Myofascial Yoga: A movement and yoga therapists guide to asana

With a foam roller you are pushing the ITT band into the leg—ouch! To pick up the ITT band, you can grab either side with your hands to give it some space to move again (figure 3.2).

connects the hamstrings to the sacrotuberous ligament—which attaches to the lower aspect of the sacrum. The sacrotuberous ligament keeps our tailbone, the sacrum, from popping upward. Starting from the bottom of the feet, continuing up the back of the legs, and on to our tail are the beginnings of the SBL.

The knee is a secondary curve in the body because it is held in place by the muscles above and below unlike primary curves which are defined by the bone, such as the ankle. I encourage a soft knee, not hyperextended backward, and not a deep bend.

Our proverbial six-pack is often associated with a “strong core.” In fact, it is not our core. It plays a wonderful synergistic relationship with our quadriceps, helps us create long back bends if it is not pulled short, as in Wheel pose (figure 2.9). Functionally, it keeps our guts inside which keeps things tidy. Additionally, the rectus abdominis

Tibialis posterior is a huge player in stabilizing and sending information from the ankle joint up the core. Stand on the ground, and gently lift up the medial arch and feel the tibialis posterior engaging right behind the tibia bone (top bone of the lower leg). You may feel the peroneals and tibialis anterior trying to join the party.

If you choose a more rigid, locked down pelvic floor, the result is less breath capacity and hypertonicity of the pelvic floor muscles! Nicole Crawford, MS in Biomechanics states that “a Kegel attempts to strengthen the pelvic floor, but it really only continues to pull the sacrum inward promoting even more weakness, and more pelvic floor gripping.

Our largest sensory organ is our muscle with the related fascia. The fasciae are an interconnected web, like a school of fish or a flock of birds. When one fish shifts, as in a change of a singular motor unit, the rest follow.

Beginning at the back of the head, the occipital ridge, take the loop downward on the splenius capitis into the rhomboid and serratus anterior. The rhomboid/serratus complex is strongly connected and it is difficult to separate them, even in dissection (figure 4.1). They work together to hold the shoulder blade (scapula) to the rib cage—sometimes t

Remember, our whole body is connected and indeed, as we twist in the body, we twist the dura mater (tough mother) and fascia in the brain.