Stop Memorizing Alignment.
Start Understanding Movement.
Transformative Alignment is a six-month immersion in functional anatomy, biomechanics, and intelligent yoga practice designed to completely change the way you experience and teach yoga asana.
Most yoga anatomy trainings teach you where muscles attach.
This course teaches you how to think.
If you've ever questioned an alignment cue, wondered why a posture feels completely different from one body to another, or wished you could confidently modify poses without relying on someone else's instructions, you're not alone.
Many of us were taught yoga through a collection of rules:
"Don't put your foot on your knee in Tree Pose."
"Flex your foot to protect your knee in Figure Four."
"Square your hips."
Some of these cues are helpful. Others are outdated. Many have simply been repeated because that's how they've always been taught.
The problem isn't that these cues exist.
The problem is that most teachers were never taught how to evaluate movement for themselves.
Alignment Isn't a List of Rules.
It's a Way of Thinking.
Transformative Alignment doesn't give you another set of cues to memorize.
It gives you a framework for understanding why movement happens.
Instead of asking:
"What's the correct alignment?"
You'll begin asking:
"What movement is this body trying to create?"
That shift changes everything.
When you understand biomechanics, you stop chasing the "perfect" shape and start understanding the movement strategy behind every posture. You begin to see why one cue works beautifully for one student and completely misses the mark for another. You stop relying on inherited teaching scripts and start making thoughtful decisions based on how the body actually moves.
This isn't just learning anatomy.
It's learning to think like a movement educator.
Whether you're a dedicated practitioner wanting to deepen your own practice or a yoga teacher hoping to teach with greater confidence, this course will give you the tools to analyze, adapt, and individualize every posture you encounter.
The Shift You'll Experience
By the end of this training, you won't simply know more anatomy.
You'll have developed movement literacy—the ability to observe, analyze, and understand human movement with confidence.
You'll learn to:
Understand anatomy through application rather than memorization.
Analyze postures using biomechanics instead of relying on traditional alignment rules.
Create meaningful modifications for different bodies instead of offering generic alternatives.
Design mobility drills and strength progressions that directly improve yoga practice.
Sequence classes with greater purpose by understanding how one movement prepares the body for the next.
Develop your own alignment cues rooted in biomechanics rather than repeating what you've heard from others.
Better understand your own body and cultivate a practice that is stronger, safer, and more sustainable.
Perhaps more importantly you'll leave with something that lasts long after the training ends:
The confidence to interpret and articulate your own experience of posture alignment so that you can find a deeper connection with your own practice and share it wholeheartedly with others.
This training is for you if...
You're a yoga teacher who wants to understand why alignment cues work—not just memorize them.
You're tired of repeating cues because "that's how you've always heard them taught."
You want to confidently modify postures for different bodies rather than searching for someone else's answer.
You're a serious yoga practitioner who wants to understand your own body more deeply and make meaningful progress in your practice.
You love learning and want an anatomy course that is practical, engaging, and immediately applicable on your mat.
You're ready to replace uncertainty with understanding.
This training is not for you if...
You're looking for a weekend training that gives you a script to follow.
You want rigid alignment rules that apply to every body.
You're only interested in memorizing muscles and bones without learning how they influence movement.
You're looking for quick fixes instead of developing a deeper understanding over time.
This training asks you to be curious.
To ask questions.
To challenge assumptions.
And to embrace the idea that every body deserves to be understood—not forced into the same shape.
Become Fluent in the Language of Human Movement
Transformative Alignment is intentionally structured over six months because changing the way you think takes time.
You'll gain immediate access to over 15 hours of comprehensive prerecorded anatomy education, covering the musculoskeletal system in depth alongside fascia, the nervous system, and the lymphatic system. These lessons have become known for making complex anatomy approachable, memorable, and directly applicable to yoga.
Each month we'll meet live to bridge the gap between theory and practice through posture analyses, movement workshops, class breakdowns, and collaborative discussion. Together we'll work through real questions from your own practice and teaching, giving you the opportunity to apply what you're learning with ongoing support and coaching.
You'll also receive optional assignments throughout the course with personalized feedback, helping you develop your movement analysis skills one step at a time. Between sessions, our private community will provide a space to continue asking questions, workshop postures, share insights, and learn alongside others who are just as passionate about movement as you are.
