I remember the days of football training when we would run onto the oval on bitter cold nights, place one leg on top of the wire fence surrounding the oval, bounce a few times up and down and then think, "Right, we're stretched and ready to play!". Unaware of the damage we were doing to our bodies, most of us grew up not really understanding or concerned by what would happen to us if we lost our functional flexibility. What would be the long-term impact?
Most of you may have some idea of what yoga is about. Stretching, right? Well, not quite, the postures that we do in the traditional hatha yoga practice — which is most of the yoga you see in popular Western expressions of yoga — is about one-eighth of the practice.
The majority of yoga is about your moral approach to life and learning to calm the fluctuations of the mind. That's right, less thinking! So yoga in essence is a way of living, not just a "how to" activity to become more flexible or lose weight; it is a way of being that helps free your mind from ongoing mental noise.
But most of us initially are drawn to yoga to try to reclaim flexibility we had as children. In an age where computers and chairs are the norm we have sacrificed our bodies' functionality so we can sit in front of the television in comfort.
It's obvious how important it is to maintain our suppleness and flexibility as we grow older so we don't let disease slow us down and challenge the way we enjoy living. As we age we are at risk of doing more damage to our muscles, joints and ligaments than a more youthful body. So it's important to keep safe while we practise yoga.
We must have faith that we know our bodies better than anyone else and that we are our greatest teacher. We have an in-built guide and following our intuition is a path that leads to great realisation. Do what your body needs, not what your ego wants!
Michael Alter, author of Science of Flexibility, states that flexibility is lost as we age for a variety of reasons but can be reclaimed if not at a slower rate. According to Alter, some of the things we need to be aware of as we age are:
An increased amount of calcium deposits, adhesions, and cross-links in the body.
An increase in the level of fragmentation and dehydration.
Changes in the chemical structure of the tissues.
Loss of suppleness due to the replacement of muscle fibres with fatty, collagenous fibres.
Although inhibited by these physical factors, we shouldn't allow this to discourage us. You can think of this journey as a path with many gifts along the way. And after you've travelled the journey, you will realise that the gift was the process.
How will you know when enough flexibility is enough? Your body will tell you, listen carefully and the motion of the body will let you know if it is healthy and in good alignment and your intuition will help you confirm it. Then, work on the rest of the body so all areas are balanced and, as the ancient traditions remind us, work on stilling the mind for the most beautiful gift of them all, transcending the ego.
Let's have quick look at three basic poses you can do:
Downward dog pose
The downward dog pose is great for developing hamstring and calf flexibility and building upper body strength. Press into the hands and balls of feet and turn the buttocks up to the sky trying to bring your spine back into a neutral alignment. Broaden the shoulders and breathe.
Triangle pose
The triangle pose is an open pelvis pose that stretches the front inner thigh and opens the chest. Press into the feet, open the back hip, tuck the front hip under and open the chest to reach up high.
Revolving lunge pose
Never twist the body without first making the spine straight. Take a long stance with the back heel up and feet at hip-width apart. Keeping the spine long, lean forward and hook the outer arm over the knee and turn the chest to the side. Drop the back knee down if you need but breathe deep to feel a great stretch in your whole torso.
Good luck on your journey to reclaim flexibility and welcome all the gifts that practising yoga brings. Consistency is the glue that holds it together. Find a class or a teacher that you enjoy and stick with it, don't be fooled into one style being better than another as they are all good just different ways of approaching the same message. There is a yoga style out there for everybody but not one yoga style for all, your job is to find what's true to you and not judge others for their choice.
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