Dear Yogi,
Many of us started practising yoga because we wanted to be more flexible, and while stretching is often an essential part of every yoga class, there’s a lot of misunderstanding around it.
While stretching can give us a sweet release and keep our muscles and connective tissues supple, there’s no apparent functional reason for us to be able to touch our toes with straight legs or drop into the Splits! In fact, over-stretching can cause injuries, stress the nervous system and actually hinder our flexibility.
It’s also important to remember that our muscles need a degree of tightness in order to engage and enable us to move. When we invest in functional mobility and improve our range of motion instead, we work with our muscles in a much healthier and respectful way, and this can affect our quality of life in the long term.
To find out more, watch Julie’s tutorial about stretching and check out our suggested classes and articles below.
Love,
The EkhartYoga team.
