Is Flexibility What We Need?

Do you need to stretch your hamstrings more? Maybe... Maybe not!

Another hot topic!

Coming from a yoga background, and of course it was drilled into our heads growing up (remember the 'sit & reach' in the Canada Fitness Testing?), flexibility & range of motion was a key aspect of our fitness regime. As a person who teaches yoga it is very common to hear, after announcing that aspect of my teaching/training, the words: 'Oh, I'm not flexible, I can't do yoga'. If only I had a $1 for every time I heard that...

You Always Have a Starting Point…

The conversation after that statement is usually something that surprises them... flexibility isn't all it is cracked up to be. Yes, our range of motion is an important aspect of our health, but the ability to put your foot behind your head is not going to give you enlightenment. Surprised? So what's the deal?

Flexibility is typically seen and worked on by performing passive stretches. Think of your hamstrings. Sit on the ground, legs straight in front of you, lean forward and find that 'stretch' sensation in the back of your legs. Feel tight? There is nothing wrong with that! Is it fun to sit there and 'patiently' wait for it to feel better? Not really.

Let's look at mobility... with the basic difference between the two being that our typical definition/idea of stretching for flexibility is a passive/static movement, like the above hamstring stretch. While the idea of mobility is an active/stable range of motion or dynamic stretching in the body. The basic idea of how high you can lift your leg straight in front of you from a standing position. Bet there is a noticeable difference in the range of motion between the active position and the passive 'stretch'. Try it... I'll wait.