‘You have tight hamstrings, keep going and it will eventually loosen off! This lady has been practicing that’s why she has the mobility, you have not been doing enough self practice’. Yoga/Pilates teacher
So a few thoughts came up from the teacher saying this, are my hamstrings really short and tight or long and taut? I move, mobilise, stretch and pandiculate regularly, yet I still cant do the same as the other lady. Infact I trained as dancer and I was still as stiff as board. Why can everyone else I my yoga and Pilates training backbend and do the splits.
Well here are just a few of the many factors that contribute to our range of movement.
Bone architecture
Everybody is completely different, skeletally , joint shapes, bone lengths, angles of joints, capsule depth angles of bones, articulation connections all relate to one another, especially in the ankles, hips, spine and shoulders. I always assess joint mobility through what’s called: ‘The 9 point Beighton scale’. This gives me a foundation of what to expect as the person moves. You can have two people training in the same environment and exposed to the same practices, yet they will be on opposite ends of the Beighton scale.
Highly mobile people tend to be hyper- mobile in their joints. Extreme cases of hypermobility and joint laxity is ‘Ehlers Danlos’. These type people tend to be attracted to sports such as dance, gymnastics, martial arts, Pilates, yoga and many others. The opposite would be hypo- mobile, these people will struggle to gain range of motion for many advanced postures in martial arts , yoga dn pilates and tend to be drawn to more sports like running and circuits.
Again there is no black and white or right or wrong. This is why everyone needs an assessment ideally so there personal program can reflect their needs
Other connective tissues
Now you have established your mobility factor does this mean you cannot improve flexibility? Absolutely not, you can improve the flexibility of your muscles, fascia, tendons and ligaments. Our posture and resting length of the way we hold ourselves is governed by what is called ‘allostatic load’ (stress levels) and our habitual daily habits, beliefs and lifestyle patterns.
The purpose of us moving every day is to keep us in optimal health for our minds and bodies.
The nervous system
Working with the nervous system can help us access our thresholds and improve our flexibility. Using our breath to respond to sensations will help us release areas of holding. Stress tightens and restricts our minds and our bodies.
The biggest secret
In order to stay postural optimal we need to understand the correlation between muscle/connective tissue tension, joint mobilization and glands and organs. Every gland and organ have a visecro somatic relations to the surrounding tissues and structures. If you are restricted in one area , you need to dive deeper and see what organ is under stress. In other words , it is a reciprocal relationship.
Our inner body reflects the outside.
Our outer body reflects the inside.
‘Flexibility comes from having multiple choices, wisdom comes from having multiple perspectives’ – Robert Dilts
Bibliography
Jason Crandell Yoga
Paul Chek media