Yoga National Guard Essay #1

Well, Kids, I blew it.  Well, maybe “blew it” isn’t quite the right descriptor, but it’s pretty close.  I did poorly enough on my last YNG anatomy exam that I’m obliged to write a couple of essays to make up for my lousy grade.

I’m not entirely sure exactly what these compensatory essays are supposed to be about, so I’m going to err on the side of caution and write them about the items that I got wrong on the exam.  Here, then, for your entertainment, is a 150 word essay, give or take, about the tensor fasciae latae (try to contain your excitement).

The tensor fasciae latae (or TFL) is “a small, superficial muscle located on the lateral side of the upper thigh” (Biel, 318).  It is a hip flexor muscle and is responsible for flexion, abduction, transverse adduction, and internal rotation of the hip.

Flexion can be expressed by bringing the knees to the chest.  An example of a yoga pose that incorporates the TFL’s ability to flex the hip is Eka Pada Malasana, or one legged garland pose.  In this pose, the practitioner centers the balance on one leg, then raises the other knee toward the chest.  Beginners to this pose may hold the shin below the knee to maintain the posture; a more advanced expression of the pose involves bringing the arm forward past the leg against the outside of the knee, then reaching the opposite arm around the back to clasp the hands.

Abduction involves the movement away from midline; side leg lifts would be an example of the TFL’s action in adduction.  A yoga pose that relies heavily on the TFL’s ability to adduct the leg and hip is Ardha Chandrasana, or standing half moon pose.   I teach this pose by bringing students to a half bend at the hip; we’ll lift our arms and inhale, then bend at the hip, keeping the back as flat as possible, until the chest is parallel to the floor.  From here, one leg lifts straight back - it’s important to maintain a straight line from head to heel here, however; if the heel and head aren’t in the same plane, I encourage the students to bring the head up to meet the heel’s level to protect the lower back.  If the student wishes to investigate the pose a bit further, I instruct them to drop the arm that’s on the same side as the leg that’s holding them up, to tuck the bottom shoulder underneath them, lift the top shoulder so it’s stacked above it’s opposite, and to rotate the top hip toward the ceiling.  Once the hip is rotated, the action of the leg is adduction - moving away from the center line of the body, and the TFL must work to keep the leg lifted.

Transverse adduction is just a fancy way of expressing what happens when we bring our knees together; it’s the moving toward center with the hip bent.  We perform transverse adduction when we’re coming out of happy baby pose, or ananda balasana.  Happy baby is performed lying on the back; the yogi brings his or her knees to the chest, then allows the knees to fall away from the midline of the body, stacking the ankles above the knees and supporting the legs with the hands either on the outer thighs, the outer shins, or the ankles.  Coming out of the pose - bringing the knees back together over the chest - is what utilizes the TFL muscle.

Finally, internal rotation means turning a joint inward toward the center line of the body.  If you were to hold your leg straight out in front of you and turn your foot and knee inward, you’d be expressing internal rotation.  The most challenging pose I can think of to work on internal rotation of the hip and thigh is hero pose, or virasana.  I’m extremely careful about bringing this pose into my classes, however, as it can be very dangerous if done incorrectly.  I encourage beginners to sit on a block, bolster, or blanket with their knees bent, ankles on either side of their buttocks.  As the practitioner becomes more comfortable with the pose, the props can be modified and perhaps eventually eliminated, when the bottom and the tops of the feet are comfortably on the floor.

So, what do you think?  Is this good enough to make up for a misidentified line drawing on an exam?