Functional Anatomy Yoga Course

Yoga can be the path to pain management and a healthier lifestyle for many people with differing pathologies. With the Prema Yoga Institute, you can enhance your practice and teaching with a functional anatomy yoga course that teaches you all about the human body.

If you’re looking for a yoga certification to improve your personal practice or help you become a better yoga teacher, this functional anatomy yoga course is the ideal next step. At PYI, our Functional Anatomy Course counts towards your IAYT Yoga Therapy Certification and Yoga Alliance CE’s!

Learn Anatomy in a Practical, Approachable Way With Jesal Parikh and Erin Moon.

Online Course Dates/Times:

November 12th - December 14th

Tuesdays 5 PM - 8:30 PM ET

Saturdays 11 AM - 2:30 PM ET

With a Thanksgiving Break November 21 - 25 

With additional self-study hours, homework, practice teaching and on demand lectures.

Additional Integration Hours (for enrolled Yoga Therapy students only - includes hours delivering YT with mentored review)

January 9th, 6:30 - 8:30 PM ET 

REQUIRED TEXTS AND EQUIPMENT:

  • The Anatomy Coloring Book by Kapit and Elson 

  • Yoga Biomechanics Stretching Redefined by Jules Mitchell 

  • Space to practice asana, mat or something similar, a block, strap, bolster OR books, belt/scarf and pillows for props 

IN THIS COURSE WE WILL COVER:

  • How understanding human diversity is essential to the study of anatomy
  • The fundamental role the nervous system plays in our overall well-being and ability to move
  • How stress influences our health and movement - including a  review of the ANS (autonomic nervous system) and endocrine system 
  • Review of movement vocabulary
  • Key structures of movement (joints, fascia, ligaments, tendons and muscles)
  • How change happens in the body for better or worse (tissue biology, exercise science, injury management)
  • Best practices for accessing and/or progressing yoga āsana and mobility as a whole
  • Deep dive into breathing biomechanics and how breath is integrated into all movements 
  • Unlearning limited concepts around anatomy, including: 
    • the idea that a “correct” āsana alignment will keep students safe
    • Debunking outdated concepts about the mind/body/soul system
    • myths about: fascia, stretching, strength building, bone building, safety and injury etc
    • traditional breath and movement strategies 
    • posture and pain correlations  
  • How to use range of motion as a tool to understand accessibility and how to partner with your clients to meet their functional needs
  • Anatomy of the: spine, pelvis, pelvic floor and hips
  • Additional materials provided for:
    • healthy/happy feet and ankles
    • the fascinating shoulder
    • forearms and hands
  • And how all of this comes together for a greater understanding of how the many practices of Yoga can create an environment of higher conscious living and embodiment for ALL bodies. 

LEARN PRACTICAL TOOLS TO:

  • Develop your confidence teaching to all different types of bodies
  • Think critically about biases that often go overlooked in anatomy and movement science
  • Gain support and education to skillfully move away from a "one size fits all" type of teaching
  • Improve your verbal alignment cues for the individual body you are working with
  • Learn to better see and "Read" bodies in order to better meet your student's varying needs
  • Integrate body knowledge into yoga in an approachable, useful way
  • Interface more effectively with doctors and healthcare professionals
  • Advance your teaching towards a Yoga Therapy Certification

Successful completion of this course includes:

  • Certificate of Completion
  • 50 CE Credits with Yoga Alliance 
  • 50 Required Hours for students enrolled in Yoga Therapy Program 

Requirements for Certificate of Completion 

  • 75% Live attendance minimum at classes & all classes and related work completed
  • 75% pass on final quiz ( with option to take twice)
  • Completion of all homework & assignments

This course is for you if you:

  • You're concerned about keeping yourself and your students safe and injury-free
  • You’re questioning if the alignment “rules” you’ve been given are actually based on evidence or are applicable to all bodies
  • You want to support your students' work with an existing injury, disease or trauma
  • You want to learn how to adapt poses while respecting yoga tradition
  • You want to help students overcome physical plateaus so they can safely and effectively progress in their asana practice and movement in everyday life
  • You want to feel confident as a yoga teacher
  • You want to answer your students' questions with integrity, but are concerned about your scope of practice
  • You want to understand the jargon you hear other body practitioners using.
  • You want to feel confident incorporating the other, non-asana, limbs of yoga with purpose into your classes

Investment/Tuition:

  • New Students $1,195.00 (Early Bird: $1,120.00)
  • PYI Grads $1,120.00 (Early Bird $1045.00)

 

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!  $75 OFF through October 25th

**Use Code { ANATOMY2024 }  at Checkout**

Enroll Now $1195
PYI Grad- Enroll Now $1120

Importance of Understanding Anatomy for Yoga Practitioners

The right yoga certification can unlock the path to your next stage of learning and improve your life in previously unforeseen ways. Learn how functional movement helps you understand body mechanics, combined with mindfulness and breath techniques that can create a holistic outlook on health and well-being.

functional anatomy yoga course

Our functional anatomy yoga course teaches you about the different muscle groups and how biodiversity determines the uniqueness of each body.. You can learn how to improve joint stability to reduce the likelihood of falls and even better manage conditions like hypermobility syndrome. Students may also find that, with continuous practice, they can increase their range of movement in arms, legs, back, hips, and other limbs and joints. You can use these skills to bolster your health or continue your journey to becoming a qualified yoga teacher.

