Teach People, Not Poses
By Mary Richards
Foreword by Judith Hanson Lasater
Illustrated by Lili Robins
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Shambhala Publications08/29/2023Pages: 184Size: 6 x 9ISBN: 9781611809725DetailsHonor your yoga students' unique practice with this essential guide to identifying and supporting healthy, safe movement for every body. Includes more than 80 exercises and 43 instructional drawings.
Teach People, Not Poses is the manual that yoga teachers and yoga therapists need to help their students step onto the mat on their own terms, comfortably and safely. Mary Richards, a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and expert in kinesiology and anatomy, says that we leave too many people off the mat, due to overly aggressive pace, sequence, and ambition in asana. She offers advice, techniques, observations, practices, and sequences to give teachers and yoga therapists the tools they need to move beyond the popular ideas of “should” on the mat.
To safely guide others in asana, especially when people come to the mat for relief from residual effects of acute injuries, chronic pain, and repetitive strain, yoga teachers need to understand what is typical and atypical in terms of posture and movement. Richards offers teachers myriad exercises to address imbalances and strengthen, such as- "Tighten the Corset" for deep core training
- "Forearm Chaturanga/Plank" to develop core strength and stability
- "Revolved Warrior I with Resistance Band" for core stabilization
- "Wall-supported Downward-facing Dog" to activate the abdominal muscles and support the lower back
- and much more
This unique book masterfully blends yoga philosophy with practical body knowledge and physical core stabilization skills, so that asana is truly an individualized expression—and what the Yoga Sutras describe as sthira sukham asanam, asana that is steady and comfortable.
RelatedCheck items to add to the cart orAuthor BioMARY RICHARDS, MS, C-IAYT, ERYT, YACEP, has been practicing yoga for almost thirty years and travels around the country teaching anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology. A hard-core movement nerd and former NCAA athlete, Mary has a master’s degree in yoga therapy. Mary lives in the Washington, D.C. area, where she teaches syllabus-based yoga classes, sees clients privately, and trains bodyworkers, fitness professionals, and yoga instructors in movement literacy and therapeutic asana techniques.JUDITH HANSON LASATER has taught yoga since 1971. She holds a doctorate in East-West psychology and is a physical therapist. Dr. Lasater is the president emeritus of the California Yoga Teachers Association and is one of the founders of Yoga Journal magazine. She trains yoga teachers in asana, kinesiology, yoga therapeutics, and the Yoga Sutras, and she is a pioneer in the teaching and practice of Restorative yoga. Dr. Lasater is the author of eleven books on yoga.Praise"This is a brilliant book that integrates anatomy and asana, science and philosophy, the quantitative and the qualitative. With her refreshingly grounded voice, Mary Richards is a bright light on the yoga path." —Lizzie Lasater, designer and yoga teacher
"We need detailed maps for trekking and hiking in the inner body—and that is exactly what Mary Richards provides in her experiential anatomy book, which she adapts wonderfully one’s needs and personal history." —Francois Raoult, director of Open Sky Yoga Center and teacher training
"Mary’s singular, humble voice rises above the clamor and ushers us into a new way of learning and being where curiosity is paramount and one’s own unique, direct experience is the ultimate authority. A must-read for all aspiring yogis." —Melissa Shalongo, professional yoga teacher
Selected Reader Reviews