Online Training in Anatomy & Physiology of Yoga

Started watching the lectures from the course I am taking online that is put together by Simon Borg-Olivier and Bianca Machliss from Yoga Synergy in Australlia.

Applied Anatomy & Physiology of Yoga

I am going to puzzle through some of the ansignment work here.

Explain the concepts of joint complexes and muscle groups.
Discuss how the practical study of the body can be made simpler by using the concepts of joint complexes and muscle groups rather than trying to work with indivudual muscles and individual joints.
Discuss the four states you can create with muscle activation and relaxation around each of the 9 main joint complexes.

A joint complex at its most basic description would simply be 'Neck, Shoulder, Chest, Lower Back, Pelvis, Knee, Ankle.' When we take a deeper look at each joint complex there is much more going on than just having a knee, the knee joint complex has many different movements and you can use the muscle groups that attach to the knee to produce different effects within those movements. A muscle group is a group of muscles that work together to make a joint move in a specific direction and/or to stabilize the joint(s) as the physical body engages with energy.

The study of the joint complexes and muscle groups makes understanding the body much simpler as it is easier to get the idea of the adductor muscle group brings the legs together or allows you to cross the knee through the midline of the body rather than breaking down each of the muscles. It would take some intense dedication to go through the whole body studying each and every muscle.

Taking a look at the 4 states that we can have our muscles in really brings clarity to the concept that Yoga is far more than stretching even when speaking on the level of the asana. It would be injurious and/or frustrating to only focus attention into one state and ignore the rest. Having each state through a practice is going to facilitate ideal conditions within the individuals body. Here are the four states;

State 1 = Relaxed agonist and antagonist muscle groups.

State 2 = Agonist muscle group activation.

State 3 = Antagonist muscle group activation.

State 4 = Co-activation of agonist and antagonist muscle groups.


State 1 makes me think of savasana and most of the restorative postures that I have had in my practice. And even in many active poses when I have suddenly realized that I am holding muscular tension in a place that is not necessary for the posture I am in and by engaging state 1 I was able to be more present in that moment and my awareness seems to expand.

State 2 I really became aware of when I had injured myself in the area of my superior adductor muscle group and the superior hamstring muscle group.  When ever I went towards a forward fold it became necessary to be much more aware of my quadricep muscle group activation to help release the tension I was experiencing.
Reciprocal relaxation is becoming more and more a mantra that resonates within my mind when it comes to moving and relaxing the body.

State 3 Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Activation of the antagonist muscle while it is lengthened to aid in releasing tension and being able to move slowly into a deeper stretch. This seems to be utilized a lot in the hamstrings as many of the individuals I encounter enjoy running often so complain that their hamstrings are always tight. I had read once (Ray Long) that when utilizing this stretch method it should be only done once ever 48 hours, not sure if there is any conclusive proof on that?

State 4 The Bandhas of the body. Using the concept of the Bandhas in each of the joint complexes, especially when it comes to extreme movement ranges, can aid in either making a practice easier or allow for further expressions that would not otherwise safely be attained. Co-activation of muscle groups around a joint complex will be something resounding through my mind as often if not more than reciprocal relaxation.