Your Learning Journey
Transformative Alignment is a six-month training designed to help yoga teachers and dedicated practitioners move beyond memorizing alignment cues and develop a deeper understanding of movement. The course is built around two complementary learning experiences:
Functional Anatomy (On-Demand Learning)
Build a practical understanding of anatomy and biomechanics through more than 15 hours of self-paced lectures. Learn how joints move, how muscles create movement, and why the body moves the way it does—all on your own schedule. This foundational knowledge will give you the confidence to analyze movement rather than simply memorize it.
Applied Anatomy & Yoga Alignment (Live Workshops)
Bring anatomy to life during six live workshops where we'll bridge theory and practice. Together, we'll analyze postures, explore movement strategies, create meaningful modifications, workshop sequencing ideas, and apply biomechanics directly to yoga asana. Through discussion, individualized feedback, and collaborative learning, you'll develop the skills to confidently translate anatomy into your own practice and teaching.
Together, these two components create a learning experience that goes beyond information. You'll first learn the language of human movement, then apply it in real time—transforming the way you understand, practice, and teach yoga.
Learning the Language of Human Movement
Build the foundation for everything that follows by learning the essential principles of anatomy and biomechanics. You'll develop the vocabulary to describe movement, understand how muscles create motion, explore the three anatomical planes, and discover how joint structure influences the way we move. Rather than memorizing anatomy, you'll learn how to apply these concepts to observe, analyze, and understand yoga postures with greater clarity and confidence.
Understanding the Spine, Breath & Pelvic Floor
Every movement begins at the center.
We'll begin by exploring the functional anatomy of the spine and how it creates both mobility and stability throughout the body. From there, we'll examine the relationship between the diaphragm, breath, and pelvic floor—including a special guest session dedicated to pelvic floor function and its role in yoga practice.
This module lays the foundation for everything that follows, helping you understand how breathing, posture, and movement are deeply interconnected.
Where Power, Stability & Mobility Meet
The pelvis is often one of the most misunderstood regions in yoga.
Learn how the lumbar spine, pelvis, hips, and surrounding musculature work together to create efficient movement. We'll explore hip biomechanics, core function, and movement strategies that improve everything from standing postures to backbends and balances.
Rather than forcing alignment, you'll learn to understand it.
Creating Freedom Through the Shoulder & Neck
Healthy shoulder movement requires far more than stretching tight muscles.
Together we'll simplify the complexity of the shoulder girdle and cervical spine, exploring how the shoulder blade, clavicle, rib cage, neck, and arm work together during yoga practice.
You'll gain a deeper understanding of overhead movement, weight-bearing, shoulder stability, and intelligent preparation for arm balances, inversions, and binds.
Understanding the Knees, Ankles & Feet
Every standing posture begins where your body meets the ground.
In this module you'll discover how the feet create adaptability, how the ankles influence balance and mobility, and how the knees transfer force throughout the body.
Rather than memorizing foot placement, you'll learn how to evaluate movement and build strong, resilient foundations for every posture.
Digging into the Elbow, Wrist & Hand
Whether you're practicing Downward Dog, Chaturanga, Crow Pose, or Handstand, your relationship with the ground matters.
We'll explore how force is transferred through the hand, wrist, and elbow, how to better prepare these joints for weight-bearing, and how biomechanics can help prevent unnecessary strain while creating greater confidence in arm balances and inversions.
Understanding the Whole Person
Movement is about more than muscles and joints.
In our final module, we'll expand beyond traditional anatomy to explore the systems that profoundly influence how we move and experience our bodies.
We'll dive into:
Fascia – Understanding how connective tissue distributes force, adapts to movement, and contributes to the body's remarkable interconnectedness.
The Nervous System – Discover how your brain shapes movement, mobility, stability, pain, motor learning, and body awareness.
The Lymphatic System – Gain an introduction to one of the body's most overlooked systems and its role in tissue health, recovery, swelling, and overall well-being.
By understanding these often-overlooked systems, you'll leave with a richer appreciation of movement as an integrated, dynamic process—not simply the action of individual muscles.
Transformative Alignment is intentionally designed to build layer by layer. Each Functional Anatomy module provides the anatomical and biomechanical foundation for understanding movement, while our live coaching sessions help you translate that knowledge into confident, practical application on the mat.
By the end of six months, you won't simply know more anatomy—you'll think differently about every posture you practice and teach.
Transformative Alignment Teaching Mentorship
Only 2 Positions Available
For those who want to go deeper, the Mentorship Program offers a more personalized experience throughout the six-month training—with dedicated time to work closely with Mariel and apply the material directly to your teaching.
This is an opportunity to take the material beyond understanding it—to develop your own voice as a teacher and cultivate a more intentional, informed approach to teaching yoga.
