Manual Overview
Anusara yoga is an integrated, holistic hatha yoga system that has many therapeutic applications, especially regarding musculoskeletal injuries and limitations. In Anusara yoga, effective musculoskeletal therapy is a practice of applying our Universal Principles of Alignment™ in a variety of precise postures and exercises.
Our new Therapeutic Applications of Anusara Yoga Manual is a generous offering, recently created by five of our more experienced Anusara teachers, to serve as a lifelong reference for licensed Anusara teachers, and to guide students who register for the Therapeutic Applications of Anusara Yoga courses taught by approved Anusara teacher trainers.
To purchase a single copy, contact store@anusarayoga.com
What You Will Gain
With this book, Anusara students and teachers in a Therapeutic Applications of Anusara Yoga course will be able to study and practice:
- How to apply the Universal Principles of Alignment (UPAs) in various therapeutic situations
- The philosophical context for therapeutic applications of Anusara yoga in non-dual Tantra
- A review of the major movements and actions found in yoga asana, including major joint functions and general principles of kinesiology
- Practice in developing observation skills so that we can identify therapeutic needs for individual students, and how to develop a class plan for students who have therapeutic needs, in both a public and private class setting
- Safe verbal and manual therapy techniques (i.e., cueing and touching a client in a therapeutic way) and describe the goal of therapeutic cueing and touch within the context of asana
- How to identify what “progress” means in terms of yoga therapeutics and how to track progress so that client expectations can be managed.
High Value Knowledge
Of high value and practical benefit, the book includes a section called “Therapeutic Applications.” In this section, 9 areas of the body are expertly reviewed including:
- basic anatomy,
- common conditions,
- points of observation,
- key UPAs and actions,
- and contraindications.
The manual also includes a detailed “toolbox” or list of asanas and exercises that the teacher can choose from to help their students reduce pain or discomfort and allow their Light to shine.
Who can order the manual?
- All licensed Anusara teachers can order one (1) copy for personal use and inspiration.
- Subject Matter Specialists (SMS) with a specialty in Anatomy/Therapy can order one (1) copy.
- Anusara teacher trainers and Subject Matter Specialists (in Anatomy/Therapy) can order multiple copies of the manuals for their training students when they are ready to register and lead a Therapeutic Applications of Anusara Yoga course.
Contact store@anusarayoga.com to purchase a copy.
Become an Anusara Teacher Trainer
Be among the first to lead a Therapeutic Application of Anusara Yoga training.
Lead teacher trainings and advance your skills as you help others dive deeper into the richness of Anusara.
Heartfelt Gratitude
The Anusara School of Hatha Yoga and its members would like to celebrate and gratefully recognize the deep devotion of writers and contributors to this project.
Writers
- Ellen Saltonstall
- Greg Lewerenz
- Julia Pearring
- Jayendra Hanley
- Karen Sprute-Francovich
Additional Contributors: Dixie Bachmeier, Jenifer Harbour, Lisa Long, Peter Goodman, Suzanne Slocum-Gori
Contact store@anusarayoga.com to purchase a copy.
Frequently Asked Questions
– To maintain the integrity and high quality of the teachings contained in this manual, only Anusara teacher trainers with a background and passion in therapeutic yoga or anatomy lead courses with this guide.
– Registered Anusara teacher trainers and Subject Matter Specialists (Anatomy/Therapy) are invited to create their own training curriculum lead Therapeutic Applications of Anusara Yoga course using the material from the guide.
– The guide can be offered to course participants as the course training manual.
The 300-Hour Anusara Teacher Training module is called “Functional Anatomy”:
– It is a required module
It is for the graduate of a 200-Hour Teacher Training (the Elements or Inspired teacher who has minimal anatomy training).
– This module is a broad look at anatomy for hatha yoga to expand on what was learned in the 200-hour teacher training.
-It’s about how to teach a safe asana class in the Anusara style.
– It is not about therapeutic applications.
– It’s about, for example, what are the tendencies in forward bends regarding the lower back, why that is a potential problem, and how to take care of everyone in your class while you are teaching the class
The Therapeutic Applications module:
– Is an elective module
– It goes beyond the Functional Anatomy module to answer (for example) the question, “If I have a student who tells me they have a disc issue at L5/S1, what do I do?”
– It gives, teachers who are more experienced in anatomy, all they need to know to handle questions in a private/individual setting, or if you talk with the student before class, how to keep an eye on this student during class. etc.
– Therapeutic Applications is more specialized and more advanced.
The same way you register your teacher training. Visit the Teachers’ Lounge and submit the Heart of Anusara (HOA) training registration form.
When registering your course, please select Anatomy & Therapy event category.
Yes. The 2.5% training registration fee applies to all trainings that use the School’s curricula and/or training manuals including the Therapeutic Applications of Anusara Yoga manual.
Yes, once registered, this course counts toward Anusara Continuing Education Credits, as well as 300-hour elective credit hours.
– Due to the specialized nature of the material in the manual, there is no specific curriculum.
-Teachers with a passion in therapeutic yoga and anatomy will find it fairly simple to navigate and use to create with their own unique curriculum that best aligns with their therapeutic background way of teaching.
No. This manual is not training “Yoga Therapists.”
After reading this manual and taking a training through the Anusara School of Hatha Yoga, we are not able to refer to our work as “yoga therapy” or “yoga therapeutics.” Rather, this manual and the trainings that use it are intended to offer a refined level of yoga instruction, understanding the potential for yoga to improve a student’s condition.
