Aligned Intention: Anatomy & Physiology
Pillar Calendar at a glance: (Convert from EST) https://docs.google.com/spread...
Foundational Coursework:
- Integrated Intentions: The Essentials
- Structural Yoga Anatomy (ANAT300)
Required Textbooks:
- Yoga Therapy by A.G. Mohan and Indra Mohan (foundations chapter 2-3)
- Structural Yoga Therapy by Mukunda Stiles chapter 9-16 + Part 6 Case Studies.
- Pelvic Liberation: Using Yoga, Self-inquiry, and Awareness for Pelvic Health by Leslie Howard
- Marma Points of Ayurveda by Vasant Lad
The Aligned Intention Pillar strengthens your ability to see and support the whole person through intentional alignment on the whole level: structural, subtle, and relational. This trimester integrates structural yoga therapy, marma therapy, pelvic floor health, and pain management to refine assessment skills and therapeutic reasoning.
Grounded in anatomy and foundational Ayurveda, you’ll learn to recognize patterns, understand compensation, and apply individualized, trauma-informed practices. Through marma self-healing, functional alignment, pelvic stability, and pain-informed sequencing, this pillar clarifies your therapeutic presence and deepens your confidence as a yoga therapist.
ANAT400: Structural Yoga Therapy
This course builds foundational and advanced skills for addressing musculoskeletal imbalances through yoga therapy. Students learn body-reading, functional spinal biomechanics, and postural pattern assessment, along with therapeutic tools such as mula breath and pacification strategies to design individualized practices that restore balance and structural ease.
PYS400: Marma for Self-Healing
his course introduces marma therapy as a bridge between physical structure and subtle energetics. Students learn marma point assessment, palpation skills, doshic reasoning, and safe therapeutic touch. Practices include self-marma, partner work, energetic observation, and understanding boundaries and group dynamics in subtle body therapeutics
ANAT402: Yoga Therapy and the Pelvic Floor
Students explore pelvic floor anatomy, tone patterns (hypertonic and hypotonic), and how breath, posture, and nervous system tone influence pelvic function. You will design therapeutic meditations, asana sequences, and pranayama practices that support balance, stability, and whole-person integration.
ANAT401: Yoga Therapy and Pain Management
Students apply yoga therapy to chronic and acute pain using the Sattva model of sukha (ease), sthira (stability), krama (progression), and integration. The course covers pain science, ANS regulation, biomechanical contributors to pain, and sequencing for the spine, SI joint, pelvis, shoulders, and hips.
Completion Outcomes
Upon successfully engaging and completing this pillar, you will have gained:
- Yoga Therapy Skills: Competency in assessing structural imbalances, applying marma therapy, managing chronic pain, and addressing pelvic floor health.
- Theoretical Understanding: In-depth knowledge of anatomy, biomechanics, and the subtle body models (koshas, vayus, doshas) as they relate to structural and somatic health.
- Adaptive Teaching Strategies: Ability to design safe, individualized, and group practices for musculoskeletal conditions, pain syndromes, and pelvic health concerns.
- Confidence: Strengthened skills in therapeutic observation, body reading, intake processes, and collaboration with clients in setting and evaluating goals.
- Empathy & Therapeutic Presence: Enhanced ability to integrate subtle touch, ethical boundaries, and compassionate communication into yoga therapy sessions.
This pillar equips yoga therapists with the knowledge and tools to address the structural, functional, and subtle dimensions of human health, supporting resilience, integrity, and healing from the inside out.
Pillar Completion:
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End of Pillar Quiz.