Chromatic Yoga

What is Chromatic Yoga?

Chromatic Yoga is a systematic approach to teaching that provides a highly intentional and purposeful experience for students to cultivate awareness of their body and mind. Authenticity is our highest core value for the purpose of cultivating a supportive and empowered community. 

Our Vision:

To ignite and unveil each individual’s highest potential and empower them to live boundlessly.

Chromatic Yoga is a school that honors and welcomes the wide variety of yoga traditions and styles. Rather than defining ourselves by the postures or practices, we instead look at the higher purpose: recognizing that we are intimately and energetically intertwined with each other through the force of nature that exists within us. We are each unique expressions of a bigger power. This realization can be attained in any moment when we pause and become aware of the magnificence of our body, mind, and breath, but is easily forgotten in the busy-ness of daily life.

The Story Behind “Chromatic”

“Chromatic” is a term used in art and music. A chromatic color wheel is inclusive of all the steps from one color to the next as opposed to ROYGBIV, which is a small representation of color. A chromatic scale in western music includes all twelve notes, whereas most other scales include only seven.

The famous major scale that every child learns in school “Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, (Do)” is a seven-note scale that skips five notes, making it easier to create melodies for the beginner musician. Because there are fewer notes, it is easier to create something that sounds familiar and pleasant to the ear. For the child without many colors of crayons, their coloring book might look like a blob of brown. Limitation and simplicity are great learning tools, but over time can inhibit potential creative expression as levels of proficiency rise.

This is the paradox of artistic expression, simplicity versus complexity. Often highly skilled musicians, even in popular music, will throw in a few extra notes here and there, allowing the listener to feel a bit surprised, or excited. Sadly, jazz music, with all its musical complexity, has fallen out of popular favor as we continue to favor simplicity.

Similarly we find that many alignment based yoga styles ask us to confine ourselves to a specific shape. The benefit of this approach is that we may learn faster because we are less overwhelmed by the full potential of our body. Chromatic Yoga acknowledges this and utilizes the simplicity in the same way to help students feel empowered. However, there is a fundamental difference. Simplicity is a learning tool, not the end result. Chromatic Yoga limits options to helps students learn rapidly but with time provides more options to help students move toward their highest, boundless potential. A chromatic teacher is skillful in keeping things simple (black and white) when appropriate, but is courageous enough to share the spectrum of colors. 

External Rotation of the Hip Joint

To help students get a better understanding of how to activate the external rotators of the thigh at the hip joint, we can use these self-adjustments. The primary access point to make the kinesthetic connection is at the heel. By giving the heel something to press into, we provide a connection to the buttock muscles, which are the external rotators. In many cases you may also trigger the adductors or hamstrings to activate as well depending on the rotation of the thigh bone. 

Anatomy of the Forearm

Pg 206, Chapter 22: The Forearm and Hand

Boney Landmarks: Pg 14

1. Phalanges: the fingers
2. Metacarpals: your fingers connect to bones in the palm called metacarpals. The head of the metacarpal is sometimes called the knuckles in English language. The head of the metacarpal on the palm side of the hand is a point of reference in the yoga practice; pressing them down into the ground requires activation of the wrist flexors. 
3. Carpals: the bones of the heal of the hand; nerve lines run through this area, called the carpal tunnels, infamous because of carpal tunnel syndrome. The down dog exercise in the video teaches how to lift the carpals slightly to release pressure.
4. Medial Epicondyle: medial to inner epicondyle; the boney part of the humerus on the elbow side, not the shoulder side. Please look this up on your Anatomy 3D App so you can see where the location is. Many of the muscles below attach here, like the flexor capri ulnaris and flexor capri radialis. 

The Muscles

Please use Essential Anatomy 5 App in order to better see the layers of muscles in the forearm.

