Functional Anatomy for Yoga Teachers

A 40-hour in-person training with Bernie Clark
2025 in Vancouver, Canada

July 7th to 11th, 2025

This is the third and final time that Bernie will be offering this second level training in person. However, this year’s course will be recorded so that others can view the course on demand online. The course goes beyond the basic information about anatomy and physiology offered in most Yoga Teacher Trainings. The focus is on how the body moves and, more importantly, what limits movement, when these limits can be extended and when they should be accepted. This understanding is important not only for yoga students and teachers but also dancers and athletes or anyone who helps people move functionally. The term “functional” is used to contrast this approach to instructions and alignment which focus on “aesthetics,” which is a pre-conceived notion of how people should look rather than what actually works for them.

Functional Anatomy for Yoga Teachers will include:

• Personal explorations and measurements of your ranges of motion and what is stopping you from going further
• Understanding the physiological and biomechanical limits to range of motion
• The differences between a functional approach to movement and postures versus an aesthetic approach
• The difference between flexibility and mobility
• When hypermobility is okay and when is it not
• A deep look at the major joints, how they work and where/when compression may arise
• Special focus on the hips, lumbar spine and shoulders
• The importance of human variation and investigating the unique limits to everyone’s range of motion
• Exploring your own uniqueness and what it means for your range of motion
• Understanding the variations and effects of proportion and asymmetry
• De-bunking many traditional ideas of how people should look in yoga asanas or while moving their body
• A certificate of completion

Please note: Since this course will be recorded, all attendees must sign a release allowing themselves to be photographed and recorded. If you do not wish to be recorded, please do not sign up for this training. Instead wait until the On Demand version is available. As a participant in this training, you will be given free access to the online version of the course.

Required texts

The required texts for this course are a trilogy of books by Bernie Clark:

• Your Body, Your Yoga
• Your Spine, Your Yoga
• Your Upper Body, Your Yoga

You will be expected to do five hours (one hour per night) of self-study, which will consist of assigned readings from the books as part of the 40-hours of training

Notes

This training will not include yoga classes; however, please bring a yoga mat as it will prove useful. You will do various postures and movements to illustrate functional anatomy points. For Yoga Alliance certified teachers, the credits of the course can be applied towards your Continuing Education Units requirements.

Schedule Details

The course will run from Monday, July 7, 2025 to Friday July 11, 2025. Each day will begin at 9am and finish by 5pm with a one-hour lunch break at noon. 

Location Details

Our host will be YYoga YYoga Downtown studios at 888 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any other questions, such as where to go or stay while in Vancouver, please check our FAQ page.

Fee

The price is $1,050 Cdn, plus 5% GST (a required federal government tax.)