Learning Anatomy

I think I've already mentioned that in preparation for yoga teacher training, I've been learning more about anatomy with the aid of Anatomy Trains and Barron's Anatomy Flash Cards. In fact, I called a social moratorium this past weekend and spent both days immersed in my studies.

It felt as if my brain was lit up. With each page read, the flame grew. I know that what I am learning is nothing new - but it's new to me. I'm loving this so much - I wish I could eat the pages so that the information they contain would stay with me always.

First, there is the poetry of our bodies. Muscles with names like soleus and sartoris. In the foot one finds bones called cuneiforms. In the pelvis, one finds the sacrum and the ischium, ringing in my ears as more likely referring to a priest's ritual object and a Greek island.

And then there's the ingenious way in which our bodies function. Mechanisms and collaborations that we are never aware of and mostly take for granted. For example:

The gastrocnemious (superficial muscles of the calf) reaches up and around the hamstring tendons to insert onto the femur. The hamstrings reach down and around the gastrocnemii to attach to the tibia and fibula. As long as the knee is bent, these two units go their own way. As the knee extends, the two units tighten and function together as if they were two pairs of hands gripping at the wrist.

Both muscle groups must work together to successfully flex your knee. Think about that next time you lean over to pick up dropped car keys. Or the next time you melt into this asana.