Yoga Anatomy

Skeletal joint actions

Spine Upper limbs Lower limbs

Neutral extension or

mild axial extension

Neutral extension, forearm

pronation

Hip adduction and neutral

extension, knee neutral

extension, ankle dorsiflexion

Notes

A wide variety of muscles in the torso
engage in a combination of concentric
and eccentric contractions to maintain
the curves of the spine in relationship
to the pull of gravity. In each person
a different combination of flexors and
extensors will be active in varying kinds
and degrees of contractions to maintain
the postural support needed.
The arches of the feet are engaged
and connecting with the support of the
pelvic floor, lower abdomen, rib cage,
cervical spine, and crown of the head.
Nothing lasting can be built on a
shaky foundation. This may be why
tadasana is considered by many yoga
traditions to be the starting point of
asana practice. It is interesting that this pose is almost identical to the anatomical posi-
tion—the starting reference point for the study of movement and anatomy. The only major
difference between the two positions is that in tadasana, the forearms are pronated (the
palms of the hands are facing the sides of the thighs rather than forward).
This body position is also uniquely human, because humans are the only true biped
mammals on the planet. Humans are also the least stable of creatures, possessing the
smallest base of support, the highest center of gravity, and (proportionately) the heaviest
brain balancing atop it all.
The base of support of this pose—the feet—offers a beautiful image of how the forces
of yielding and support operate in the human system. The essential structure of the foot
can be represented by a triangle. The three points of the triangle are the three places where
the foot’s structure will rest on a supporting surface: the heel, the distal end of the first
metatarsal, and the distal end of the fifth metatarsal. The lines connecting these points
represent three of the arches, lines of lift through which postural support is derived: the
medial longitudinal arch, the lateral longitudinal arch, and the transverse (metatarsal) arch.
There is also a fourth arch, called the medial transverse arch or the tarsal arch, that is across
the tarsal bones from the navicular to the cuboid.

E5267/Kaminoff/fig6.2/417618/alw/pulled-r1

Nonmuscular support and padding for the

foot: the fat pads (yellow) and plantar fascia

(blue). The muscles of the foot occupy the

space between the plantar fascia and the

bones.

(continued)