“I’m not flexible enough to do yoga.”

This is, by far and away, the most common reason I hear people give for not trying yoga. Maybe sometimes it’s an excuse, because they really don’t want to try it for other reasons, and that’s OK because not everything is for everyone.

But, if you’re somebody who really DOES want to try yoga, and this belief really IS holding you back, then please read on.

The most important thing that I’d like to tell you is that you absolutely CAN do yoga. And actually, practicing yoga regularly (and safely) will improve your flexibility, which is a boon for healthy aging.

Flexibility is incredibly variable from person to person, and it’s affected by age, gender, childhood activities, and a good amount of genetics (among other things). There are skeletal differences that affect flexibility - like the way your femoral head sits in your hip socket, or the depth and the angle of the socket itself - that can’t be changed. And then there are differences in the strength and tightness of our muscles that absolutely can be worked on. So how bendy any given person can become is very individual.

I’m not a terribly flexible person. I have certainly gotten more flexible over my years of doing yoga, but even as a teacher who practices every day, I will never be able to achieve many of the deep hip opening and spine extending poses in the greater yoga library. Furthermore, I’ve had hypermobile students in my classes who were able to go deeper into poses on day 1 of yoga than I can today, after 16.5 years of daily practice. That’s just the genetic nature of flexibility. And maybe that alone will encourage you to try my class :)

So if being as bendy as possible isn’t the goal, then what is?

In my opinion, maximizing mobility in daily life is the ultimate physical goal of a yoga practice, and mobility is defined by balancing out strength and flexibility so you can safely handle all the things you want to do outside of the yoga room without injury.

I really believe that my success as a yoga teacher is measured by how much my class (from a physical standpoint anyway) enables you to do all the things that you care about. Are you able to go for a hike or travel with your family with fewer aches and pains? That’s a win, and it’s why I do this.

The bottom line is this: You don’t need an insane amount of flexibility to enjoy lifelong mobility. You need to work with your own body to balance out strength and flexibility so you can safely handle whatever it is that you love to do.

You CAN do yoga, I promise. Props and modifications are always available. And if going to a class seems like too big of a leap, consider starting with private instruction. Privates can be a good way to get comfortable with poses (and their names) and to increase confidence for a group class. Contact me HERE if you’d like to chat about setting something up; I’d love to hear from you!