Month: July 2024

Anatomy – Muscular System

by Amanda Vaughan, posted in Anatomy, Exercise, Yoga

Review of book by Leslie kaminoff and amy matthews

woman doing push ups
Photo by Karl Solano on Pexels.com

On to chapter three of Yoga Anatomy. The muscles around my right hip are always tight. As I mentioned before my right leg is shorter than my left leg by a hair. I usually do not notice this unless I under use or overuse my body. Lately I have been trying to do more cardio and the increase in repetitive movement has aggravated all the muscles around my hip and knee.

This chapter on the muscular system begins by stating the purpose of muscles is to move the bones in the correct place so they can do their job. I’m thinking of how much more my right leg and hip muscles must have to work to keep my bones on that side in the right place to balance my movement. I don’t walk with a limp and usually do not notice much difference but just the bit more they have to do is noticeable when I change my activity.

in reviewing muscle anatomy the book describes the 3 types of muscles, skeletal, cardiac and smooth. It also discusses how muscles actually consist of 4 different types of tissue: muscle tissue, connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels. When you consider how much goes into making a muscle work you can’t ignore how integrated each body system is. Also the concept that they are different types of muscles leads to that different parts of the body govern the different muscles. The skeletal system is govern by our somatic nervous system and for the most part conscious thought. It’s the one we have awareness of controlling. Cardiac muscles and smooth muscles are governed by the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system (through hormones). We don’t have conscious awareness of control of these areas but if you can learn how to influence you autonomic nervous system then you can influence these muscles.

The book goes on in detail to describe how muscles work in pairs through contraction only. This I decided to not review as much because of the technicality and because for me this part is not as relevant at this time as the other information they focused on. This other information is related to the idea of muscle relationships through pairing, layering, and chains.

One of the suggested exercises is lying in relaxation pose and the instruction is to wiggle your fingers and follow the movement up your arm to your spine and then moving the spine to see what other body parts move as a chain reaction. This to me was actually relaxing and somewhat meditative. I felt like I was observing ripples and waves in my body. I like that analogy. It made me think of how fluid my body can be versus how choppy and “crunchy” it feels sometimes walking when I’m feeling pain.

In talking about muscle chains and following movement the book again referenced “Body Mind Centering” and “the Bartenieff Fundamentals”. In looking up “BMC” I found this definition:

“Body-Mind Centering® (BMC®) is an integrated and embodied approach to movement, the body and consciousness. Developed by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, it is an experiential study based on the embodiment and application of anatomical, physiological, psychophysical and developmental principles, utilizing movement, touch, voice and mind. Its uniqueness lies in the specificity with which each of the body systems can be personally embodied and integrated, the fundamental groundwork of developmental re-patterning, and the utilization of a body-based language to describe movement and body-mind relationships.” –https://www.bodymindcentering.com/about/

In regards to the Bartenieff Fundamentals I found this description from Wikipedia:

“Bartenieff Fundamentals are a set of principles for “corrective body movement”[1] developed by Irmgard Bartenieff, who studied with Rudolf Laban and colleagues in Germany (1925). After coming to the United States in the 1940s and becoming a physical therapist, Bartenieff developed the method in the form of a set of exercises, based on concepts and principles of kinesiological functioning, that can be extended into all types of movement possibilities. Bartenieff in developing this work fused her studies in both Laban movement analysis with Physiotherapeutic principles and the influence of both is a strong component of the Fundamentals.”

I am interested in learning more about each of these and plan to do a bit more research on these. This chapter on the Muscular System ends by saying that if we think all muscles in a body are supposed to work like the corresponding muscles in someone else’s body we are missing the awareness and possibilities of new patterns and new movement that may be possible for the individual. We are all so different and just because a series of exercises work for one person, it doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for another. I do like that when we practice yoga postures as they are described in the sutures we teach ourselves to explore the posture with ease and discovery versus being just performative or for an end result. This approach allows us to grow and learn while we are becoming stronger or more flexible.

Regarding my muscles in my right leg. I have decided to do more exploring in my morning yoga practice which has caused me to rethink what might be good for my body. I realized that as I get older I do feel more brittle and “crunchy” and that if I can create more fluid movement like with good posture when I walk or trying more flow with my yoga postures when I practice I feel better. I also am noticing how proper alignment with my posture makes everything better. It takes practice though which is what I’m trying to be more consistent with.

Anatomy – The Skeletal System

by Amanda Vaughan, posted in Uncategorized

Review of Chapter 2 of “Yoga Anatomy” by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews

hand x ray result
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Since reading this chapter I have thought a lot about my bones and ligaments. I am amazed how last week I was so worried about pain in my hand and now it is healed. I had what I now realized was a repetitive stress injury in between the first 2 metacarpal bones on my right hand. I moved using my computer mouse to my left hand and used a stylus instead of my finger for my screen on my phone and in a week the pain is gone. This pain had been building for awhile, really about 2 months. Now it is fine. Our bones, ligaments, and muscles all have the ability to repair themselves if we seek to be more balance avoiding overuse and under use. I think that is what this chapter tries to emphasize.

