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Functional Anatomy of Yoga
Functional Anatomy of Yoga is a rare gem. This book enables both the casual reader and the seasoned practitioner to understand and implement the anatomical structure and function of the body in yoga. Written with a conversational tone, the book delivers the complex subject of human anatomy in a way that is both provocative and clear. The underlying theme of the book is integration. David Keil outlines how yoga teachers and practitioners can utilize a deeper understanding of their anatomy as they approach the larger scheme of yoga. How do the supposed "parts and pieces" of the body synchronize to support integrated movement? Finally, how do the various yoga postures interrelate from the perspective of functional anatomy? Not only is David Keil an authority on the subject of anatomy, but he also has the wisdom and first-hand experience of a skilled yoga teacher and practitioner. He has been presenting the subject of anatomy in a way that is interesting, meaningful, and applicable to teachers and students alike since 2000. Beautifully illustrated throughout with colour images and photographs to clearly explain the concepts and asanas, Functional Anatomy of Yoga will assist you in reaching new heights in your yoga practice using the "laboratory" of the body and the tools of yoga asana.
383 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2014
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484 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 12, 2017
I have several anatomy books and found that it's a topic so hard for me to digest. I was about to gave up anatomy until i found this book. I would suggest this book for those who would like to start studying anatomy. David Keil has a casual way in explaining that complexity of anatomy by implementing his experience stories into this book, making this book easier to digest. And after I finished this book, the other anatomy books that i have tried to read before becomes less intimidating and easier to understand
April 22, 2017
This book helped me form an understanding of how my body is moving during yoga practice. It definitely enriched and informed my practice, and provided guidance and direction on how to approach asanas that are challenging. It also helped me understand why they are challenging and what is it in my particular body that makes them so. The book inspired an appreciation for the amazing complexity and design of the physical body and its workings.
My criticism of the book is that illustrations oftentimes did not align with the text. At times i had a hard time following the narrative and how it related to the pictures. I felt like i wished the pictures were better labeled and more relevant to the specific concepts/terms mentioned in the text. This is coming from somebody who knew nothing about anatomy when she picked up this book. Perhaps this would not be an issue for someone who is already familiar with basic anatomy.
As a complete novice to the topic i also found myself wishing that there was some kind of diagram of the whole body for easy reference.
My criticism of the book is that illustrations oftentimes did not align with the text. At times i had a hard time following the narrative and how it related to the pictures. I felt like i wished the pictures were better labeled and more relevant to the specific concepts/terms mentioned in the text. This is coming from somebody who knew nothing about anatomy when she picked up this book. Perhaps this would not be an issue for someone who is already familiar with basic anatomy.
As a complete novice to the topic i also found myself wishing that there was some kind of diagram of the whole body for easy reference.
April 18, 2021
An incredible journey through the body, guided by various yoga poses. I really like those church sermons where they go hard into “the original Aramaic” or whatever and really interrogate what was written, what was the historical context, and importantly the ways we can interpret the text. It feels like peeling back the subjectivity into something more honest and data-driven. Same thing with anatomy in yoga. I felt that I needed a guide into what bones and muscles were being used in all these poses, and what I should be focusing on as I move through the flows.
This is not really a “reference” book or even “textbook” like I expected from the title. It’s not really intended for you to dip in and look up diagrams of the names of muscles and bones of the leg, for instance. There’s plenty of generic anatomy textbooks for that.
It’s also not an exhaustive list of every asana and the body parts involved in them. For that you would probably want something like The Science of Yoga. This book actually focuses on a relatively few number of asanas, but goes extremely deep into them (for example, there’s a 12 page section on Urdhva Mukha Svanasansa / Down Dog near the end).
This is actually a narrative, a story you’ll want to read front-to-back, or at least through each chapter. In Part I, starting with specific region of the body, Keil gives the story of that part of the body, starting indeed with its parts, but moving quickly onto what they all DO and how they FUNCTION. What kind of weight are they bearing? When this muscle flexes what is it pulling along? Each section ends with some notes linking what we’ve learned to specific asanas, pain, or challenges we might face in practice, but in Part I this material is not as extensive as the stories about anatomy. It’s interactive, and while reading this Keil asks you to palpate, to stretch, and hold different poses to explore different small muscles of your body. The psoas was especially shocking.
