8.1 Major Bones

Bones as teaching landmarks, not a medical catalog

Yoga Alliance's RYS 200 Anatomy competency asks schools to cover major bones. Independent OpenExamPrep study covers that classroom map so you can cue, observe, and sit a school written test. It is not a Yoga Alliance national exam—Yoga Alliance does not administer one—and it is not a physical-therapy license. A 200-hour teacher names the bones students can feel and that show up in ordinary asana cues. You do not need a cranial-suture catalog, and you should not invent a special Yoga Alliance bone count. Use standard kinesiology: a typical adult skeleton is described as 206 bones.

When you say "stack the spine over the pelvis" in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), you are organizing axial bones. When you say "bend the front knee over the ankle" in Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II), you are organizing appendicular bones. Trainees who mix those divisions write confused answers and give confused cues.

Axial versus appendicular

Textbooks split the skeleton into two divisions. These numbers are standard anatomy teaching values for a typical adult. They are not Yoga Alliance registry statistics, hour minimums, or official exam scoring keys.

• The axial skeleton (about 80 bones) is the midline column: skull, hyoid, vertebral column, sternum, and ribs. In class, axial language is "crown," "spine," "ribs," and "breastbone."
• The appendicular skeleton (about 126 bones) is the girdles and limbs: scapulae, clavicles, upper-limb bones, pelvic bones (the two os coxae), and lower-limb bones. In class, appendicular language is "shoulder blades," "sit bones," "thigh bones," and "shins."

The pelvis sits at the junction and is the classic trap. Each hip bone (os coxae) is appendicular. The sacrum is axial—it is the fused base of the vertebral column. Together they form the bony pelvis. You can cue both "sacrum" and "sit bones" in one pose without contradiction.

A common written-test error is calling the femur axial "because it bears weight," or calling the scapula axial "because it sits on the ribs." Weight-bearing does not change the division. Resting on the rib cage does not make a shoulder blade an axial bone.

The spine you cue: C, T, L, sacrum, coccyx

A typical adult has 7 cervical (C1–C7), 12 thoracic (T1–T12), and 5 lumbar (L1–L5) vertebrae. That is 24 movable (presacral) vertebrae. Distal to L5, the sacrum is usually five fused sacral vertebrae, and the coccyx is a small fused tip often described as three to five segments, commonly four. Do not replace those textbook regional counts with an invented "yoga vertebra" number. Yoga Alliance's Anatomy competency names major bones as a teaching topic; it does not publish a unique vertebral inventory.

Name the regions by what they do in asana:

• Cervical. Most mobile in rotation and nodding. C1 (atlas) and C2 (axis) form the "yes" and "no" joints of the head. Cues such as "lengthen the back of the neck" and "soften the throat" are cervical. In inversions and deep backbends, this is a protection region, not a flexibility contest. You will meet cervical risk again in the inversion chapter; here, know which bones you are talking about.
• Thoracic. Twelve vertebrae, each typically pairing with a rib. This region contributes rotation and a modest amount of extension. "Open the upper back" is often a thoracic-plus-scapula cue. If the student only dumps into the lumbar curve, they have not found the thoracic spine.
• Lumbar. Five large vertebrae built for load and for sagittal motion (flexion and extension). They do not rotate as freely as the neck. Forcing a twist primarily from the low back is a mis-cue you should be able to name on a practical exam.
• Sacrum. The triangular base of the spine, wedged between the two ilia at the sacroiliac joints (the next section treats those joints). "Tuck the tail" versus "untuck" changes sacral orientation and the lumbar curve.
• Coccyx. The tailbone. Beginner classes rarely name it unless someone sits on a sensitive tailbone. Then the teaching response is padding and a less tucked seat—not a diagnosis of coccygeal injury.

Natural curves matter for cueing neutral spine in Tadasana: cervical lordosis, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, and sacral kyphosis. Neutral means those curves are present. It does not mean you iron the spine into a broomstick.

Students can usually palpate spinous processes (the bumps down the back of the neck and thorax), a prominent C7 bump when they flex the neck, and the lumbar hollow. Palpation in class is a landmark skill, not a scoliosis grading exam. Marked pain, unexplained deformity, or a student who asks you to "fix my disc" is a referral out of a yoga teacher's scope of practice.

Pelvis: ilium, ischium, pubis

Each os coxae is three bones fused in adulthood:

1. Ilium — the wide blade. Landmarks: iliac crest (the rim you put your hands on), anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) (the front "hip points"), and posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS) (the dimples at the back of the pelvis).
2. Ischium — the posterior-inferior sitting bone. The ischial tuberosity is what "sit bones" names in Dandasana (Staff Pose), Sukhasana (Easy Seat), and seated forward folds.
3. Pubis — the anterior portion. Left and right pubic bones meet at the pubic symphysis. "Draw the pubic bone toward the navel" is a posterior-tilt cue, not a request to crunch lumbar discs.

The three bones meet at the acetabulum, the socket for the femoral head. That is why hip-socket language and pelvic-landmark language are related but not identical. The socket is on the pelvis; the ball is the femur.

