My Problem With Anatomy & Physiology
Recently my niece sent me a clip of an anatomy class she was taking online and we both wanted to shove ice picks in our ears to make the monotony stop.
No kidding.
It left me wanting to write about it.
I’m one-half of the Heartstone the Center for Earth Essentials teaching staff.
I’m the half that teaches about anatomy and physiology and I love it.
Anyways, back to the ice pick.
Why would we willingly suffer through a class on anatomy and physiology?
We need to know about the sacred temple where we live out our physical life.
Our work as health providers and teachers is infinitely enhanced by understanding WHY and HOW the body works.
Goldenseal
For example, anti-biotics or Berberine-rich, herbs (Goldenseal and Oregon grape root) both kill bacteria. So we might be tempted to use them in any antibiotic-needed situation. But when we know how they work, we’d change our minds about that.
Pharmaceuticals enter the blood, go wherever the blood goes to kill bacteria, and then are excreted from the liver into the small intestine. Once in the small intestine, they continue to kill bacteria in the gut on their way out.
On the other hand, berberine-rich herbs never enter the blood, but pass through the the digestive system and kill bacteria on contact. These herbs will not kill bacteria in the blood….they never make it there.
So two things from knowing this information.
- You would not take the herbs mentioned to fight infections in the blood or anywhere they can’t come in direct contact with the bacteria you want them to kill.
- Many people know to take probiotics after a course of pharmaceutical antibiotics, but most don’t know that the berberine-rich plants like goldenseal and Oregon grape root will also kill off your “friendly” bacteria of the gut and you need to take probiotics after you use the herbs as well.
We simply need to understand WHY and HOW the body actually works to understand how our more spiritually or earth centered practices fit in. Especially if we’re helping others understand their health, or recommending medicines.
Which leads to the next part of this article.
How to talk about Anatomy & Physiology without getting the stare
The problem isn’t the material it’s how it’s presented.
I hear this kind of thing all the time;
“I majored in biology in college and it was easy for me to get lost in the tiny details and feel like I never retained anything”
And on the contrary…
…but the way you taught the course made everything easy to both understand the material and retain it.” – Katie Moxham, Online A&P alumni
As teachers, healers, herbalists, we need to communicate the miracle of the human body, even if we’re talking in terms of western knowledge.
Western science usually describes the human body as if it’s a machine – as if all the parts are completely separate. Mechanistic. Separate. Dry. Fact filled. Void of life.
No wonder the lectures are boring.
It keeps them from their natural excitement about the miracle of life.
This does not do justice to the miracle!
Teaching A & P is telling a story [cue epic orchestral music] about our amazing, beautiful, complex, bodies with all its guts and glory!!!! [end epic orchestral music]
Which is why I put together my course, Online A & P (enrolling 2017 class right now)
I want to provide the course I wish I could’ve taken – a course about Anatomy and Physiology that is engaging, fun, and will transform the way you see the body.
Ultimately I created my course because my students said things like this:
“I discovered that A&P is way more exciting when a herbalist teaches it!” – Sondra Hamilton
“I loved when Tammi gave the interesting facts about each part of the body in the beginning of the lecture. I felt that they were facts that got my attention and were easily remembered and shared.” – Nadine Trinidad
“Tammi’s awe, respect and enthusiasm for our physiology is truly infectious.” – Shannon MacDonald
“I found the information very thorough and accurate and also accessible. It not only strengthened my A & P knowledge but allowed me to feel more comfortable teaching it in an accessible way. I really like your use of imagery and storytelling so it is easier to assimilate the information.” – Anne Louise Burdett – Kettle of Hawks
This is what motivates me to keep teaching – and it’s what motivated me to create my online A&P course. Now the material is more affordable and accessible for more students.
I open the class for new students every January, and it fills up quickly. Save $50 by enrolling by January 6th.
>> Learn more, and enroll in my Online A&P Course here.
Want a sampling on the topic? Join my free “Love Your Liver” course to start your learning. In thirty minutes of lecture you will learn how and why your liver detoxifies and ways to support it. This is a nice introduction to how my larger, online anatomy & physiology course is set up.
*Note : Massage therapists can receive Continuing Education Credits for this course, so if you need more credits and you want a fun way to learn A&P, what are you waiting for?
Click Here to Check out the Course
