Heart and bones yoga office yoga1/5/2024 To really understand what we are doing, we need to make a distinction between putting strain on the muscles and the fascia, or connective tissue. This strain is distributed along certain lines and pulls on the muscles, tissues and joints along a network of connective tissue. In performing a yoga pose, you are exerting strain on (various parts of) your body. Stretching is a word that fascia expert Tom Meyers doesn’t like technically it is not something that you are doing. Let’s take a look at the technicalities and effects of stretching the body. But if we take a closer look you may be shocked to learn this may not hold true. These images seem to suggest that the more you practise, the more flexible you become, the better yogi you are and the happier you will be. We are bombarded with images of yogis in ever more extreme poses looking very radiant and peaceful. This wisdom does not appear to have carried over into the modern day view on mainstream yoga. This moderation applies to every aspect of life: eating, socialising, meditating, practising asana. Doug Keller, an expert in yoga therapy and yoga philosophy and history, states that Tantric yoga scriptures teach moderation. Most ancient yoga teachings don’t advise taking yoga to the extreme. Then it occurred to me I might be doing too much too much yoga and way too much stretching. All those years I tried to heal myself by aligning, strengthening and practising yoga. For over six years, my overused and overstretched psoas caused radiating pain in my torso and lower back. I have had so many I can hardly count them: over-stretched inner thighs, hamstrings, shoulders, and so on. Over the years, over-stretching my body has been the cause of numerous yoga-induced injuries. But whether or not that equals ‘good yoga’ is another question. Granted, being “bendy” looks good in photos and people are impressed that I can reach beyond my toes. Yoga has made me very flexible and has had a good and healthy impact on my body and soul overall. I have been a yoga teacher for almost 15 years. We seem to have created the situation where flexibility is a prerequisite to being a good yoga practitioner or teacher… I think it is time to start countering this widely held belief. I have come a long way since then, and feel like maybe it is time to start countering this widely held belief. For a long time I also believed this to be true. We now seem to have created the situation where flexibility equals being a good yoga practitioner or teacher. There are very few yoga teachers in the public eye that cannot do a full split or bend in a pretzel shape. So much so that it seems like a prerequisite to starting yoga. In the media and also among yoga classes and teachers, there is a huge emphasis on flexibility. In this article we’ll look at what we really mean by stretching, the role of fascia and muscles and how we can get the benefits of yoga and movement without “overstretching” our bodies. Not only will yoga help improve your range of flexibility but in fact, being ‘stiff’ may prove to be an asset in your practice. “I am too stiff to do yoga” must be the most common argument I hear from people who say they are interested in yoga but have never tried it. Of course, they could just be giving me a polite reason not to take a class but not practising yoga because of inflexibility may be the poorest excuse out there.
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