FOR YOGA TEACHERS:
ASFYT is Raising the Bar for Yoga Teacher Education in America

If you are like most teachers who have completed a 200-500 hour yoga teacher training, you have likely only received a basic introduction to anatomy during your studies.  The requirement set by Yoga Alliance for anatomy studies is quite minimal: only 20 hours of anatomy at the 200 hour level, only 10 which must be contact hours, and no requirement that any of these hours relate to injury awareness/prevention.  With all of the yoga-related injuries being reported these days, this is obviously not enough.

A Solid Foundation

To build a solid foundation in musculo-skeletal anatomy takes time and effort.  But with great effort, comes great reward.    By the time you complete the 100+ hour curriculum offered by ASFYT, you will feel much more confident in your knowledge of musculo-skeletal anatomy and its application to yoga asana, and will truly embark on a new and exciting phase of your career.  Whether you are a new teacher or are quite seasoned, you will be surprised by how much your newfound understanding of anatomy will enhance and influence your own practice and your teaching.  The solid foundation you have acquired will also contribute to “raising the bar” for yoga teacher education as yoga continues to evolve in the West.

Benefits of Anatomy Studies

A solid grasp of anatomy is an invaluable asset to teachers of yoga asana.  Studying musculo-skeletal anatomy and kinesiology can help you:

1. ‣Become a more confident & skillful yoga teacher
   

2. ‣Increase the anatomical clarity of your verbal cues
   

3. ‣Ensure a more safe practice for yourself and your students (yoga-related injuries are currently a hot topic in the news media, and are one of the reasons that states are currently attempting to license yoga teacher trainings)
   

4. ‣Improve the effectiveness of each posture
   

5. ‣Create more skillful & beneficial asana sequences
   

6. ‣Troubleshoot and transcend musculo-skeletal obstacles (in your own body, as well as with clients/students in both private and group settings)
   

7. ‣Understand and more fully appreciate the subtle anatomical principles at work within each posture
   

8. ‣Stand out in today’s competitive job market by giving potential employers more confidence in your knowledge
   

9. ‣Increase your income potential as a yoga teacher (more students may approach you for private lessons; you could offer anatomy-related workshops and trainings at yoga studios and health clubs; you could write anatomy-of-asana articles for yoga publications, etc.)
   

10. ‣Prepare for (or complement) a yoga therapy certification
    

11. ‣Contribute to raising the standards of yoga teacher education in the West, which will help assure Yoga’s credibility as a healthy and safe physical activity that truly is therapeutic for the body, mind and spirit