When I first trained as a yoga teacher, anatomy was taught much as it is in many teacher trainings today. We learned the names of muscles and bones, the actions of joints, and the mechanics of movement. It was fascinating, and it provided an important foundation for understanding the human body. 

Yet over the years, as I spent more time teaching and working with women, I began to realise that anatomy alone wasn't answering the questions I was being asked in the classroom. 

Why does a practice that felt wonderful one week suddenly feel exhausting the next? 

Why do some women feel more stable with their feet hip-width apart, while others naturally find balance with their feet together? 

Why does a student in her forties describe a body that suddenly feels unfamiliar to her, despite doing "all the right things"? 

And perhaps the question that sits beneath all of these: 

How do we teach yoga asanas in a way that honours the body in front of us, rather than unconsciously anticipating every body (or even the same body) to always respond in the same way?

Women's bodies are designed to change 

One of the most important considerations is that change is not something that happens to women; it's something the female body has been designed to do. 

From puberty to the menstrual years, through pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause and into healthy ageing, women's physiology is continually adapting. Even within a single month, hormone levels naturally rise and fall in an intricate rhythm that influences far more than reproduction alone. 

Hormones shape our experience of energy and recovery. They influence connective tissue, muscles, bones, metabolism, the nervous system and even the way we perceive movement. They are not simply reproductive messengers. They are part of an extraordinary communication network that allows the body to continually adapt to changing internal and external environments. 

Rather than viewing these fluctuations as problems to overcome, we can begin to see them for what they are: signs of a body that is dynamic, responsive and deeply intelligent. 

Seeing the whole person 

One of the challenges within modern healthcare is that it has often separated the body into individual systems. We speak about hormones, joints, muscles, mental health and digestion as though they exist independently of one another. 

Yoga has always invited us to see something different: the body is not simply a collection of parts. It is an integrated system in constant communication, where changes in one area inevitably influence another. 

Ayurveda has recognised this interconnectedness for thousands of years. Rather than focusing solely on isolated symptoms, it asks how the whole person is functioning. It considers digestion, sleep, stress, movement, energy, emotional wellbeing and reproductive health as expressions of an integrated whole. 

This broader perspective becomes particularly valuable when working with women, whose physiology naturally moves through seasons of change across the lifespan.

The Body in Motion 

For many years, we have tended to think of movement simply as a way to strengthen muscles or improve cardiovascular fitness. Yet modern research is revealing something far more fascinating. 

When skeletal muscles contract, they release tiny signalling proteins known as myokines. These chemical messengers travel throughout the body, influencing inflammation, immune function, metabolism, tissue repair and even brain health. 

In other words, muscles do far more than create movement. 

They communicate. 

Every time we move, our bodies are responding, adapting and sending messages that extend well beyond the muscles themselves. 

This understanding helps explain why movement plays such an important role in supporting long-term health. Yoga is no longer simply about improving flexibility or building strength. It becomes one of the many ways we create the conditions for health to flourish. 

Rethinking Flexibility 

For decades, flexibility has often been seen as one yoga asana's defining qualities. Yet flexibility alone is not always what the body needs. 

As hormones influence connective tissue throughout life, many women experience periods where joint stability becomes just as important as mobility. Some students arrive in our classes already possessing abundant range of motion. What they need is not another stretch, but greater strength, coordination and confidence within that movement. 

This shift in thinking changes the way we teach. 

Rather than encouraging students to simply move deeper into a posture, we begin asking different questions. 

Can they create a stable foundation? 

Can they coordinate their breath with movement? 

Can they develop strength alongside mobility? 

Can they move with awareness rather than simply achieving a particular shape? 

These are subtle changes in language, yet they profoundly influence the experience of practice. 

The Principles Remain the Same 

One of the core messages is that the principles of yoga do not need to change. 

The application does. 

A strong, dynamic practice may be deeply supportive during one stage of life. At another time, the body may benefit more from strength, restorative practices, breath awareness or slower, more intentional movement. 

None of these approaches is inherently better than another. They simply reflect the changing needs of the individual. 

Perhaps this is one of yoga asana's greatest strengths. It does not ask us to force ourselves into a fixed idea of what practice should look like. Instead, it offers timeless principles that can be adapted throughout every season of life. 

Looking Forward 

Over the coming months we will continue exploring women's health through anatomy, biomechanics, Ayurveda, yoga therapy and therapeutic application. Yet if there is one idea that I hope remains as a foundation, it is this: 

Understanding anatomy is important. 

Understanding physiology is essential.

But understanding the person in front of us is perhaps the most important.

As teachers, our role is not simply to guide movement. It is to observe, to listen and to adapt. To recognise that every student arrives with a unique history, a unique body and a unique experience of health. 

When we begin teaching (or practising) from that place, yoga asana practice becomes something far richer than a sequence of postures. It becomes a practice that evolves alongside the people it is intended to serve.