Flexors of the Wrists

1. Flexor Carpi Ulnaris: flexes and adducts the hand; most medial of the superficial flexors.
2. Flexor Digitorum Profundus: attaches toward the middle to top of the radius down to the four fingers, not the thumb. Flexes wrist and fingers. 
3. Flexor Digitorum Superficialis: has three attachment points, one on the medial epicondyle of the humerus (inner elbow bone), one on the head of the radius, and one more toward the middle of the radius. The other side of the muscle attaches to the four fingers (digits 2-5), not the thumb. This muscle spans a greater distance than the profundus and is more superficial than it. 
4. Flexor Capri Radialis: also attaches to the medial epicondyle and runs down the inner palm to the base of the second and third metacarpals (index and middle finger). Responsible for flexion and abduction of the wrist. 
5. Brachioradialis: Dr. Ray Long lists this as a flexor in the forearm and hand section, so I assume he is referring to the fact that it is a flexor of the elbow. From my understanding, since it does not attach to the hand and finishes before the wrist joint, it doesn’t flex the wrist. It is, however, responsible for pronation and supination, according to most sources.

Look up each of these muscles with the Anatomy App in order to see them. This will help you visualize them and get a better understanding of their line of pull. I am providing just the basics here to keep it simple. As you look into the muscle actions you will see some of them do more than just extension of the wrist and or fingers. 

Pronators

Pronator Teres: from the medial epicondyle, runs across to the lateral radius, pronates the forearm and is also a weak flexor of the elbow.

Pronator Quadratus: pronates the forearm; close to the wrist joint that attaches to the radius and ulna. 

Extensors of the Wrists

1. Extensor Pollicis Longus: connects near the middle of the ulna all the way to the thumb tip; extends and abducts the wrist and  thumb. You may be able to see the muscle activate (depending on muscle definition) by moving your thumb side to side (toward and away from the palm -abduct and adduct).
2. Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis: attaches from the base of the humerus all the way down to the base of the middle finger (dorsal base of third metacarpal). When a muscle crosses two major joints, I pay close attention to it. You may experience pain in the wrist, and that might be due to an issue at the elbow joint and visa versa. These long muscles, along with fascial lines, can help provide insight as to where to start our inquiry. 
3. Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus: essentially the same line of pull as the ECRB, but it attaches slightly higher up on the humerus, hence the name longus. Brevis means short or abbreviated ,whereas longus is long. Where there is a brevis, there is usually a longus; two similar muscles, one shorter than the other. The longus attaches to the index finger metacarpal (second).
4. Extensor Capri Ulnaris: as the name suggests, runs from the ulna (ulnaris)to the metacarpal (carpi) of the pinkie finger (fifth). Extends and adducts the wrist
5. Extensor Digitorum: this muscle is long and attaches all the way to the finger tips, so if you show off your nails to someone, you will be engaging this muscle. Pulling your fingers and wrists back into extension is the action of the extensor digitorum. 

Look up each of these muscles with the Anatomy App in order to see them. This will help you visualize them and get a better understanding of their line of pull. I am providing just the basics here to keep it simple. As you look into the muscle actions, you will see some of them do more than just extend the wrist and or fingers. 

Exercises for Strength and Awareness of the Flexors and Pronators

Wrist Pushups: will target flexors of the wrist through range of motion – the flexor digitorum will likely not be as involved since the fingers are fixed on the ground.

Down Dog with a Blanket: down dog with the heel of the hand slightly lifted and fingers gripping activate wrist flexors. Work external rotation of the humerus against the pronation of the forearms and you will strengthen both the pronators and the external rotators of the rotator cuff. 

REVOLVED POSES

In this practice we work through two primary revolved postures: revolved triangle and crow. In the posture labs we will get deep into each of these. However, I want to offer some quick notes: this practice is not as much about getting deeper into twists as it is about getting connected to muscles that create rotation of the spinal column, primarily transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, and rotators of the spine. We use a block throughout the practice in order to better feel if we are actually rotating our spine or if we are just moving our pelvis or legs in a way that make it seem like we are rotating. 

Side Crow

Note: Video cut off at the end

This video gets cut off right toward the end, please repeat pigeon pose on the left and then proceed too do savasana.