Anatomy Lab: Dissection Course for Yoga Teachers

I’m back with another observation from the lab, this time with regard to the incredible SI Joint.

People ask me all the time, why do I keep returning to the anatomy lab again and again? I have a few reasons why I go to the lab. Anatomy labs give us a chance to see something we’ve never seen before, in an environment where we can be surprised and challenged about what we think we know about the human body. The anatomy lab also inspires awe and wonder in a way we don’t really experience from reading textbooks or watching videos.

SI Joint Anatomy: A Surprising Dissection Lab Discovery

The last time I was in the lab, I saw something really surprising about the SI joint happen right in front of my eyes. When I asked one of the students to break apart the sacrum from the ilium, you’ll never guess what happened. It surprised and delighted all of us. It even helped one of my students completely reframe how she thinks about her body.

Watch this video to hear the whole story, 

What a Pelvis Dissection Taught Me About the SI Joint

What made this moment so remarkable wasn’t just that the joint didn’t give; it was that the ilium did. As we worked through the dissection, removing muscle attachments and freeing the pelvis, I expected the synovial part of the SI joint to be the first to go. After all, that’s the mobile, capsule-lined portion we usually assume is the weak link. But when we finally separated the bones, the joint capsule stayed intact, still attached to the sacrum, and the ilium fractured instead. Everyone stood around stunned. One student, who had struggled with SI joint pain for years, was visibly moved. Seeing it with her own eyes reshaped how she related to her body. That’s the kind of deep, embodied understanding you just can’t get from a diagram.

I’d love to hear from you: Have you been to an anatomy lab? What did you discover while you were there? How did it shift your perspective about the human body or your own experience living in that body?

Join me in a dissection course – get more info here.