Lasater Yoga: Love Your Lower Back

The course is open to anyone seeking enrichment, understanding, or relief in their own body — no prior credentials are required. It suits yoga teachers concerned with adapting practice for students with low back, pelvic, or hip issues, graduates of the school’s Experiential Anatomy course wanting to go deeper into the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex, and serious students new to this work who want to deepen their movement literacy.

The curriculum is structured over seven weekly sessions, each combining principles, practice, and integration videos. Session 1 introduces the framework and core ideas. Session 2 covers the hip joints. Session 3 focuses on the lumbar region. Session 4 examines the sacroiliac joint. Session 5 explores the pelvis and pelvic floor. Session 6 addresses therapeutics. Session 7 is a closing question-and-answer session.

Much of the work is described as un-learning. Students study the pelvis as the origin of movement rather than the vertebral column, learn how preserving the natural curves of the spine prevents stress on the lumbar region, and look at how cues like tucking the tailbone can create strain. The course covers core stability and its role in posture, breath, and vagus nerve tone, and explores how emotional stress and psychological factors contribute to lower back pain.

The course is led by Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, PT, who has taught yoga since 1971 on six continents and is the author of multiple books on yoga and anatomy. She is joined by Mary Richards, MS, a certified yoga therapist who leads the sessions on the lumbar region, pelvis and pelvic floor, and therapeutics, and whose book Teach People Not Poses informs the course reading.

The format is fully self-paced. All seven sessions are delivered as pre-recorded principles, practice, and integration videos, and students move through the material at their own pace from home. Enrollees receive three years of access from the day they enroll. Suggested props include a sticky mat, two bolsters, an eye cover, two blocks, and six firm blankets. A 95% refund policy applies within one week of enrolling.

The curriculum is structured over seven weekly sessions, each combining principles, practice, and integration videos. Session 1 introduces the framework and core ideas. Session 2 covers the hip joints. Session 3 focuses on the lumbar region. Session 4 examines the sacroiliac joint. Session 5 explores the pelvis and pelvic floor. Session 6 addresses therapeutics. Session 7 is a closing question-and-answer session.

Much of the work is described as un-learning. Students study the pelvis as the origin of movement rather than the vertebral column, learn how preserving the natural curves of the spine prevents stress on the lumbar region, and look at how cues like tucking the tailbone can create strain. The course covers core stability and its role in posture, breath, and vagus nerve tone, and explores how emotional stress and psychological factors contribute to lower back pain.