The first part of chapter two begins as it should with an overview of the skeletal system, reviewing bones, ligaments, and joints. Much of the chapter is dedicated to discussing synovial joints. Synovial joints are made up of bones that move with each other, the synovial fluid that is between them, and the connective tissue that surrounds and protects the whole structure. The surfaces of the bones in a joint are covered with a layer of “hyaline cartilage”. It cushions and protects. Between the layers of hyaline cartilage, synovial fluid serves as a lubricant and facilitates the sliding between the surfaces of this cartilage. It also seals these surfaces and helps to distribute force.

In describing the joints, the concept of “balanced joint spaces” is introduced. The idea that the whole body system is at place to create this balance is logical but not how we think usually when we try to heal a joint. I’m thinking of my crunchy knee and when it is sore. I use to think of just easing off of it, icing it, and not using it. It was not logical to think of where “blockages” are in movement in the rest of my body in relation to my knee.

The last half of the chapter is dedicated to joint action – flexion (bring body parts toward each other), extension (moving away from each other), lateral flexion (bending spine to one or the other side), and rotation (moving around an axis). Then the chapter goes into detail with what type of movements each limb (hand, wrist, clavicle, shoulder, scapula, foot, ankle, and pelvis) of the body makes. This part along with the next section on movement pathways I feel could be a useful exercise of trying out each movement and then following the pathway listed in the book. The pathways include: head to tail, fingers to spine, toes to spine, and toes to spine.

The final page of the chapter brings home principles to “balanced joint spaces and pathways of weight”. There are 3 principles: 1)Cultivating clear pathways of weight and force can help support balanced joint space and cultivating balanced joint space can help support clear pathways of weight. For me I feel like if my knee is crunchy then hip will start feeling sore . However it begins in my feet with using orthotics to balance the fact that one leg is shorter than the other. When I use my orthotics my whole right side feels better. Alternately, if I do hip releasing poses to reduce some of the muscle tension that builds in that joint, my knee feels less tension and the muscles are less likely to pull on the knee painfully.

The 2nd principle is “Stability in a joint is derived from connectivity, not fixation”. If a joint is overused , there is a need to explore and adjust how movement is being distributed through the whole pathway of weight. Inhibiting movement (fixing it) though is not the same as creating stability in a joint. Healthy tension helps stabilize the joint and to do that you need some movement.

The last principle discussed is “A little movement in a lot of places can help us find balanced joint space.” When all the body is moving and no one part is immobilized or being over used, we get lubrication to all our joints and there is balance and everything learns to move in harmony with each part. Also not discussed in this book but you will find this out if you research more on synovial fluid is that synovial fluid is used to exchange nutrients to the cells in the cartilage and to remove waste. It only does this when it is allowed to move and circulate. It can only do this if you move the joint. It’s not like blood that has a heart to pump it around. You actually have to move a joint for it to heal. You also have to work on balance and finding the sweet spot between under use and over use. I think this is what makes yoga flow exercise so helpful in that you get balanced whole body movement within the postures.

Anatomy – Introduction to My Deep Dive

by Amanda Vaughan, posted in Anatomy, Yoga

First book study – “Yoga Anatomy” by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews

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During the past few years I have acquired so many books that I keep meaning to read and study. I have decided that I wanted to start a simple book study for my blog. That way not only do I have something to hold me accountable to read these items but also I can share what I’m learning to others. The plan is to basically summarize what I learn and give some ideas of how to put the information into practice, whether it be for the individual at home or for me to to incorporate in the clinic.

Being on the mental health side of things, I do not have a lot of training in anatomy. Therefore, I decided to start my study off with a somewhat deep dive into anatomy with this book by Kaminoff and Matthews. The first chapter is titled, “Anatomy as a Story”. This short chapter introduces the points the authors are hoping to bring home in their book. The main concept they seem to be focusing on is that anatomy through the language of biology and yoga are just two different maps to explore the body. Both are curated and both provide one lens to look through to see the same thing. The authors do want to point out when we do study movement we are not just looking at one body system (muscular/skeletal) but looking at all the systems working together.

The first 3 chapters are devoted it appears to the major systems associated with movement: Skeletal, Muscular, and Nervous. One main reason for working in yoga therapy to my practice is that I know and see on a daily basis how these three systems are intertwined. In trauma treatment especially we are trying to get a person out of their thoughts and to break away from those torture loops in their head. Ironically in traditional psychotherapy we do this with talk and processing thoughts and feelings. Not really getting out of the head huh? Movement of the body is the best way to cut through the thought jails. Moving the body will impact the nervous system in a way just pure communicating and processing cannot. It is something we will tell a client to do as “homework” but there’s usually too many distractions in the average person’s home to accomplish too much meaningful homework. Something so valuable needs to be done in a dedicated session.