Science Behind Alignment and effect on Kinesiology

1. Science Behind Alignment and effect on Kinesiology • Maintaining or restoring precise movement of specific segments is key to preventing or correcting musculoskeletal pain • Ideal alignment facilitates optimal movement • If alignment is faulty before motion is initiated, correction is necessary to prevent musculoskeletal pain - Shirley Sahrmann, PT

2. Asana translates as “Posture” • Asanas are conduits for developing patterns of movement, both static and dynamic • Practicing asana in alignment creates muscle strength and flexibility to transform structural balance • Structural balance facilitates the flow of prana

3. Importance in Hatha Yoga • When movements are faulty or strength and flexibility are compromised, negative changes occur in soft tissues and in bony structures • Result: musculoskeletal pain or movement impairment syndrome Sahrmann • Asana practice with awareness transforms the practice into a musculoskeletal healing tool

4. How do we create awareness? • Through body reading and allowing our students to create their own balance • Empowerment through knowledge • During process, be sure to notice and communicate at least 3 positive aspects with your client • Use a mirror and stand with the client to facilitate cooperative processJamesEarlsandThomasMyers

5. Posture is not static, Posture is a reaction to life experience • Lifestyle • Genetics • Recreational and sports activities • Musculo-skeletal injuries • Trauma: emotional and physical • Work habits

6. Symptoms do not equal Cause! • The human body is an integrated structure • A symptom could be the result of a cause elsewhere in the body, on any level: physical, emotional, mental, energetic • A holistic approach to assessment is KEY in addressing the actual cause of the dysfunction • Structural Analysis is only the first step, but an important step

7. Physiological Factors which affect Postural Alignment • Muscle Tone: • The normal state of balanced tension in the muscles • High normal muscle tone: state of higher tension; tendency to have decreased flexibility • Low normal muscle tone: state of lower tension: tendency to have greater flexibility, “rest on joints”

8. Muscle Tone and Habits exhibited in Posture and Asanas PROPPING High normal tone/Type A/ Active • Rigidly standing on the earth like a piece of furniture. • Results in pushing out of the ground only Inquires: • 1. What kind of breath might accompany propping? • 2. Which kind of practice-mind might associate itself with this kind of breath?Yapana Yoga

9. COLLAPSING Low Normal Muscle Tone Increased flexibility/Dancer/Possibly less active • Dropping the weight of the body into the earth without maintaining a connection through the structure that allows us to use gravity to our advantage. The structure‘sinks’ into the ground and can result in labored, shallow breathing. • When a student is collapsing, she is using too much flexibility and not enough strength.Yapana Yoga

10. 2nd Physiological Factor: Connective Tissue • Fascia   A sheet or band of fibrous connective tissue enveloping, separating, or binding together muscles, organs, and other soft structures of the body Fascia restrictions can affect body alignment

11. 3rd Physiological Factor:Biomechanics • Alignment of the bones and joints relative to the center of gravity • Static forces imposed on bone can affect their longitudinal shape and the shape of the joint surfaces