Yoga Anatomy

46 Yoga anatomY

created by muscles, the bones would be unable to move through space and could only
respond to forces outside the body travelling through them. Without connective tissue such
as ligaments and tendons, bones and muscles would have no way to relate to each other.
One job of the bones is to receive weight and transmit force, while the ligaments direct
that force along specific pathways. This weight and force might be generated by the pull of
gravity or by other sources, such as the muscles that propel the leg through space to take
a step. The job of the muscular system is to move the bones into positions where they can
do their job as effectively as possible.

Skeletal SyStem tiSSue: BoneS and ligamentS

Our bones are incredible structures. They are strong enough to resist collapsing under the
force we send through them, light enough that we can move them through space, and
resilient enough to adapt to stresses that come from all directions in three-dimensional space.
Ligaments do an amazing job as well. They are flexible enough to allow three-dimensional
movement at the joint and strong enough to align and guide a tremendous amount of force
from bone to bone across the space of the joint.

E5267/Kaminoff/fig3.1/417609/alw/pulled-r2

Skeletal system

Nervous system

Respiratory

system

Digestive

system

Circulatory

system

Muscular

system

Figure 3.1 Several systems of the body: nervous, digestive, respiratory, circulatory, skeletal,
and muscular.