Take a yoga training course for back pain and to help improve overall health and well-being. If you already teach yoga to others, you’ll find that this course will help you become a better mentor, training students how to use yoga to manage their health better and vastly reducing the risk of injury or discomfort during practice.

yoga

Who Should Enroll in This Course?

Many yoga students and teachers benefit from the functional anatomy yoga course. This yoga certification is ideal for the following:

  • Yoga practitioners interested in improving their health and well-being
  • Life-long learners
  • Yoga teachers or teachers-in-training
  • Carers

 

  • Healthcare professionals
  • Wellness practitioners of other modalities
  • Students enrolled in our Yoga Therapy Certification Program - or those seeking to enroll

Consider sourcing yoga training for healthcare professionals to help create a more holistic skill set for helping patients and clients. Cutting-edge research shows that yoga can have many benefits that support holistic health — mental, physical, and emotional. Yoga, breath techniques, and meditation are all factors that could help many people with:

  • Managing trauma and PTSD
  • Managing stress and/or burnout
  • Anxiety and related conditions
  • Depression
  • Chronic pain and chronic disease management
  • Motivation and drive

Prema Yoga Institute’s functional anatomy yoga course can also help you understand how to treat specific body areas, such as the shoulder rotator cuff or hips. Improved joint health via targeted yoga practice could lead to improved overall well-being.

Career Benefits of Functional Anatomy Yoga Certification

Your yoga certification can help you take your career to the next level. If you’re a yoga teacher, understanding anatomy and the limitations of certain conditions helps make your classes more inclusive. By allowing your training and certification to inform and adjust your teaching style for different students, you ensure that your yoga teaching is a safe space for those with disabilities and mental health conditions.

functional anatomy yoga certification

Rather than focusing on the perfect form and shape of poses, you can focus on how each pose feels for your students and the benefits yoga brings them. You can empower students to utilize adjusted poses that aren’t as stressful on the knees, hips, or other body parts that may cause pain or discomfort.

You can also use your functional anatomy course to balance your focus between meditation, breath work, and physical work. With a better understanding of how the body works, you can empathize with your students and their needs and provide yoga training that improves daily lives.

Your functional anatomy certification benefits include:

  • Become a better teacher
  • Create a safe, inclusive space for more students
  • Healthcare professionals create complementary treatment plans via anatomy-based yoga
  • Improve your own well-being and gain confidence
  • A deeper understanding of how both range of motion and stability are tools that can improve the accessibility of your yoga teaching

Say goodbye to the concept of a “one-size-fits-all” yoga style and welcome a body-positive, healthful approach to yoga for all.

Meet Our Expert Faculty

ERIN MOON (SHE/HER), C-IAYT, ERYT 500, YACEP (FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY, MENTOR)

Erin,  She/Her (ERYT 500, C-IAYT) is a graduate of the PYI Yoga Therapy Program and has been teaching in the program pretty much since it’s inception. She has been teaching anatomy to Yoga instructors since 2009 in multiple programs around the world. Erin has studied/continues to study with YT's, PT’s, OT’s, Chiropractors, Researchers and Neurologists as well pursuing her hunger for knowledge through deep self study. She also holds a 200hr certification in Applied Positive Psychology from The Flourishing Center.

Erin’s love of teaching anatomy comes from a deep passion for the continually unfolding world of science and research of the body married with the deep teachings of embodiment, expansion of consciousness and connection of Yoga.
www.moonyogatherapeutics.com

Jesal Parikh (she/they)

Jesal Parikh, (she/they) is a yoga teacher, movement educator, podcaster, author, and disrupter working on creative solutions for equity in yoga. She is one of the co-hosts of the Yoga is Dead podcast, a revolutionary podcast that explores power, privilege, fair pay, harassment, race, cultural appropriation and capitalism in the yoga and wellness worlds.

Through her work, she aims to uplift those who are feeling isolated and marginalized by the yoga industry. That's why she is passionate about offering movement education through the lens of social justice at Prema Yoga Institute as well as offering shorter courses and workshops through her personal brand Yogawalla and in partnership with Movement Logic Tutorials. 

 

Jesal and her work have been featured in media platforms such as SELF, Outside Magazine, Yoga Journal, Yoga International, Well + Good, Insider, MindBodyGreen, Today and many more.

FAQ's

PREMA YOGA INSTITUTE

NYC’S PREMIER YOGA THERAPY SCHOOL

Enroll in Our Functional Anatomy Yoga Certification Course Today!

If you’re excited to start your journey to learning the anatomy of the human body as it relates to yoga, it’s simple to get started. Our online store highlights all the available courses, and you can find the functional anatomy course and its next starting date here. The course takes 50 hours to complete and requires that you’ve had at least a year of yoga practice — contact the admissions department for more details on requirements.

The course is run online by experienced teachers focusing on accessibility and inclusivity. Enroll early to gain a discount, and remember, if you’re enrolled in the Yoga Therapy Program, this course counts as 50 hours toward your total for that certification.

Contact us to learn more about our functional anatomy yoga certification, or enroll online today.

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