Exploring anatomy through the stories of the body is much more memorable than bland lists of body parts. For example, what is the story behind carpal tunnel syndrome? Well, flexing the fingers is something we do thousands of times a day when we type, and the tendons that flex the fingers in that way run through a small tunnel in your wrist. When these get inflamed by overuse, they compress a nerve running through that same tunnel. How can we avoid this inflammation? By stretching the tendons in the opposite direction, and helping them become more pliable — and now we understand the hand benefits for something like plank pose or chaturanga (hands as if you were about to do a pushup). Far from being simply a pose about arm or shoulder strength, plank and chaturanga contribute to hand health by hyperextending your hand on the mat, to counteract all that flexing we do by typing all day. By learning about anatomy through the functions of each pose, you begin to understand how to deconstruct different asanas in this way, to ask: “what is this pose working and stretching? when we repeat certain poses, what can I focus on differently each time?” It feels great to hold a pose and do a full body scan—check in from top to bottom and interrogate what is going on in your body. Name the parts, and understand what’s working hard and what should be working harder.
The eagerly anticipated Part II is where he goes much harder with the direct connections to yoga, but still with emphasis on functions. So he focuses on just a handful of key functions, namely forward bends, external hip rotation, spinal twist, arm balances, and backbends, and for each of these functions, he picks a “pinnacle pose” to work toward. One of those impressive-looking showpieces that really tests your body’s limits in that particular pose. Right off the bat, the pinnacle pose of forward bend is the unbelievable Kurmasana, or turtle pose, which looks like you’ve lost all your bones and have just melted into a puddle on the floor. But he breaks it down into component parts and other asanas that can help you get to that point. The humble sun salutation ends up stretching your hamstrings and calves and feet in key ways. Adjusting triangle pose by rooting in the back feet so that the stretch moves to the back legs can help open up the glutes and hips in a unique way. He breaks down these showpiece asanas into other preparatory poses that make it easy to pinpoint exactly which parts of the body are too tight or too weak.
He emphasizes over and over that just like “the head bone is connected to the neck bone” and all parts of the body are integrated (sort of the fallacy of “losing weight in your midsection”, or constantly doing bicep curls to “target” your arms (the curls might do that but it’s not a good way to build overall strength)) all the poses in yoga are connected in this way. Doing chaturanga and planks helps extend your hands and counteract the flexors, and strengthens your shoulders and arms in ways that will contribute to your ability to do a handstand later.
I approach this book much like I did with Hal Higdon’s Marathon book on running. At first I kind of thought it was silly to read a book about such an activity. Why not spend that time actually doing the activity? Well, besides opening a whole new dimension to explore the activity in, they are really motivating. How can you read this and not want to go do some sun salutations? Test out what you just learned?
This is not really a “reference” book or even “textbook” like I expected from the title. It’s not really intended for you to dip in and look up diagrams of the names of muscles and bones of the leg, for instance. There’s plenty of generic anatomy textbooks for that.
It’s also not an exhaustive list of every asana and the body parts involved in them. For that you would probably want something like The Science of Yoga. This book actually focuses on a relatively few number of asanas, but goes extremely deep into them (for example, there’s a 12 page section on Urdhva Mukha Svanasansa / Down Dog near the end).
This is actually a narrative, a story you’ll want to read front-to-back, or at least through each chapter. In Part I, starting with specific region of the body, Keil gives the story of that part of the body, starting indeed with its parts, but moving quickly onto what they all DO and how they FUNCTION. What kind of weight are they bearing? When this muscle flexes what is it pulling along? Each section ends with some notes linking what we’ve learned to specific asanas, pain, or challenges we might face in practice, but in Part I this material is not as extensive as the stories about anatomy. It’s interactive, and while reading this Keil asks you to palpate, to stretch, and hold different poses to explore different small muscles of your body. The psoas was especially shocking.
Exploring anatomy through the stories of the body is much more memorable than bland lists of body parts. For example, what is the story behind carpal tunnel syndrome? Well, flexing the fingers is something we do thousands of times a day when we type, and the tendons that flex the fingers in that way run through a small tunnel in your wrist. When these get inflamed by overuse, they compress a nerve running through that same tunnel. How can we avoid this inflammation? By stretching the tendons in the opposite direction, and helping them become more pliable — and now we understand the hand benefits for something like plank pose or chaturanga (hands as if you were about to do a pushup). Far from being simply a pose about arm or shoulder strength, plank and chaturanga contribute to hand health by hyperextending your hand on the mat, to counteract all that flexing we do by typing all day. By learning about anatomy through the functions of each pose, you begin to understand how to deconstruct different asanas in this way, to ask: “what is this pose working and stretching? when we repeat certain poses, what can I focus on differently each time?” It feels great to hold a pose and do a full body scan—check in from top to bottom and interrogate what is going on in your body. Name the parts, and understand what’s working hard and what should be working harder.
