Yoga Teaching and Learning
​at www.yogauk.com

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Hello Reader

Welcome to the March newsletter. I've been a bit under the weather this week - sorry it's a little later than usual!

This month's article is an overview of a very complex functional anatomy theme - grounding and reaching. When translated into teaching cues, these important concepts can really help our students to find more strength, balance and ease in their bodies.

If this is your kind of thing - you can explore these concepts in more depth at my online Asana Anatomy workshops - details below.

If you haven't downloaded it already, check out the free ebook about basic Knee Function in Asana.

The next community Q&A get-together on Zoom is this Saturday at 10am. Do bring along any questions or thoughts about the article, or anything at all relating to any aspect of your yoga teaching. If you're new here, you're more than welcome to come and observe (and there's no charge).

One last thing that is often unsaid - thank you for enhancing the lives of your yoga students. I hope that something in the Yoga Teaching and Learning website will help to support you in your invaluable work in your community.

Love and light,

Keep scrolling for:

📆 Dates for your diary

🤷🏻 Article: Roots and branches: Stability in human movement

👉 News and free stuff!

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Dates for your diary

🤩 Saturday 8th March 10-11am - Yoga Teacher Q&A Zoom meeting - all teachers are invited (more here)
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👉 Friday 14th March 2.30-5pm - Asana Anatomy workshop - exploring Jathara Parivritti (supine twist) - on Zoom (more here)
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👉 Friday 28th March 2.30-5pm - Asana Anatomy workshop - exploring Parsvakonasana (standing angle pose) - on Zoom (more here)
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🤩 Friday 4th April 1-2pm - Yoga Teacher Q&A Zoom meeting - all teachers are invited (more here)
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Article:

Roots and branches

Stability in human movement

A tree’s roots grow down into the earth. Its trunk gives it strength and support, and its branches reach out into the space around it to maximize the sunlight on its leaves.

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Unlike trees, humans are not solar-powered and so can't stay put and grow roots! We have to move around the planet to find food and shelter for survival.

With a jointed body and no physical roots to anchor us, we have to have another way to be stable in an upright position and in movement.

Humans rely on a highly complex system of sensory input, experiential learning, information processing, and muscle coordination to maintain stability as we move around in the world.

We all have experience of this system in action. As yoga teachers, a better understanding this system can help us to guide students more effectively to feel improved balance, stability and ease of movement in their bodies.
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Rooting into the ground

Without physical roots, we have a different kind of engagement with the ground. This is what we call ‘grounding’ and it’s created by the nervous system as it perceives the ground.
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There are three main sensory systems that provide the information the brain needs to engage with the ground and navigate gravity. These are:

• The Feet: The soles of the feet contain densely packed proprioceptors (second only to the hands and face). These receptors provide feedback about the ground beneath us. In yoga, increasing the quality of sensory input through the feet, helps the brain organise the body more efficiently for stability and movement.

• The Eyes: Vision plays a critical role in helping us to orientate ourselves with the environment around us. A steady gaze (drishti) and mindfulness in practice, help improve balance and coordination by making us more aware of our surroundings.
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• The Vestibular System: Located inside the inner ear, this system detects whole body movement and the head's position in gravity. It provides information to the brain when we change position or turn upside down. The vestibular system plays a crucial role in balance and coordination. If you’ve ever experienced vertigo, where this system stops working properly, you will appreciate just how important it is!

These sensory inputs are processed by the cerebellum in the brain, which coordinates intricate patterns of muscle contraction and relaxation.

Specific teaching cues, including taking off socks and using drishtis, improve the quality and quantity of sensory input, helping our students to feel more grounded, stable and coordinated in movement.

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Reaching into space

Just as a tree’s branches reach into space, we also stand up and reach out with our limbs, while we continuously interact with our changing environment.

Body movement is necessary, but also the way in which we move is essential to good posture, stability, and overall health.

A young sapling bends in the wind and so is less likely to snap than an old, rigid branch. Similarly, a human body that is flexible and adaptable is less prone to injury.
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As with grounding, we also benefit from increasing sensory awareness of the space around us and within us.

As we reach out intentionally with an arm, a leg, or the crown of the head, finding a clear direction along with an appropriate amount of effort, and without fear, enhances both stability and relaxation in the body.
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For example, reaching towards something sends a clear intention to the brain which usually brings a more organised and graceful movement than simply raising the arm into position or copying the teacher.

Tapping into the way we've reached out for things since childhood, without even thinking about it, is more natural and also shows up our habitual movement patterns that may need addressing.
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This approach shifts focus from body shape and 'getting the pose right' to a dynamic interaction with gravity and space. Often courage is found when facing any fears that arise.
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Influences on ease of movement

Each person organises their body uniquely. This process is influenced by level of body awareness, sensory information, personality, genetics, beliefs, past injuries, life experiences, and body image. Even the words of a yoga teacher influence this process.

Yoga gives us the chance to increase stability and ease of movement by refining our relationship with gravity, and movement in space. By becoming aware of how we stand, move, and reach, is the first step.
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As teachers, we can guide students to notice how their bodies feel during and after practice, encouraging self-awareness and refinement over time.

Using cues that reflect our understanding of functional anatomy, while respecting each individual’s unique experience, helps students develop greater stability and freedom of movement.
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Some helpful yoga cues for shifting focus

Tadasana (Mountain Pose):

• "Feel the contact between your feet and the ground, moving the body to distribute the weight across all four corners of each foot.”
• "Imagine roots growing from your feet into the earth, creating a stable foundation."

Vrksasana (Tree Pose):

• "Feel the sole of the standing foot rooting you, and that support rising up through your body."
• “Let your arms be like tree branches - reaching out towards the sunlight, but keeping a gentle softness to bend in the wind.”

Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II):

• "Position the bent knee above the ankle, and feel both feet square on the ground, spreading into the floor.”
• “Reach through your fingertips into the space around you. Imagine your arms are much longer than you know they are.”

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog):

• “Imagine an arrow emerging from the crown of your head and pointing towards a point between your hands. Imagine you have a tail extending from the base of your spine, reaching up to the top of the wall behind you.”
• "Get as much of the skin of your hands in contact with the ground as you can, including all the finger joints. Feel the skin yielding into the floor.”
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Integrating roots and branches for ease and confidence

Yoga is a great way to work with grounding and reaching. By increasing awareness of the grounding and spatial orientation in yoga poses, using clear and intentional cues to ground and reach, and engaging the imagination to explore those relationships in different ways, we are enhancing a natural process that can help students develop a greater sense of ease and confidence in their bodies and find the joy of movement.

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Every yoga pose is an exploration of our individual dynamic relationship between stability and movement, between rooting down and reaching out, between sthira and sukha. By refining our language use in teaching, we can tap into that system and empower students to cultivate stability, adaptability, and grace in yoga practice and daily life.​
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News and resources

Knee function in asana ebook (free): Get the ebook here​

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Asana Anatomy workshops
​for yoga teachers:

Fridays 2.30-5pm on Zoom

👉 14th March Jathara Parivritti - supine twist (more here)

👉 28th March Parsvakonasana - side angle pose (more here)

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The next three Q&A meetings:

Support and connect with other yoga teachers - more here​

• Saturday 8th March at 10-11am
• Friday 4th April at 1-2pm
• Saturday 3rd May at 10-11am

Make a note of these dates in your diary - all teachers are invited by email the day before.

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Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to any yoga teacher friends or colleagues who might be interested in any of the content. They can sign up to receive newsletters to their own inbox at www.yogauk.com
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