From Stiff to Supple: My Yoga for Flexibility & Mobility
I found myself in yoga because of my stiff back and it has restored my freedom to move.
The day when I was unable to bend forward to tie my shoes without feeling pain shooting down my lower back, I never considered myself an inflexible person. Since I was in my twenties, I had thought that I would always be flexible when I wanted it. I was wrong. Following months of tension and exasperation, I found yoga to help me become flexible and mobile and it has totally changed my relationship with my body.
The case of a desperate measure to ease back pain turned into an adventure that provided me with more freedom of movement, reduced rigidity, and a whole new understanding of my physical capacities. In this paper, I will tell you how yoga has personally helped me to regain my flexibility and mobility, what poses have had the most significant impact and how you too can start changing.
What Yoga Taught Me To Be Flexible and Mobile.
Prior to my experience with yoga, I used to believe that flexibility and mobility used to mean the same thing. I soon found out that they are related but different and that both are necessary in the moving well without pain.
Flexibility is the capability of your muscles to enlarge and elongate. Imagine this: with your attempt to touch your toes, it is your hamstring flexibility that defines to what extent one can reach.
Mobility is instead regarding the degree of freedom within which the joints are able to move and the extent to which they can move. Whereas flexibility is one that involves muscles, mobility is your joints, ligaments and other connective tissues.
The reason is that they both are important here: the flexibility of muscles will enable your joints to be moved more freely, nevertheless, you must be strong and be able to control the range of motion, which is what a mobility is going to give you. This association has been demonstrated in research, which established that adults who took yoga three times a week demonstrated much greater gains in joint range of motion compared to those who undertook calisthenics only.
I was able to see the twofold advantages almost right away when I started to practice yoga regularly. My muscles started to relax, but more importantly I started moving again joints which I had not thought had stiffened down, especially my hips and shoulders. It is such a combination that makes yoga to be so effective in terms of flexibility and mobility- it simultaneously deals with both aspects.
The Secret Of Yoga To Unlock The Potential Of your body.
Yoga enhances flexibility and mobility in a number of ways that I have never known before what exercises involve stretching before any workout:
Breath Awareness turned out to be my special weapon. Training to combine deep breaths with rhythmic breaths with movement enabled a relaxation of my muscles and movement into deeper stretches without straining them. When I concentrated on breathing into the tension zones I could physically feel them unraveling in a way I was not able to achieve with the use of only static stretching.
Another game-changer was Balancing Flexibility with Strength. Yoga does not only produce bendiness; it develops the power that will hold the new-found proportion of movement. This was a middle ground that ensured that I was not only getting more flexible but more competent and tougher in my daily physical activities.
The Mind-Body Connection that yoga provided me with assisted me to be more conscious of my body and its sensations and limitations. This consciousness enabled me to perform with in my comfort zone and slowly widen it so I would not run the risks of overworking myself and getting hurt.
These advantages are scientifically proven. A 10 week experiment on male college athletes revealed that athletes who practiced yoga twice a week demonstrated great improvements in both flexibility and balance than their counterparts who did not practice yoga. The yoga group also showed more range of motion in various joint measures which proved my own experience in my own body yoga really improves the way you move.
Yoga Postures that changed my flexibility and mobility.
It is these poses that have had the greatest impact in my quest to be more of a stiff to a supple. I have added changes I made as I went, as we are all in different positions.
Cat-Cow (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)
This mild rocking to and fro back and rounding were my daily routine to stretch my spine and pull out the tension in my neck and shoulders.
how to perform: Get in a position with wrists below shoulders and knees below hips. Breath in, and roll your belly down, and chest and eyes up (Cow). Breath out and round your spine up to the ceiling and tuck your chin (Cat). Keep breathing your mind 1-2 minutes.
My experience: This was the most uncomfortable pose that I felt my spine was stiff. Only after a week of practice, I could notice that the vertebrae became freer.
Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
This position opened my tight hips which are one of the primary causes of my back pain. The changes in hip action and leg flexibility were dramatic to me.
How to perform it: Standing Position, take one of your feet forward and into a lunge position with your front knee at 90 degrees and the back knee resting on the floor. Keep straight and raise your arms over your head. Wait 30-60 seconds, change sides.
Modification: In case of difficulty with balance, place your hands on your front thigh or have a chair.
Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svasana)
This is a traditional yoga posture that I have made my go to stretch my hamstrings, calves as well as my shoulders simultaneously.
How to perform it: Sit on the all fours, and raise your hips up and back straightening your legs as much as possible. Punch and push with your hands and remember to have your ears parallel with your upper arms. Hold for 5-10 breaths.
My experience: I started my experience with my heels way up in the air and my hamstrings crying. However, after one month, I was capable of putting my heels on the mat, and that was a victory that I had never imagined to achieve.
Head-to-Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana)
This seated forward bend was used to stretch my already tight hamstrings as well as relieving tension in my lower back.
How to perform it: Sit and straighten one leg and cross the other foot using the inner thigh. Breath in to extend your spine, and out to bend forwards over your straight leg. Hold for 1-2 minutes on each side.
Adjustment: In case you are not able to access your foot, you can either put on a strap around your foot or bend your straight knee a bit.
Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)
This further backbend and corrected all the forward bending I did all day stretching my chest and the whole front body.
How to do it: Lie on your stomach, bend on your knees, and reach back to hold on to your ankles. Breath in such a way that your chest and thighs are raised off the ground. Look straight on and retain 5-10 breaths.
Precaution: Do not attempt this pose in case of neck, shoulder or back problems.
Table: My Progressive Outcomes With Major Yoga Poses.
| Pose | When I Started | After 30 Days | After 90 Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downward-Facing Dog | Heels elevated 6 inches | Heels 2 inches from floor | Heels flat on floor |
| Low Lunge | Could only hold 15 seconds per side | Could hold 45 seconds comfortably | Could add arms overhead for full duration |
| Head-to-Knee Pose | Could barely reach my shin | Reached my ankle with straight back | Could hold my foot with ease |
| Cow Face Pose | Fingers 8 inches apart behind back | Fingers 4 inches apart | Could clasp hands on both sides |
The Good Introduction to Your Own Yoga.
I did a lot of mistakes when I started with my yoga life. The following is what I would have known initially:
Pay attention to your body, do not struggle with it. Yoga must not bring sharp or sharp pain. It is natural to feel some discomfort in a stretching muscle, but pain in joints is an indicator. According to one of the sources, which is quite wise, when a pose begins to cause pain or become too uncomfortable, get out of the pose immediately.
True to the real world is better than intense. Exercises of 15-20 minutes three or four times a week prove to be more effective than a single exercise each week. I began with 10 minutes per day and slowly it was adjusted.
Use props to adapt poses. I was initially opposed to the use of blocks and straps as I found that to be a form of cheating. I was wrong. The props can either help the ground to be closer to you or support and stabilize. I was able to gain momentum as soon as I accepted the concept of using a block in poses such as Triangle and a strap in seated forward folds due to the ability to remain in a proper position.
Wait patiently with your progress. The benefits of flexibility and mobility occur over time. “What’s the big hurry?” asks one source. Like any of the benefits of yoga, the positive impacts manifest themselves with time, and constant practicing. I cheered myself on little progress–an inch more of a forward bend, a minute longer that I could comfortably maintain a position.
My Changing Life Experiences With Yoga.
The flexibility and mobility process with yoga have introduced me to changes that I had never expected. That backache that got me on my way? Three weeks later it was lower than what I had rated as 7/10 to 3/10. After two months, I was practically pain free.
However, the advantages were much greater than pain relief. My posture changed significantly as my chest got open and my shoulders were able to relax. The simple things such as stretching to grab something on a high shelf or even when turning my head when driving became easy. My performance in the gym also improved, I could squat further and recover faster between sessions.
And, probably, the most unexpected result of all was the improvement in the mind as well as the body. The deep breaths and mindfulness which I developed on the mat enabled me to cope with stress in a better way off the mat. The physical tension was relieved, and it appeared to be released mentally as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the duration of time to notice changes in flexibility using yoga?
The majority observe the improvement in 3-4 weeks of regular practice, though the substantial improvements are usually observed in 6-12 weeks. Personally, I started feeling a lot more relaxed within two weeks, but the radarest transformations took place in three or so months of the regular practice. Regularity is more important than time-periodic and brief practices are more likely to work even than infrequent lengthy ones.
Should I become flexible to begin yoga?
Absolutely not! This is probably the greatest misperception about yoga. According to one source, yoga is not only a preserve of individuals who are very elastic. Flexibility is not a requirement, but an outcome. At the onset of my practice, I could barely bend forward with my knees. Yoga comes to you where you are- the trick is to start with and allow your body to change gradually.
Which form of yoga is most advantageous in regard to flexibility and mobility?
Hatha yoga, Vinyasa yoga and Yin yoga are all good options to enhance flexibility and mobility. Hatha is very much grounded and offers stability with held poses, Vinyasa is fluid and flows with movement, and Yin focuses on deep connective tissues prolonged holds. I began with Hatha as a training on how to get the right alignment and then I went to Vinyasa flows. Experiment with various styles to find which one makes your body and objectives feel.
Is yoga able to help in enhancing mobility besides flexibility?
Yes! Although yoga can have a dramatic effect of improving flexibility, as it does this by improving the lengthening of the muscles, it also improves the mobility of the joints through increasing the range of action of the joints and making the muscles that support them stronger. Such poses as Cat-Cow increase the spinal mobility, whereas Low Lunge and similar ones increase hip mobility. This is what makes yoga the only unique type of movement health.
Are there risks of being flexible by practicing yoga?
Yoga is not devoid of some risk like any other physical movement as long as it is practiced in the wrong manner. According to a recent report, the injury rate among yoga is gradually increasing in 100,000. Risk reduction measures include not forcing yourself into a pose, prop use where necessary and ensuring good alignment as opposed to how deep you can bend. In case you are having particular health issues, you should consult your physician and a professional yoga teacher who will recommend the right changes.
Stepping into a Better Movement.
My experience in the field of flexibility and mobility on yoga taught me that our bodies can achieve incredible change with any age or point of departure. What starts as a mission to feel your toes or get rid of an aching back can develop into the immensely good relationship with your body and its powers.