Moving to Learn: A Meditative Yoga Approach to Teaching and Learning Anatomy and Physiology in Multiple Contexts

Abstract

6This chapter describes a meditative embodied yoga approach to teaching and learning anatomy and physiology in both higher education and in yoga teacher training and how teaching in one setting has influenced teaching in the other.Many adult educators teach in multiple contexts. Some of us teach in formal educational settings such as colleges and universities, and also facilitate educational activities in other contexts, such as religious institutions, community settings, or in meditation centers or yoga studios. The teaching in one setting often affects our teaching in another. But the context shapes to some degree the extent to which one might draw on different modes of learning such as embodied learning or meditation or mindfulness activities in addition to the expected cognitive world of ideas that is typically part of adult education (Merriam & Bierema, 2014).I am one such educator, who teaches in multiple contexts. In addition to teaching human-related biology courses for more than 20 years in high school and undergraduate higher education settings, I am also a yoga teacher and an anatomy instructor in a yoga teacher training program. When I enrolled in the yoga teacher-training program 5 years ago as a student, I expected my lifetime of academic teaching to help me be an effective yoga teacher; I was not expecting my yoga teaching experience to enhance my teaching in academia. Indeed, yoga has changed my academic teaching by shifting my focus on learner cognitive gains to include an awareness of their affective, physical, and spiritual/embodied well-being. This transformation was largely due to the incorporation of yoga into all facets of my life, including my role as a teacher in an academic setting.The purpose of this chapter is to offer a perspective on meditation through discussing yoga as a methodology for teaching and learning anatomy and physiology (A&P) in multiple settings. In so doing, I first define yoga and NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION, no. 161, Spring 2019

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“…An understanding of feeling or being pulled in different directions as troubling and undesirable pervades academic literature. For example, feeling or being pulled in different directions was associated with issues of employee burnout and caregiver distress; challenges of fulfilling educational endeavors and achieving professional respect; unwelcome uncertainty and ambiguity; questions of role capacity, clarity, conflict, confusion, merging, and multiplicity; issues of choosing among multiple and/or conflicting desires or goals; complexities associated with making and adhering to commitments; issues related to polyphonic identity; losses of personal direction and power; and stressors of the nurse manager role (Amico et al, 2017; Behmer, 2019; Brickhouse, 2003; Duenkel et al, 2014; Helsing, 2007; Levis, 2015; Piro & Anderson, 2015; Rice, 2010; Sleesman, 2019; Udod et al, 2017; Wang & Nuru, 2016). Several strategies intended to ameliorate feeling pulled in different directions were proposed by authors cited above.…”

“…Several strategies intended to ameliorate feeling pulled in different directions were proposed by authors cited above. These included drawing on a “paradox mindset” (Sleesman, 2019, p. 83), managing polarity (Piro & Anderson, 2015), and practicing yoga (Behmer, 2019).…”

The Art and Science of Yoga as Contemplative Practice: Academia Meets Mindful Yoga Practice

“…Yoga is also a meditative practice; hence later in 2019, I also wrote an article exploring the meditative aspects of yoga and movement as a means of mindfulness and embodied movement learning [7]. In some ways this article is a continued exploration…”

“…Given that I am a strong believer in science and neuroscience, the findings of these studies give some explanation to the science of the effects of yoga on my own nervous system and nervous system that has substantially increased my quality of life. This gives further reason for me to approach my yoga practice as a meditation, because meditation and spiritual development has been a centerpiece of my life's work that connects body, mind, and spirit, and science and spirituality [13].…”

Perception about Teaching and Learning Methodologies Applied in Physiology: A study on Medical Students of Pakistan

“…Regular evaluation of the medical teachers is needed over time to develop continually by fostering and implementing new teaching and learning approaches 4 . Physiology is taught using a variety of teaching and learning methods, including formal interactive sessions - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Received on 28-03-2021 Accepted on 03-08-2021 (SIS), Interactive Lectures (IL), Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and Case-Based Lectures (CBL) 5 .…”