Jules Mitchell’s yoga biomechanics blog leads the latest conversations in the teaching yoga community.
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A note from Jules: Welcome to my new and updated yoga biomechanics blog page. In the last decade, about 95% of my teaching time has been spent teaching yoga teachers. As a result, my attention has moved beyond just teaching biomechanics and yoga anatomy to deep passion and interest in how I teach yoga biomechanics and anatomy. This new blog format reflects that personal and professional growth. By reading, commenting and sharing these posts, you are participating in the development of my work. Thank you for playing such an important role in the process.
In these posts, you’ll find a variety of learning opportunities including excerpts from my book, topics playing out on social media, moments from my courses and workshops, and my thoughts on how we share yoga with the world. The blogs are less technical and better tools for learning than the archived articles I wrote in my blogging infancy. These older article archives (anything written before 2017) don’t always reflect my current opinion on some subjects, but they do reflect my growth as an educator. For the most recent iteration of my technical work, check out my book, Yoga Biomechanics: Stretching Redefined.
Latest Blogs
Nothing missing from yoga doesn’t mean it’s everything. (2/5)
This blog post is part of a 5-part email campaign I sent out in January 2022.I suggest you read them in order: #1 What's missing from yoga?#2 Nothing is missing from yoga.#3 The one cue you could lay to rest. #4 Yoga isn't going anywhere.#5 Yoga may not be a...
What’s Missing From Yoga? (1/5)
This blog post is part of a 5-part email campaign I sent out in January 2022.I suggest you read them in order: #1 What's missing from yoga?#2 Nothing is missing from yoga.#3 The one cue you could lay to rest. #4 Yoga isn't going anywhere.#5 Yoga may not be a...
Tissues Under Compression Thought Provoker
Yoga Biomechanics Continuing Education Something I’ve observed in my experience teaching yoga teachers is that most teachers are used to the type of continuing education that they can quickly repeat. They learn a cool new approach to a series of poses on the weekend...
Yoga and Bone Density + Thought Provokers
Can Yoga Reverse Osteoporosis? The Thought Provoker in this post is a bit different than usual. I'm asking a single yes/no question about what you believe: Can yoga reverse osteoporosis? After you've settled on either yes or no, perhaps sit for a moment and reflect on...
Eccentric Contractions + Thought Provokers
Eccentric contractions require greater cortical involvement. The brain lights up during eccentric actions. How we learn anatomy doesn't always explain how anatomy works. I'm sure somewhere along your anatomy journey, you covered how muscles work and how contraction...
Before you ask, “Is there a study on…?”
I can’t tell you how many times a week I get an email or DM that starts like that. It’s cool. I really enjoy the inquiries. Keep them coming. It’s just that 9 times out of 10, the question doesn’t have enough information for me to help point you in the right direction. I need to know far more information than the general topic. Sure, there is research on stretching, squats, yoga therapy, joint mobility, fascia, foam rolling, etc. Actually a lot more than you can probably consume in a lifetime!
What is Your Role as a Teacher?
We're currently on break between Modules 1 and 2 of my 300hr TT. This year's training is such a rich experience, we're all going back to our notes and reviewing the lectures with extra thirst. Simultaneously, we're devouring the upcoming homework, eager for the...
Learning to Learn
I've been doing a lot of teaching and even more mentoring during this last year. Seriously, the number of one-on-one and small group zoom calls I have each week is staggering. Hey, I'm not complaining. I actually find these calls to be one of the most rewarding...
Isometric or Passive Stretch + Thought Provoker
Yes, it's true. People email me or slide into my DMs and ask how they should be stretching, or what the best way is. If you're anything like me or have trained with me, you're probably thinking, "What outcomes are you trying to achieve?" When people ask me questions,...
Introducing Thought Provokers
I have some special content to share with you today. I call them Thought Provokers. If you've read my book, you might remember a series of sidebars, also called Thought Provokers. These were opportunities for me to pose questions for you, insightful questions that...
Question Everything
“Blind respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” – Albert Einstein
I’m currently on a writing sabbatical, book writing, not blog writing. That means little-to-no time on social media, extended periods of time staring at my computer, a lot of typing, even more deleting, and few tantrums. But it has come to my attention, through an email from a friend, that a 3-year-old blog of mine has been circulating around social media. As a result, I’m taking a moment off book writing to write this blog, which is long overdue.
Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy
So I was lamenting with some colleagues about how I am feeling conflicted about teaching and writing at this time. Don’t we have more pressing concerns than a nagging, albeit tolerable, pain below the butt during yoga class? I mean really, let’s get some perspective here.
But then I was served perspective by my friend and colleague Catherine Cowey. She reminded me that our work is also about scientific literacy and critical thinking skills. And that by questioning things we’ve been taught about asana on our mats, examining the available evidence, and then choosing the best course of action, we learn to evaluate what we see, what we read, and what we hear.
Loading and Stretching
Stretching. That one simple word is anything but simple. It’s a linguistic divide among the yoga community. On one side we have the “yoga is not stretching” camp and on the other side we go to public yoga classes, and we do what seems to be stretching. In fact, just yesterday I took a class where we did some “hamstring stretching,” a few “neck stretches” and a “shoulder stretch.” (Quotations are the teacher’s words, not mine.)
Regardless of which side you are one, I believe the conversation around stretching is useful. For us to agree on whether or not yoga has anything to do with stretching, we must first agree on the definitions of the words we are using.
Resistance Stretching with Charlie Reid
This blog is sort of like a podcast, only you have to read it. It’s basically a conversation between me and my friend/colleague, Charlie Reid, about yoga and resistance stretching. We email often, so this is a glimpse into one of our email threads, just formatted to read more like a blog. Oh, and the cat photos have been removed and replaced with content related images.
Why “Yoga for Sciatica” is a Stretch: A Guest Blog
My friend and colleague, Jenn Pilotti, delivers again with a guest blog on an important topic for yoga teachers. I actually find the dialogue she has begun here to be so essential to education for yoga teachers, I have a hashtag for it: #thepigeonconversation As...
What’s the cue for that?
It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. Too long. But to put things in perspective, since my last post back in (gasp!) July, I was in Europe filming and on retreat, teaching workshops and seminars almost every weekend, putting together a book deal, and most...
To Bend or Not to Bend (the Knees in a Forward Fold*)
I am not sure how or why this division came about, but whether or not to bend the knees during a hamstring stretch is a fiercely contested topic in the yoga community. Perhaps it is because injury at the proximal tendon (yellow part of photo below) is quite common among yoga teachers and students. When I lead biomechanics workshops for yoga teachers, I often ask who in the room has experienced, or knows someone who has experienced, proximal hamstring tendon injuries. The show of hands is staggering.
Transitions in Yoga Asana: A Guest Blog
Don’t you just love it when worlds collide? I have been friends with a #bodynerd on facebook who posts the most awesome “Wednesday Musings” about her observations while working with clients, but I didn’t actually know who she was. In February, we attended the same seminar and I finally got to meet Jenn! The following weekend, I was in a marketing seminar hosted by the awesome peeps over at Udaya, and they urged us to find guest bloggers. Shortly thereafter, Jenn boldly commented on one of my facebook threads, questioning a particular transition we commonly encounter in yoga classes. She had I shared a similar view and had an interesting dialogue right there in the thread. Turns out, she writes a fantastic blog of her own. I asked her to turn our thread into a blog so I could share it here, after which we go into a short Q&A to somewhat recreate our original conversation.
Biomechanics ≠ Anatomy
When I first registered for Calculus as an undergrad, it had been several years since I had taken it in high school. For some reason, I avoided taking Math in college, but then ended up choosing it as my minor (my major was Women’s Studies). Anyway, on the first day, the professor started lecturing, writing what he was saying on the blackboard. When he finally paused, I looked up and saw that he had written simple line of symbols but I had composed an extensive paragraph written in actual words. I had to relearn the alphabet of mathematical symbols if I was going to succeed in this class.
How Muscles (Actually) Work
As you all know, the conversations I treasure most are those I have with #bodynerd colleagues. This week, my friend, Charlie Reid, put aside a couple hours to discuss titin with me. As all our conversations go, we start with some previously selected research...
Your hamstrings. They’re not short.
Your hamstrings aren't short, they are low in extensibility. There. I said it. What I'd really like to do now is run and hide, since the questions and discussions on social media will likely overwhelm my schedule. I mean, I've already led you to question...