The Yoga Anatomy Cadaver Workshop will be taught by two Missouri State University faculty members: Emery Bryant in the Kinesiology Department who also runs a registered yoga school outside of her MSU job and Dr. Scott Zimmerman in the Biomedical Sciences Department, which is where the cadaver lab is on campus.
Bryant said the class is geared toward yoga instructors and massage therapists, but it’s open to anyone interested in learning more about human anatomy.
She said Zimmerman will answer questions about anatomy, and there will be two cadavers.
"We can look at the different aspects of the body. We can — you know, it's a unique opportunity for people who haven't, you know, had this experience before to see...exactly what a muscle looks like, how a muscle is attached to a bone," she said, "and then, of course, I'm there to put it in the context of yoga and movement."
The workshop offers a chance to see just how different two bodies are, she said. Yoga instructors often tell their students that no two bodies are alike and not to worry if their pose doesn’t look like others’ poses, according to Bryant, "but then, in the lab, when you look at one set of knee joints and then you come over here and look at the other set of knee joints, you can literally see how different the bones are sized and the angle of attachment, and both of those things would affect, you know, for example, how someone does a lunge."
She said the workshop provides a deeper understanding and appreciation of how different bodies are, and that’s beneficial for both yoga instructors and massage therapists.
Zimmerman will talk to participants at the beginning of the class about what they’re about to see and how to be respectful, said Bryant.
“Some people are very nervous in this situation,” she said, “and he’s very good at putting their minds at ease that it’s a learning environment. By the time we get in, most people – their fear of what maybe they thought they were going to see and experience falls away.”
Bryant said everything on the body from the neck up -- and often the hands, which are very personal -- are covered, so it feels very clinical.
The class is limited to 10 participants, and there’s a $65 fee. Continuing education credits are available to those who attend.
Find out more by emailing EmeryBryantYoga@gmail.com or call 417-459-7030.
