've recently read things elsewhere online that remind me of these subjects, but I haven't read much recently about the specific and practical.)

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i really really like Paul Grilley and have all 3 of his disks. i like how he describes why positioning is different for everyone.
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Originally Posted by nevertoolate View Post
Paul Grilley's Anatomy for Yoga is one of the most valuable and informative DVDs I've ever used. It's not a follow-along yoga practice. It's like going to a lecture with a master teacher and learning how yoga works for your own body.

Per the Amazon description: An invaluable resource for both yoga students and teachers, this comprehensive DVD includes nearly 4 hours of in-depth lectures, demonstrations and comparisons of human skeletal anatomy as it relates to yoga practice. Using a wide range of yoga students, acclaimed teacher Paul Grilley explains the key concepts of compression, tension, proportion and orientation. These concepts help us to understand why no two people will ever experience the same yoga posture in the same way. Paul's light-hearted yet provocative approach will challenge many misconceptions about yoga while providing the foundation for the development of a truly personal yoga practice.

This! Now I know why I can do certain poses, while others will never look like the model yoga teachers. I've learned not to fight my own body and do a yoga practice that is right for me.

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Can't speak for Grilley's yin DVD, but this array of bone photos from his website is amazing. I think everyone who is serious about yoga as a student and as a teacher should check these out.

The reason why people cannot do certain yoga poses is because their skeletal anatomy precludes it. Yoga cannot change one's bone structure. These photos helped me a lot when I was teaching and it helps to keep them in mind while I practice. Sometimes people think that they "should" be able to do certain poses, and try to force themselves into a posture that their skeletal anatomy just isn't built for.

I was particularly struck by the pelvic bones and the ball and socket of the hip joint, but they are all really interesting.
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Old 02-10-17, 11:56 PM  
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Hi Henry! I don't have either of Grilley's DVDs (yet), but as a relatively new yoga teacher, I'm definitely interested in his work and have read some of his web site/view some of his YT stuff. I teach beginning level classes, and I really try to emphasize finding the shape of the pose that is right for one's own body as every body is different. I find the anatomical stuff fascinating--I wish I had a bed head for it! I'm interested to see what other replies you get.
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Old 02-11-17, 01:43 AM  
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henry, do you practice yoga?
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Old 02-11-17, 08:40 AM  
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Originally Posted by hch View Post
There are at least two recent threads that mention Paul Grilley's anatomy-related work and different people's anatomy. Does anyone have more thoughts about Paul Grilley's work or such individual differences in yoga (or other forms of movement)? (I've recently read things elsewhere online that remind me of these subjects, but I haven't read much recently about the specific and practical.)
Dunno if this is what you had in mind, but I do think there should be WAY more emphasis on anatomy in yoga teacher training courses. The anatomy in mine was pretty much a joke, so I read some yoga anatomy books like Leslie Kaminoff's Yoga Anatomy, the Key Muscles of Yoga and the Key Poses of Yoga by Ray Long, etc. Books like these, and Paul Grilley's anatomy video, are really helpful in showing what is going in a posture.

For example ... there are so many videos where, when downward dog is demonstrated, the teacher says, "your heels will reach the floor in time". For some people, yes--it can be a hamstring flexibility issue. For other people, who have short legs and arms and long torsos, the heels may NEVER hit the floor, and that is perfectly normal for people with that body type. It really needs to be emphasized that there is no perfect pose. I feel some cognitive dissonance when instructors say on the one hand to "make the practice your own" but on the other hand make claims that everyone will be able to do X posture if they work at it long enough.

Another example is Warrior I. Some people will NEVER be able to get both their hipbones to point forward. Those pictures on Grilley's site of the pelvis and hip sockets show why that is. The inability to get the hipbones pointed forward may well have nothing to do with trunk and hip flexibility or lack of it, and everything to do with skeletal anatomy.

Knowledge of anatomy really helps teachers assist students. One of the best students in my teacher training course was a professional acupuncturist. She knew a ton about anatomy and it showed in her teaching.

PS I think the same is true for barre workouts in terms of anatomy being destiny.
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Old 02-11-17, 08:58 AM  
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This was really an eye opener. My heels still don't touch the floor on down dog and it has been years....actually decades. I never expected them to as I was told years ago that I am not alone and not to worry about it.
The other is the one you mentioned...hips forward in Warrior. I can do it but not fully and it uncomfortable. I realize now it is fine to have your hips facing the side.
I read a book a few years ago about yoga and injuries. Don't remember the title or the author but he practiced yoga for years. He mentioned cobra as a pose that can invite injury. He also mentions competition in classes where we are fforcing ourselves do what others may be ready for but we are not. Anatomical differences is really an important point.
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Old 02-11-17, 10:27 AM  
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Originally Posted by eam531 View Post
Dunno if this is what you had in mind, but I do think there should be WAY more emphasis on anatomy in yoga teacher training courses. The anatomy in mine was pretty much a joke, so I read some yoga anatomy books like Leslie Kaminoff's Yoga Anatomy, the Key Muscles of Yoga and the Key Poses of Yoga by Ray Long, etc. Books like these, and Paul Grilley's anatomy video, are really helpful in showing what is going in a posture.
Yup. After my 200 YTT I ended taking Yoga Anatomy with Leslie, a Bones course with Amy Matthews, and Yin TT with Joe Barnett. Plus, bought many books on anatomy and the moving body.

I also ended up ditching a live vinyasa class I was taking... and being really mindful of people's (and my own) differences when teaching and practicing. Teachers like J. Brown ("Gentle is the new advanced") appeal to me more and more.
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Old 02-11-17, 10:32 AM  
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My YTT did use Kaminoff's Yoga Anatomy as one of the required texts (which I already had anyway), and my YTT teacher was also a massage therapist, so she was also quite good. Although our actual time learning anatomy stuff was fairly short, I thought she did a good job of incorporating into the teaching--e.g., not to force the back heel down in warrior 1. But there's always SO MUCH MORE to learn!
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Old 02-11-17, 10:33 AM  
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Wow, darby, those sound like some great additional trainings! I took a workshop with Kaminoff years ago--before I really appreciated it, haha. I would love to do a 300 hour, but it's probably not in the cards right now.
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Old 02-11-17, 11:33 AM  
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I didn't get much anatomy in my YTT either, but I have a nursing background. Grilley's yin set is the only yin DVD I kept and I also have his book. I am now inspired to watch it again, it's been a while. It made me so much more aware of physical differences not just in flexibility but in and joint and bone structure - he talks about tension vs compression in reference to limitations in movement. That was a light bulb moment for me! I pretty much have abandoned vinyasa in my classes and my own practice in favor of a more mindful body aware practice with attention to physical differences, to good alignment, and to not sacrificing form for depth. I use lots of props in my classes and always offer modifications. I especially like to enter more difficult poses in stages - "stop here if this feels good", "try this if you want to go deeper."
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Old 02-11-17, 11:39 AM  
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Pam, it's cool to hear that Grilley's Yin DVD is the only one that you have kept (do you have just his 2-DVD practice set, or do you have the non-practice "Yoga for Anatomy" too?).

I've never been a fan of vinyasa, and it's not something I teach. I do enjoy classes with a flow aspect IF I like the teacher, someone I can trust to go at a moderate pace and focus on the experience in the body, not rushing through the poses. But my home practice is virtually all therapeutic, yin, and restorative.
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