Spiral Bound
Spiral Bound
Integrated Anatomy for Yoga
Spiral Bound explores the potential for yoga as a healing modality by examining the body’s anatomical structure as it has evolved embryonically. With a light touch approach, Karen weaves together threads of development to see how our morphological constraints arise in the earliest moments of life and how this rotation lays the spiral groundwork for rotational kinematics that encompass all tissue. This book sets out to link theory with practice, all at a conversational level richly illustrated with full-color photographs and drawings that bring the biomotion to life for practitioners and teachers of yoga. This book for anyone seeking to simplify the parts-list pedagogy of classical anatomy with contemporary research in fascia literature for an integrated approach especially suitable to postural yoga.
Karen Kirkness MFA, MSc, E-RYT 500, is an artist and yoga anatomy investigator holding two masters degrees, one in fine art and the other a master of science in human anatomy. Karen’s drawing and conceptual work revolve around body culture and somaesthetics.
American by birth and now based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Karen founded her own yoga studio, Meadowlark Yoga, in 2005. Karen started practicing yoga while studying arts & sciences for her bachelor’s degree at the University of Central Florida, in 1999. She studied Ashtanga yoga with the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore in 2003 and continues researching the power of inter-lineage yoga through daily personal practice.
Karen is fascinated with how art and architecture inform science. She is passionate about play, flexible working hours, and the adaptation of not-for-profit social enterprise. After over 15 years of yoga practice, Karen spent a year in the dissection lab learning about human anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. Her fascination with subtle body concepts comes together with art and anatomy to make her workshops fun, informative, and inspiring.
Karen guest-teaches workshops and trainings internationally, including the trainings at her home studio, and the 40 Hour Cadaveric Anatomy for Yoga course in partnership with the University of Edinburgh. She served as yoga presenter on the Neuro Yoga panel exploring the relationship between conventional neuroscience and yoga practice as part of several science festivals in Scotland. She is a member of the Anatomical Society and has presented in recent years at the International Symposium of Clinical and Applied Anatomists (ISCAA).
Get in touch with Karen’s work through her website karenkirkness.com.
