Functional Anatomy Principles

I was most surprised by the value and applicability of the intrinsic muscles within my modality. As a Pilates instructor, we are looking for engagement of many intrinsic muscles and the clarity from the course about them has allowed me to cue them more efficiently.

Danielle H

I liked how I can apply this immediately to my yoga students.

Laura T

Course drove home role of nervous system in learning new patterns of movement.

Jane A

The 8 anatomy principles of movement are laid out in a clear and succinct manner – easy to follow and understand. They are the building blocks to not only how the student moves but what we need to remember when cueing.

Anna C

I was skilled and knowledgeable before the program but I felt like a dime a dozen Pilates instructors. Now I have a specialty and a deeper understanding about the nature of muscles & function. I can recognize weakness, structural issues, and bring more to any session than just stretch a tight muscle. Now it’s so obvious. In a traditional Pilates or yoga sequence, we would just work through – or stop if a client couldn’t work without discomfort. Now, I find a different way to address muscles and know more about what’s happening to provide results instead of modifications or eliminating part of a sequence.

I have a vocabulary now due to this program. I feel very confident now that what I’m doing is the right thing, and I have the words to explain so clearly what’s happening. I wasn’t able to do that before. I would have even referred them back to their doctor.

Now I have conversations with colleagues (physical therapists and physicians!) about what I do and what they do. I feel like an equal player in helping our shared client on the same goals. I feel more professional as a practitioner, like I have more to say than “I just do Pilates”. I’ve worked on torn labrums with success since learning the information in this program. I have the words to explain why an exercise needs to be done and get them to really do their homework. I’m definitely more confident in everything – even the business side of things. My pitch is so clear now!

There are so many teachers out there that do not know enough about functional anatomy. I think they all need this material! And I can’t believe I’m not even done with this program, there is more coming!

Danielle O

The material is extremely helpful to help clients safely.

Eva M

This is a course that would benefit all Pilates instructors.

Danielle H

I am not a yoga instructor, but do self-practice yoga on a daily basis. I was surprised that I wasn’t always doing asanas correctly because I was often “dumping” into a pose instead of contracting the correct muscles. This was groundbreaking for me and has changed my yoga practice. I also have been able to better articulate to my clients’ anatomical ways they can help improve their posture and alleviate pain by the “stretching doesn’t exist” principle.

Dyan B

As yoga teachers, I see the greatest value of this class as a way to SAFELY teach asana. As the class went on, even before we reached sections around injuries and preventing them, I had flashbacks to my own student experience where teacher assists literally caused injuries. While I don’t practice with those teachers anymore, in my own classes my number one concern was preventing injuries. I feel all of the principles should be followed as an easy means to keep tabs on class sequences, and knowing how to keep our students in proper alignment. And proper alignment = safety.

Freddie M

Patterning and how things I learned from my first yoga teacher (10+ years ago) are still with me today, including some alignment issues and how the discomfort (and some injuries) have resulted over time. In many cases, I can tell now that recurring injuries around my QL are from the mis-alignment.

Freddie M