Before I started yoga I could barely touch my toes, but I owe my current flexibility to patience and years of practice. Ask other practitioners and I’m sure they’ll share the same thing. Many people who start practicing yoga are not flexible to begin with, quite the opposite actually. I like to remind students of this because it’s common to hear someone say they can’t do yoga because they’re not flexible… that’s like saying you can’t take a shower because you’re dirty. If you look at it this way, you can see that it may take a few showers to feel fully clean, but surely that’s better than being dirty. Over time, yoga can help you become more flexible (that's why it’s called a practice) but you don't have to know how to twist or fold your body into a human pretzel to start. Flexibility is a result of yoga — not a prerequisite. You start where you are and the practice willingly meets you there.
Here are some secrets I’ve learned over the years and tips for increasing flexibility in yoga:
Know your range of motion & limitations.
Anatomically, the structure of our bones can affect the way certain postures look and feel. For example, in chair pose (utkatasana) limitations may come from tight hamstrings, but also from low range of motion in the pelvis and hip joints. Our DNA shapes and controls our skeletal system, ultimately determining our physical characteristic. Each and every body is uniquely different. Therefore, something that may be good for one person, may be dangerous for another, and vice versa. There are certain postures that should be completely avoided by people with specific medical conditions, and these same postures may greatly help others. I strongly encourage getting to know your own body to help increase flexibility.
Loosen up through relaxation.
Believe it or not, our flexibility is not determined by our muscles, but instead by the nervous system. For example, say you have tight hamstrings and you do a forward fold. Your brain will send a warning signal to your hamstrings (via the nervous system) and your hamstrings will respond by contracting. They do this as a survival mechanism: when they contract they may lose flexibility, but they gain strength, which they use to protect you. Your first instinct might be to push past this feeling. Pulling yourself deeper won’t improve your flexibility and could actually cause you to get injured. Flexibility is not about pulling on our muscles until they grow longer, it’s about teaching our muscles to relax when we hit our limits. A relaxed muscle is a loose muscle, and that’s where you find flexibility.
Give Yin a try.
Yin yoga is great for increasing your flexibility. This style of yoga in particular stretches and targets both the deep connective tissues between the muscles, and the fascia throughout the body. The aim is to increase circulation in the joints and improve flexibility as the poses stretch and work the bone and joint areas. There’s a lot of scientific evidence that supports the argument that your muscles need time to relax. Staying in a pose for 5 breaths is good for your muscles, but stay for five minutes and you might be amazed by how much deeper your muscles relax at the end compared to when you first started.
Use your breath.
With every inhale, focus on alignment and check on the integrity of your posture. With every exhale, think about letting go and sinking a little deeper into the posture. A lot of our muscle tension comes from a fearful brain. This turns on the sympathetic nervous system, which triggers muscle contraction. The moment you realize you’re holding your breath or clenching, is when you should stop. When you constrict your breath, oxygen gets cut off from your muscles, which also makes them tighten. Remain calm by keeping your breath long and smooth and reminding yourself that you are safe so your brain and nervous system can relax. Try counting your breath when you’re holding a stretch. Allow your inhales to be the same length as your exhales, or your exhales to be even longer. This will inevitably lead to your muscles relaxing and lengthening.
Make a plan + stay consistent.
Set goals for yourself and stick with them. When it comes to flexibility, improvements are made by inches, not miles so it’s harder to track and easier to give up. Take a before and after picture so you have a physical measures of your improvements. The only way to see results is to stay consistent. Create a daily habit to practice or stretch, even if it’s just for a few minutes a day. Although the postures are not the end goal when it comes to yoga, there’s nothing wrong with having a physical goal to motivate you. Use the postures as tools for self-discovery.
Wherever you are in your practice, remember to honor that space. And flexibility is not just about the body, it's about the mind too. It's about being open to new experiences, tuning inwards to connect with your breath and realizing how much your body and mind are connected. Overall, be patient and don’t compare your progress to others. Enjoy the journey, because that’s what it is really about.
Love, Jess