Functional Hatha as Yoga Therapy 

Functional Yang Yoga through a therapeutic lens

Philosophy: 

• Functional Yoga origins and Yoga Therapy origins - the same? 

• From Krishnamacharya to Paul Grilley’s Functional Sutras. 

• The history and evolution of yoga therapy, and how things have greatly changed since “teach what is appropriate to the individual” (Krishnamacharya)

Physical Layer - Anatomy: 

• Paul Grilley’s 14-10-7 Model extended

• Compression as the starting-point.

• Upper Body Muscle Explorations

• Upper Body Joint ranges of motion

Asana Labs:

• Bishnu Ghosh’s 26&2 - An Intro

• Additional hatha pose breakdown through the Grace Tempany Method TAPAS & NIDRA lens

• Functional Sun Salutations 

• Paul Grilley’s yang flows

Teaching Skills: 

• Goniometer tests for range of motion assessments

• Deconstructing traditional “universal alignment” cues

• Functional style yang teaching principles

Teaching Practice:

• Large Group

• Small Group

• Creating sequences from Yang to Yin to an energetic curve

Myofascial Release, Breathwork & Fascia in Movement

This four-day online immersion explores acupressure, movement and breath as medicine. It deepens the functional foundations laid in The Art of Yin and Part 1 of The Art of Yang (Functional Hatha & Vinyasa).

Rooted in the work of Tom Myers (Anatomy Trains) and Paul Grilley’s functional model, this training investigates the living architecture of the upper body - its fascia, muscles, and connective tissues that integrate the shoulders, chest, arms, and spine into a unified field of movement.

Fascia is studied and experienced as both structure and sense organ - the body’s largest communication network. We explore its responsiveness to pressure and load, and the interoceptive intelligence it holds. Through myofascial release and subtle inquiry, students experience how load, directed attention, and breathwork reshape the tissues and, in turn, the nervous system.

Energetic Layer - Somatic Breathwork:

• Pranayama

• Nadi shodhana

• Breath retentions

• Kapalbhati

Energetically, The Art of Yang situates itself within both Tantric and Daoist lineages with prana and qi, and chakras and meridians clarified as expressions of the same continuum. The training invites an understanding of vitality not as force, but as coherence - the felt integration of fascia, breath, and consciousness.

The Grace Tempany Method in Motion

The entire training is infused with the Grace Tempany Method, the pedagogical architecture that threads through all of Grace’s work in The Art of Yang:

TAPAS – Target Area, Purpose, Action over Appearance, Sensation

A method for cueing and functional movement that privileges awareness and intention over performance.

NIDRA – Nuance, Inquiry, Discernment, Raise Awareness.

The reflective phase following activity, where resonance becomes understanding. NIDRA is the FATE methodology for rebound when to comes to The Art of Yang.

CEC → CDS – Contraction, Engagement, Commitment within the pose to cultivate Compassion, Determination, and Strength off the mat and in the world.

Building on the purpose-focused deconstrction of hatha poses in Part 1, Part 2 completes the fascia-sensitive, breath-infused pedagogy that bridges anatomy, energetics, and inner awareness, cultivating discernment, depth, and agency.

For Teachers and Practitioners

This module deepens the skillset of yoga teachers and movement professionals seeking a functional, evidence-based, and breath-informed approach to fascia.

You will leave with the ability to integrate active myofascial release and pranayama safely and creatively into your teaching, refining the art of Yang as conscious intelligence in motion.

I have not completed the Art of Yin. Can I just do The Art of Yang?

In a short answer, no. The Art of Yang is Module 2, building on and beyond teh foundations established in The Art of Yin. Because all the teaching at FYI is functional (not based on universal alignment notions, and speaking to feeling over form), it stands out in the yoga industry at large. It is not possible to enter into The Art of Yang without having established a foundation in the functional and therapeutic principles in The Art of Yin.

Is there any recommended reading for The Art of Yang?

You will be provided with a manual and some suggested verbal cues - in short, a clear functional guide for the yang practices that we are looking at. Should you want to do some extra reading in preparation, I can recommend the following. The first 2 on the list would be a good place to start. The last three are dense, and I will present the essentials to you during Module 1 anyway, so only dive in if the desire is strong! :-)

• Yin Yoga: Principles and Practice, Paul Grilley. 

• Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Mark Singleton.  

• Your Body, Your Yoga,  Bernie Clark.

• Your Spine, Your Yoga,  Bernie Clark.

• Your Upper Body, Your Yoga, Bernie Clark.

How much does yoga therapy come into this?

We can say that functional yoga and yoga therapy have the same roots - Krishnamacharya’s “teach what is appropriate to the individual” is what inspired the branch of study known as yoga therapy today. However, as a field, yoga therapy has I think become very focused on the physiological. 

FYI and the Grace Tempany Method aspire to bring more of the emotional and psychological to the fore. We speak a lot in yoga about transformation, but we cannot change anything we do not first accept. Self-inquiry and inner work are therefore cornerstones of all FYI trainings. You are supported to engage in your own personal journey as you embark on and proceed through the training.

Please note that this training is in no way a replacement for personal therapy, but I can say with certainty that it is a hugely complementary somatic addition.

How much does anatomy matter in this course?

The anatomy you are taught is functional and target area focused. Essentially, it is variable. You will learn that we are not all carbon copies skeletally. The approach to the teaching of anatomy can be summed up by Paul Grilley:

“When you learn to see the body as 14 skeletal segments. being moved by 10 myofascial groups, you will be able to skillfully adapt the 7 archetypal poses to suit the skeletability and flexibility of each individual student”

This is to say that the anatomy you learn immediately serves a purpose. There is no learning for learning's sake. Every single joint, bone, muscle, or myofascial group we look at is applied to poses, be they within the yin or yang practices.

How can you teach to the individual when you have up to 20 students in a class, maybe even more?

A lot comes down to your skillset, and language is by far the most important of these teaching skills. We can never know for sure what our students are experiencing, but we can help them become empowered practitioners with our cues to feeling and excellent questions. This is why language is a central focus within Functional Yoga Integrated.

What does it mean to be a Functional Yoga Teacher within the Grace Tempany Method?

To be a functional teacher is to teach to feeling, with the experience of each individual at the centre of the teaching, and to teach through a therapeutic and trauma-aware lens. To be a functional teacher is to embrace your personal practice as your own greatest teacher, and to confidently yet humbly guide your students to connect on a much deeper level with themselves and those around them

How is The Art of Yang different to most other yoga teacher trainings?

The Art of Yang is functional first and foremost. “If you’re feeling it, you’re doing it” - everything you will be taught can be distilled to this. Functional Teaching means teaching to the individual, teaching to feeling over form. This can be a departure from most rigid, universal alignment teachings, but nearly all students resonate hugely with this approach within their own experience, and speak to feeling much more confident in their teaching post-training.