This week in YTT, one of our theory afternoons was spent learning how to analyze a body and diagnose which skeletal and muscle problems are present. Of course, two hours is hardly enough time to truly learn to identify and ‘fix’ all issues, but it was a great crash course on beginning to understand this important process to help ourselves and our future clients.
I always knew that I had a few of the issues my teacher and classmates identified: pronation of the foot, slight scoliosis and kyphosis. I did NOT know that I had a flat back! But, what was really interesting was learning how these problems affected my whole body and posture, and very importantly for YTT, how they affect being able to successfully hold stable yoga poses.
It gave me new insight on why my inversions are difficult to hold straight without support and how to fix that, albeit a difficult challenge. And, also, whilst I thought I was lacking core strength for Navasana, it is actually more of an issue of my lack of ability to flex my spine in a manner comfortable to hold the pose.
The exciting part about all of this, though, is a newfound ability to help others as well. I find myself analyzing and diagnosing everyone around me: on the escalator from the MRT, standing in line at the grocery and even at home. I noticed my son has severe pronation of the left foot. I scheduled an appointment with a podiatrist and low and behold, he does have severe pronation – the reason behind his knees aching when he swims the breastroke. It’s exciting how it’s all tied together, and I feel empowered to learn more and help more. I will definitely be studying this topic further!
-Patricia Makatsaria
