Living Anatomy Project

Learning musculoskeletal system movements – including bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, innervation and vascular supply – is daunting for students. The Living Anatomy Project (LAP) was designed at Mount Sinai School of Medicine to augment standard teaching by allowing students to learn about body movements and underlying anatomy through yoga and pilates. These are philosophies that employ movement as vehicles for self‐awareness, musculoskeletal health, and relaxation; we felt that melding such exercises with anatomical information would allow for the transmission of facts within a novel and enjoyable experience. In our 2004 pilot classes, voluntary sessions were set up towards the end of the course, prior to the final examination, to review the extremities. In subsequent surveys, student response was overwhelmingly positive, encouraging project expansion. All respondents strongly agreed that the class was worthwhile, facilitated learning, and reduced exam tension. Based on this, LAP was expanded in 2005 to include sessions to reinforce the: 1) back, 2) thorax & abdomen, 3) pelvic floor, 4) upper extremity, 5) lower extremity, and 6) head & neck. Each session comprised 2 or 3 identical classes (n=20 students/each), lasting 1–1.5 hours. Session leaders were two second year students (certified pilates and yoga instructors). Typical exercises included 1) a pilates arm movement using resistance bands to illustrate the sequencing of actions, muscles, and innervation involved in abduction of the arm, and 2) the yoga “tree pose,” demonstrating the use of the sartorius in hip and knee flexion and lateral hip rotation. These exercises were first demonstrated by the leaders and then performed by participants, while the leaders reinforced the anatomy. Based upon the continued positive feedback, the LAP will be further expanded for the 2006 semester.