The eagerly anticipated Part II is where he goes much harder with the direct connections to yoga, but still with emphasis on functions. So he focuses on just a handful of key functions, namely forward bends, external hip rotation, spinal twist, arm balances, and backbends, and for each of these functions, he picks a “pinnacle pose” to work toward. One of those impressive-looking showpieces that really tests your body’s limits in that particular pose. Right off the bat, the pinnacle pose of forward bend is the unbelievable Kurmasana, or turtle pose, which looks like you’ve lost all your bones and have just melted into a puddle on the floor. But he breaks it down into component parts and other asanas that can help you get to that point. The humble sun salutation ends up stretching your hamstrings and calves and feet in key ways. Adjusting triangle pose by rooting in the back feet so that the stretch moves to the back legs can help open up the glutes and hips in a unique way. He breaks down these showpiece asanas into other preparatory poses that make it easy to pinpoint exactly which parts of the body are too tight or too weak.
He emphasizes over and over that just like “the head bone is connected to the neck bone” and all parts of the body are integrated (sort of the fallacy of “losing weight in your midsection”, or constantly doing bicep curls to “target” your arms (the curls might do that but it’s not a good way to build overall strength)) all the poses in yoga are connected in this way. Doing chaturanga and planks helps extend your hands and counteract the flexors, and strengthens your shoulders and arms in ways that will contribute to your ability to do a handstand later.
I approach this book much like I did with Hal Higdon’s Marathon book on running. At first I kind of thought it was silly to read a book about such an activity. Why not spend that time actually doing the activity? Well, besides opening a whole new dimension to explore the activity in, they are really motivating. How can you read this and not want to go do some sun salutations? Test out what you just learned?
November 24, 2023
I did it I’m a yoga teacher
April 17, 2020
The body is more than just the body, somehow. The breath is more than just air, somehow. The way you move is a miracle.
Also, all the names of muscles, bones, articulations, movements, and even the golgi organ reflex and other such wondrous miracles of matter.
Keil wants to "impress upon you just how hard it is to see the whole person." I'm here thinking just how hard it is to see all the joints of a single foot! A truly holistic and non-spiritual-woowoo approach to the body in the context of yoga. I definitely recommend it.
Also, all the names of muscles, bones, articulations, movements, and even the golgi organ reflex and other such wondrous miracles of matter.
Keil wants to "impress upon you just how hard it is to see the whole person." I'm here thinking just how hard it is to see all the joints of a single foot! A truly holistic and non-spiritual-woowoo approach to the body in the context of yoga. I definitely recommend it.
August 4, 2021
Honestly one of the best books on yoga anatomy I've found. A lot have a lot of diagrams and poses where they will highlight the muscles, and that's nice, but Keil brings the functional anatomy (how the joints move) into the picture--so the word to picture ratio is much higher than the usual, but this is a guy who has done a lot of yoga and studied a lot of anatomy in a lot of bodies and his experience shows. This is a book I will re-read because I know there's more here for me to absorb.
June 27, 2017
Fantastic exposition of basic functional anatomy and integration with asana practice. I was able to identify some patterns and limitations in my own practice and think carefully about how to change the patterns and further my goals. Highly recommend to any yoga practitioner!
January 1, 2021
Re-read this crisp and information book while preparing some advanced curriculum. The more I read it I find some topics a bit unclearly explained or confusing, but overall a great add to an anatomy teacher's bookshelf!
November 15, 2017
I found this book easy to understand, thorough, and helpful. I do wish that there was a greater focus on the asanas, and perhaps a more complete look at what's happening in various asanas.
February 14, 2019
An insightful and beautiful introduction to the anatomy of movement.
November 29, 2019
Great one to learn the basic anatomics in yoga with a lot of great examples. Better be on the mat while reading.
December 18, 2021
The author has a great voice.
March 25, 2023
One of the best book on asana anatomy
April 30, 2024
通俗易懂！让菜鸟对瑜伽练习充满了信心❤️
February 13, 2016
Easy to read. Useful information. I like the way he tailored functional anatomy for the yoga asanas.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews