This is NOT yoga

What? Not yoga? Isn't that what I'm all about? Well in short, yes. But the truth is that it is so much more. This is about taking control of your life. Harnessing your own ability to affect your quality of life.

We live in a pandemic. And it’s not going away. Variants keep popping up despite lockdown measures and vaccines. It’ll be here for the long haul guys. 

So where does yoga come in?

It’s the key to multiple solutions at once. Yoga has been proven to decrease stress - a major factor in your defense against illness. It also gets your body moving, another known way to decrease stress. You will build strength and increase mobility. Building strength and increasing muscle mass improves your metabolism. Movement helps you to sleep better and regulates hormones. You will learn to foster a sense of awareness within your body so you can better listen to your body’s feedback. Having a general sense of this feedback lends itself to increased well being (food and hunger cravings, what to eat, how much to eat, when you are tired, how much to sleep, thirst, the ability to identify what gives/takes away energy from you and how to harness that.)

Maybe you’ve seen something like this before. You begin a new positive habit in your life and you notice the ripple effect into the rest of your life. This movement is just that: 

It’s the rock thrown into the pond that starts the ripple.

Are you ready to start something?
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I am here to help. What’s coming isn’t just an online yoga platform. It’s a way for you to take control of your health and get moving. Movement in a way that teaches you what your body is saying, and movement that gets you in touch with your inner awareness. The little voice inside of you that is your guide to health. Give that little voice a platform; even just once a week, and it will start to get louder. Loud enough to encourage positive change in your life.

We say yoga is for everyone.   If that was the case everyone would do it right?  Why do some people seemingly "struggle" with poses that others "get" easily?  Can you do the splits? (Me neither, anymore.)  
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The reason I bring this up is because yoga appears to be after specific shapes.  In the case of the splits, getting your hips to the floor and your legs straight.  I worked my body for over a year to make this happen, and it was extremely fleeting (read: I got my hips to the floor once that I can clearly remember.)  The truth is, it is beyond the range of motion that is good for most bodies.  It is beyond the NORMAL range of motion for a regular body, and in order to achieve splits, you need to exploit your tissues and joints (and over-ride your nervous system) to make it happen.

So, what is normal range?  

An easy way to identify this is by what is beyond normal range (also called hypermobility).   And there is an easy test for it.  Say hello to the Beighton Score.  Go ahead try it!  It's a 9 point scale.  Ready? Go!

1. Can you pull your pinky finger back to 90 degrees or more (one point for each hand that can do this.)
2. Can you, or have you ever been able to, pull your thumb to your forearm? (one point for each thumb.)
3. When you straighten out your arms do your elbows hyperextend? (Look in a mirror!  One point for each elbow that does.)
4. When you straighten out your legs do your knees hyperextend? (If you're not sure sit on the floor with your legs straight so the muscles engage - do the heels lift up a lot?  If they lift can you point your toes and they stay lifted? One point for each leg that hyperextends.)
5. Can you touch your palms flat to the floor while standing with your legs straight? (One point for yes.)

Tally up your score.  If it is more than or equal to 5/9 you are considered hyper-mobile.  Let that sink in for a moment.  These things are beyond normal range.  Which also indicates that most yoga poses we aspire to are beyond normal range.  Going beyond normal range leads to injuries.  These injuries are either quick ones you are aware of immediately (like pulling or tearing a hamstring) or happen slowly over time, with repetitive movements (like joint deterioration).  

I try to teach yoga so we don't take the body too far.  My understanding of yoga goes beyond the shapes and into how your body feels in differing movement patterns.  I attempt to bring proprioception to the practice. (How your body moves in relation to the space around it.) And interoception to the practice. (What going on inside your body as you move it.)

Your ability of your body's sensory feedback is more important in the practice of yoga than what it looks like to other people.  This feedback mechanism is highly regulated by  your nervous system.  Which is why pranayama (breathing practice) plays a key role in yoga.  Abdominal breathing is a quick way to gain access to and have more control over your nervous system.  Stilling of the mind/meditation also contribute to your nervous system regulation and ability to perceive and move your body.  This is important because if your nervous system is in check it will help the hyper mobile people from going too far, and help people with limited range of motion gain more range.

As I am always learning and evolving, so are my teaching methods.  My teaching is  governed by a strong sense of wanting people to feel good during, and after their yoga practice, and be able to continue their practice for life.  ​

If you are of normal range of motion (ROM) in your body, want to increase ROM in your body, or are hyper mobile and want to maintain a safe ROM in your body, paying attention to what your body is doing and how it is moving is of utmost importance.  Yoga can give you this awareness, if you know how to listen.

So really when we talk about flexibility in yoga, maybe we should discuss your openness and willingness (aka your flexibility) to learn something new.  Like, where you are in space, or how to relax your nervous system to help your body function optimally, rather than getting your hips to the floor in splits.

Like this?  Please share it with others and leave a comment with your thoughts.  If you practice with me, let me know how my teaching lands for you.  If you want to practice with me, drop me a line or get class info here.

Holy MOLY this is addictive.  The more I do, the more I want to do.  There is so much out there.  So many poses to try, and so many elements to each pose.  I want it all!  I want to try it all, and get to the next level of body control.
And really, that’s all my addiction is. 

Self-control. 
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Learning to master all these little components in my body called muscles (and bones and ligaments and fascia and…)
I want to unlock the secrets of mobility and stability and strength.  How to get it, and how to sustain it.  And then, how to help others find the same.
It’s like a puzzle that I finally GET. 
Mostly. 
Except for the parts I haven’t mastered yet.
But it’s never-ending, and fun.
It is always challenging, especially the mental part.  And the waiting and patience.  (All concepts in my life that needs work.)
It sparks a fire in my life that I haven’t found anywhere else.  And although I can’t handstand, yet, it won’t stop me from trying.


What sparks fire in your soul?  What addictions in your life drive you?  


Did you read my blog where I spilled the secrets on why to NOT DO yoga?

Do you know that apart from continually growing a physical yoga practice it can also unlock trauma our body locks away?  Read one yogi's story about it here. (As featured on NPR.)


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