Anatomy For Yoga DVD

Media Reviews of Anatomy for Yoga with Paul Grilley

"No doubt the average student doesn't care that much about the nuts and bolts of the body‚I'm always amazed by how many people don't know where their sacrum is—and there are probably many teachers who feel the same way. But if you really want to understand the subtleties of asana and pranayama, whether you're a student or a teacher, a working knowledge of anatomy is indispensable. That's why this new DVD from Paul Grilley is such a welcome arrival. Grilley is best known as one of the foremost proponents of Taoist or Yin Yoga, which combines the meridian modalities of China (for example, acupuncture) with the yogic and Tantric methods of India. But judging from this DVD, he also knows a thing or two about the Western understanding of human anatomy.

"The information is delivered as a series of eight lectures to a gathering of students, each of whom apparently had a large dose of enthusiasm for breakfast. The great thing about the DVD is that the presentation, unlike the usual two-dimensional anatomy book, is visually striking and experiential. Grilley illustrates his points not only on a skeleton but on living bodies, with helpful graphic overlays to emphasize certain points. Along with an introductory overview of anatomy, he covers the relationship of the shoulder to the spine and the femur to the pelvis, along with similar specific issues. There's a nice question-and-answer session, and the DVD also includes an interactive skeleton that the user can manipulate on-screen to examine it from different angles. Grilley comes across as a down-to-earth guy with a keen sense of humor, someone who'll answer a dumb question smartly and not make you feel dumb in the process. Teachers, serious students, and anyone running a teacher training program worth it's salt will want a copy of this DVD."
— Richard Rosen, Yoga Journal

"Paul Grilley's message is very simple yet very profound. Teachers and students alike need to understand that people's anatomical structures are very different and can determine their ability to do various yoga poses. In fact, I think this message is so important that viewing Anatomy for Yoga or taking a workshop from Paul should be a requirement in all yoga teacher training programs."
— Tim Noworyta, Yoga Chicago Magazine

Pranamaya and Paul Grilley
Pranamaya is very excited to team up with Paul Grilley to release the first in a series of lectures and seminars to be available on DVD.  Paul's work is broad-reaching and provocative, and keeps him on the road giving lectures and leading workshops around the country. He is a leading authority on Taoist Yoga which embraces and examines the critical differences between the Yin and Yang tissues of the body, and his special interest is in teaching Anatomy. His lecture topics include Taoist Yoga; Movement Analysis; Chi, Meridians and Chakras; Hatha Yoga Pradipika; and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Anatomy For Yoga
The focus of this first project is comparative anatomy: understanding the underlying skeletal structure of the body, how the bones differ significantly from person to person, and how to use that knowledge in gaining a much deeper understanding of our individual practices.  A wide range of students are presented in the DVD to illustrate the natural differences found in every single body, and how poses will never look the same on two different people. 3D computer animations show examples of the human skeleton at a deep level, and anatomical illustrations give names and relationships of the bones. This unique window inside the body, compared and contrasted with close examination of the students in the class, sheds a tremendous light upon a poorly understood aspect of yoga: how the bones affect the poses.

This comprehensive DVD includes nearly 4 hours of in-depth lectures and demonstrations of human anatomy as it relates to Yoga practice. Paul's material is divided into seven successive chapters starting with an overview of anatomical concepts and delving deep into each of the major joints of the body. Using a wide range of normal yoga students, a real skeleton and computer-generated models, Paul thoroughly demonstrates the fundamental differences between compressive and tensile stresses within a pose, and how each one must be addressed differently to get the most from any form of yoga practice.

Paul Grilley
In the summer of 1979 Paul Grilley was inspired to study yoga after reading Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. After two years study of anatomy with Dr. Garry Parker, he relocated from his home in Columbia Falls, Montana to Los Angeles to continue his studies at UCLA.

During his thirteen years as a yoga teacher in Los Angeles, Paul studied Taoist yoga with martial arts champion Paulie Zink. He also had the opportunity to study with Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama in Japan, as well as host seminars with him in the United States.

After twenty years of reading and study in the philosophies Taoism and Yoga, Paul took a sabbatical from teaching and completed a Master's Degree from St. John's College in the study of the Great Books of the Western World. Paul enjoys reading in esoteric subjects and science, continuously looking for bridges between these two fields of study. He lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife Suzee.