EUGENE, Ore. (BN) — A yoga instructor with no formal background in science has decided to begin incorporating lessons in advanced anatomy and physiology into her classes, sources told Brimborion News on Sunday.
Phoenix, 35, the mononymic founder of Rising Sun Yoga in Eugene, was enrolled at Lane Community College for three terms in 2007-2008, where she studied Art History, Metallurgy, Chinese Literature and took a 100-level course in Biology.
“I actually went to college for a year, so I feel I know what I’m talking about,” Phoenix said. “As human beings, we all yearn to know more about who we are, to stick our arms into the compost of oneness with the universe, remolding it into our own sense of identity and eventually reaching the climax of becoming entities of pure light and love. And I think science helps us do that.”
“I love it,” said Bashani Killian, 26, a frequent practitioner at Rising Sun. “As I’m moving from pose to pose, I feel I’m learning more about what’s actually happening inside my body on a cellular level. I can feel my DNA getting stronger each time I take a class here.”
But some aren’t so supportive of Phoenix’s endeavor to bring her scientific understanding to her classes. “She doesn’t quite seem to know what she’s talking about,” said Jennifer Fields, 36, a sales coordinator at Phillips Neuro and part-time yoga instructor. “I’ve taken a few of her classes, and she seems a little misinformed. She once pointed to her kneecap and called it the ‘humerus’. The humerus is actually the bone in your upper arm.”
“I feel it’s important my students learn more than just the basic positions,” Phoenix said. “If they’re really going to dig deeper into what yoga really is, I feel they should know about fascia, the coccyk, and bones like the fibia and tibula,” she pointed to her forearm. “And I feel they should also learn about that most important of all organs in the body, the human soul.”