Thinking Beyond Flexibility

As a yoga instructor, I often hear the dreaded comment "I'm not flexible enough to do yoga". I say "dreaded" because we always find it hard to convince people that this isn't important.

In fact, some of the most impactful postures in the yoga practice require very little flexibility.

Such as:

Tadasana (mountain pose)

Shalabhasana (locust pose)

Chaturanga (high plank pose)

Shavasana (corpse pose)

So, how much flexibility do we really need in our yoga practice, or in our daily lives? In my view, it comes down to function. Someone can have very little flexibility, yet they are able to function quiet well day to day. Conversely, someone can have a lot of flexibility but have a hard time functioning due to chronic pain and instability.

For example, let's look at someone with less flexible hamstrings. They might be perfectly able to walk, sit and run, but they aren't able to tie their shoes without bending the knees. Should that be consider dysfunctional? Not necessarily.

Another example would be someone with a lot of flexibility. If it's too extreme, it can be dysfunctional, leading to injuries or making it harder for them to gain strength and stability. They might be able to get into some yoga postures that look very impressive, but that doesn't mean they feel good doing it, or that it's beneficial.

In my opinion, things becomes dysfunctional if and when one of the following occur:

1) We're unable to do important daily tasks

2) It prevents us from doing the things we love

3) It causes us pain

4) It creates imbalances in the musculoskeletal system, which can lead to injury

It's important not to view our flexibility in terms of how flexible we are (or aren't) but in terms of how we feel and function.

Knowing this, the question becomes.... how do we allow our yoga practice to serve us best? Do we wish to improve our flexibility and/or range of motion, do we need to develop more strength and stability or, as is often the case, do we need to do both?

Regardless, the goal is to live our lives to the fullest, with greater freedom and less pain.

We are not practicing yoga to be "good" at it, or to fit into a particular pose. The poses need to be "good" for us and fit our needs.

There's a famous quote from the often highly regarded yoga teacher, Pattabhi Jois, that says the following.... "body not inflexible, mind inflexible".

Hopefully, in the spirit of Ahimsa (non-harm), we can be kinder to ourselves as we practice, and not judge our level of flexibility as being either good or bad. We simply need the willingness to experience it as it is, in the present moment and to love ourselves regardless.

Be well and may you always find joy in your practice,

Debbie