Classroom uses:

• Tadasana and Utkatasana (Chair Pose): the relationship of ASIS to the pubic bone describes anterior versus posterior pelvic tilt.
• Virabhadrasana II: the front hip is flexing and abducting. The pelvis is not a steering wheel you wrench until both ASIS face the side wall at any cost. The next section explains why the sacroiliac joints should not make up the difference.
• Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Fold): sit bones as the posterior foundation so folding can come from the hip joints rather than from collapsing the lumbar spine over the sacrum.

Femur, tibia, and fibula

The femur is the thigh bone—the longest bone in the body. The femoral head sits in the acetabulum. The greater trochanter is the broad lateral bump many teachers use as the "outer hip" landmark when they organize Warrior II or Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle Pose). The lesser trochanter is a deep iliopsoas attachment; you do not palpate it in a public class.

The tibia is the medial, primary weight-bearing bone of the shin. Useful landmarks: tibial tuberosity (the bump below the kneecap) and medial malleolus (inner ankle knob). "Stack the knee over the ankle" is largely a tibial direction.

The fibula is the slender lateral shin bone. It is not the main vertical weight column. It is a muscle-attachment and ankle-stability bone. The lateral malleolus is the outer ankle knob. Cueing "shin forward" in a lunge is not a request to torque the fibula.

The patella (kneecap) is a sesamoid bone in the quadriceps tendon. "Let the kneecap track in the same direction as the second toe" is a patellofemoral-friendly teaching option in bent-knee standing poses. It is not treatment for a diagnosed knee pathology. Sharp knee pain is a stop-and-refer flag, not a deeper-bend invitation.

Individual variation is normal. Femoral neck angle and torsion differ. Two students can both be "in" Warrior II with different apparent thigh rotations. Cue principles (knee tracking, weight through the foot, breath) rather than identical silhouettes.

Humerus, radius, and ulna

The humerus is the upper-arm bone from the glenoid of the scapula to the elbow. In Warrior II the arms abduct; the humerus is moving at the glenohumeral joint.

The ulna is medial (pinky side). The olecranon is the point of the elbow you can feel in Chaturanga Dandasana. The radius is lateral (thumb side). The radius rotates around the ulna in pronation and supination, which is why "palms face forward" in Tadasana changes forearm orientation without requiring the humerus to spin the same amount.

In Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose) and Chaturanga, load travels from the hands into radius and ulna, then humerus, then scapula. Spreading the fingers and distributing weight across the whole hand is an attempt to share that load. Lineage-specific forearm spirals vary; they are school method, not a Yoga Alliance-required spiral.

Wrist pain is often a joint-and-load story you will continue in the joints section. Bony names help you choose a wedge, fists, or forearm plank instead of repeating "just stretch more."

Scapula and clavicle

The scapula (shoulder blade) is a triangular appendicular bone on the posterior rib cage. Named parts that appear in 200-hour rooms:

• Medial (vertebral) border
• Inferior angle (the "lower tip" in many backbend cues)
• Spine of the scapula
• Acromion (the bony roof at the top of the shoulder)
• Glenoid fossa (the socket for the humeral head)

The clavicle (collarbone) is the anterior strut from the sternum to the acromion. Scapula plus clavicle is the pectoral girdle.

Useful cues that actually name these bones:

• "Broaden the collarbones" — clavicles and upper ribs, not a chin lift that crunches the cervical spine.
• "Draw the lower tips of the shoulder blades toward the back pockets" — inferior angles, often used in Tadasana and backbends.
• "Hug the outer upper arms toward the midline" in Plank — a scapular-stability idea you will connect to serratus anterior in section 8.3.

If a student reports a painful point at the acromioclavicular region, do not diagnose a separation. Unload the arms, offer forearm variations, and refer to a qualified clinician.

Ribs and sternum

Typical anatomy describes 12 pairs of ribs (24 ribs):

• Ribs 1–7 (true ribs) attach to the sternum via their own costal cartilage.
• Ribs 8–10 (false ribs) attach via the cartilage of the rib above.
• Ribs 11–12 (floating ribs) have no anterior sternal attachment.

The sternum has three parts: manubrium, body, and xiphoid process. "Lift the sternum" in Tadasana or Ustrasana (Camel Pose) is a thoracic-extension cue. Jamming the xiphoid forward while collapsing the lumbar spine is the common leak: you named the right bone and asked the wrong region to do all the work.

Breath teaching at a 200-hour bone level: ribs move on thoracic vertebrae and at costal cartilages. "Breathe into the side ribs" is a movement cue. It is not a promise that yoga treats asthma. Respiratory mechanics get their own later chapter. Here you only need the cage: twelve thoracic pairings, a sternum in three parts, and enough mobility to expand without forcing the floating ribs into a backbend contest.

Teacher-scope checklist for bones

Keep this list for school assessments and for the room:

• Name bones students can feel. Skip rare accessory bones unless your faculty tests them.
• Use textbook regional counts (7 / 12 / 5; 12 pairs of ribs; about 206 adult bones). Do not invent Yoga Alliance bone tallies.
• Individual variation is expected: femoral version, rib flare, and tibial torsion differ.
• Osteoporosis, acute fracture, night pain, or unexplained bony swelling are referral flags, not sequencing puzzles.
• Do not use an RYT credential to imply you are a physical therapist, chiropractor, or radiologist.

If you can point to the sit bones, greater trochanter, ASIS, sternum, inferior angle of the scapula, and the three spinal regions—and you can say which of those landmarks are axial versus appendicular—you have the 200-hour bone map this competency actually uses.