With only two mentorship positions available, this is designed for teachers who want a closer, more collaborative relationship throughout the training.
Monthly 1:1 Sessions
Six 60-minute sessions with Mariel to explore questions, work through challenges, and dive deeper into the areas of teaching that matter most to you.
Ongoing Conversation and Reflection
Build a close relationship with Mariel throughout the six months to help you connect the anatomy and biomechanics you're learning to the way you actually teach.
Formal Class Observation
A formal observation of one of your classes, followed by detailed feedback on your teaching, cueing, sequencing, and application of alignment concepts.
Personalized Guidance
As you develop your own approach to alignment, including refining cues, analyzing postures, creating modifications, and translating anatomy into practical teaching.
Join in For a Free Workshop!
3 Steps to Transform Your Alignment
Most yoga alignment cues teach us what a posture should look like.
Very few teach us how to create it.
When you understand the movements behind a posture, alignment becomes more than making shapes—it becomes a way to engage more deeply with your body, your breath, and your practice.
That's exactly what we'll explore in a FREE live workshop on Sunday, September 20th. Practice at 8:30 AM MST. Workshop at 11:00 AM. Join for just a portion or the whole thing!
You'll learn the Simplify • Isolate • Integrate framework—a practical system for breaking down yoga postures so you can move with greater understanding, intention, and confidence in your practice.
Whether you're a dedicated practitioner or a yoga teacher, this workshop will change the way you think about alignment.
Meet Your Instructors
Mariel Little, PT, DPT, CLT, CYT
Dr. Mariel Little is a lifelong lover of movement. Yoga entered her life serendipitously in 2007 at a time when she needed it most, depleted from the rigors of a competitive lifestyle as a collegiate athlete. She quickly became a dedicated student and studied with many wise teachers across different styles of practice. Mariel began teaching yoga in 2013. Since then, she has participated in numerous trainings, but is most grateful for the opportunity to study with Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor in July 2022.
Inspired by the healing power of yoga, Mariel completed a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Colorado in 2019. Her professional practice regularly draws on the wisdom of yoga, as she treats individuals holistically with an open heart. Her clinical skills specialize in a wide variety of conditions, from supporting individuals going through cancer treatment to pushing athletes to perform at a higher level.
Mariel also brings her doctoral training into her yoga classes through unique alignment and biomechanical drills. She has offered various trainings on understanding anatomy in yoga and is honored to be a featured instructor on anatomy in Kino Macgregor’s year-long Yogaversity training.
Outside of her work as a PT and mom of twins, Mariel continues to teach and study yoga. She is the founder of the Sangha Yoga Project and runs a private physical therapy practice specializing in yoga-related injuries and pain.
Lizzie Field, PT, DPT, CAPP-Pelvic
Dr. Lizzie Field is a holistic pelvic health physical therapist, certified yoga teacher, lifelong learner, and greyhound parent. She followed the calling to yoga back in 2009 and recently took the dive to train as a teacher.
She aligns her passion for pelvic floor therapy & yoga with her approach grounded in the belief that every person deserves a full, active, and embodied life, regardless of gender, sexuality, ability, or personal goals.
Lizzie feels called to help others experience a sense of safety in their own bodies to live their most fulfilled lives. You can find her at www.fieldphysicaltherapy.com
Out of This World Reviews!
Amazing!
This training is amazing!! Do it. Mariel blends her knowledge of anatomy, yoga and movement in a series of classes which will truly transform your practice. If you are interested in taking your practice beyond simply "doing a pose", Mariel's teaching delves into discussion of how we can move with more ease & stability. Her creativity is unique and challenging. Her Transformative Alignment training is a most rewarding experience.
Deeper Understanding
No matter your prior knowledge of anatomy and physiology, this training will provide you a deeper understanding functional movement that will enhance your yoga practice as well as your daily life.
Wonderful!!
This training has been amazing!! I have learned so much, and yet sometimes feel like I barely grasped much of what you shared with us. Looking forward to reviewing the materials again to see what sinks in second time around. I so appreciate your receptivity to questions along the way. Having such a personal connection in an online format has been wonderful.
Brilliant!
It was brilliant Mariel, thank you! Your Sunday classes are really unique and special, and I feel genuinely privileged to have been shown backstage! I'm excited to see how taking this course will affect my own classes as the ideas and methods filter through. Thanks again!
Enrollment is for Transformative Alignment Fall 2026 is now open for a short period of time!
