Movement is an art and a science. To deepen your understanding of both aspects, join Karin Gurtner—founder and principal educator of art of motion training in movement and developer of Anatomy Trains in Motion—for a 6-week course in functional anatomy.
Karin Gurtner – Anatomy 201
You’ll study muscles in motion and myofascial connections throughout your body and learn to move with more awareness from head to toe. Through contrasting movement practices, you’ll explore and improve your postural alignment, inner and outer strength, adaptability, and kinesthetic sense to complement your yoga practice and your teaching.
Yoga is a powerful practice, yet it doesn’t always help you establish a healthy degree of dynamic stability and balanced flexibility between myofascial units. Building on Anatomy 101 with Tom Myers, you’ll explore functional anatomy of your entire body by starting at your feet and legs; moving to the fans of your hip; and up to your abdomen, chest, spine, shoulders and hands. This course will get you moving as you consider the interplay of muscles and fascia and learn how to establish a healthy balance between joint mobility and stability, muscle flexibility, and fascial adaptability to benefit your yoga practice and every step you take.
Course Objectives
Learn about functional and integral anatomy that’s relevant for yoga
Explore the functional qualities of your muscles and fascia
Address muscular imbalances and improve your movement patterns
Understand how to improve structural and body-mind integration through conscious movement
Each week you’ll get:
Anatomy lectures that introduce movement principles
A series of practices to help you explore myofascial anatomy and movement patterns
Tips for how to incorporate the movement lessons into your asana practice
Curriculum:
Week 1: Movement and Anatomy in Context
Learn the difference between anatomy, functional anatomy, and integral movement anatomy
Explore what moves us
Study movement terms and learn how to apply them
Week 2: Feet and Legs
Learn how to establish dynamically balanced posture
Focus on your feet as a base of support
Explore springy movements of your feet and legs
Learn how to strengthen your feet and stabilize your ankles
Week 3: Hips
Explore balanced mobility around your hips
Develop muscular flexibility and adaptability in your hip flexors
Practice multidimensional dynamic stabilization of your hip joints
Learn ways to unload and strengthening your knees
Week 4: Abdomen, Chest, and Breath
Learn to differentiate between core stability and core strength
Explore ways on creating optimal fascial conditions for core stability with spiraling motions
Practice accessing and strengthening your deep core
Learn well-timed, adaptable pelvic and spinal stability in all three planes of movement
Week 5: Spine, Ribs, Shoulders, and Hands
Learn about the tensegral qualities of your spine
Understand how to improve multidimensional spinal and rib cage mobility
Explore connections between your hands, shoulders, and spine
Week 6: Integration
Connect the functional anatomy of your whole body
Integrate the individual elements you learned in the past five weeks
Explore three types of flow
Learn how to incorporate novel movements into your asana practice
