Yoga for Flexibility (It's Not What You Think)

"I can't do yoga! I can't touch my toes!"

If you've been practicing or teaching yoga for a bit it's almost certain that you've heard this one. And probably responded in one of two ways:

1. I couldn't either, but after practicing for a while I could finally touch my toes!

2. It doesn't matter how flexible you are, you should just start and see what happens!

But what if I said that you've got it all wrong? What are you practicing to achieve?

We might want to get stronger, or more flexible, or more relaxed and calmer as a result of our practice. Isn't this what it's for? Isn't this the stuff we're promised when we sign up for that class or course? I like to think of these things as the sort of gateway drug, or the cherry on top. Sure, we get stronger, and more flexible, and more relaxed, and calmer, and that's one of the main things that keeps us coming back to the practice day after day, week after week.

The real flexibility, though, isn't in our joints and our physical body. It's in our minds and how we interact with the world.

Our strength gives us the tools to move through our world with more confidence and agency. We can DO things when we are strong. So we build flexibility in our self-concept in a very real way.

The increased range of motion we get from a physical practice means that we can be more effective in our daily lives. We are less at risk of injury so we become a little bit bolder, and a little bit more flexible in our self-concept as a result.

We can build resilience in our mental and emotional states, meaning we're often a touch calmer and more relaxed than we might have been without the practice. This means we can confront difficult situations in our lives with greater--you guessed it--flexibility and capability. This positively affects our self-concept too.

So while we might think of physically being able to touch our toes as a standard of flexibility that yoga can help us to achieve, I think there's room to expand our definitions about what yoga can do for us. Sticking to the practice consistently can get us some of these physical benefits for sure. But even if we never touch our toes, we are getting benefits that I'd argue are at least as important as being able to touch our toes.

"But I still get angry at people! Shouldn't I be able to handle things better now?" We all get angry. We're HUMAN. But how do you handle it now, as someone who has practiced for a while? Can you remember how you used to be? Is there any difference? If you think nothing has changed, I'd remind you that you likely had a lot less awareness around your anger than you have after practicing for a while. So sure, you'll get angry. Does it consume you like it did before? Can you find space to reason through it in a way that you didn't used to? Those changes are due to increased flexibility of mind from the practice.

So what if you never touch your toes or find yourself twisted like a pretzel? It's no biggie. That's not where the best benefits happen anyway. Can you wrap your mind around a different perspective? Twist yourself into understanding something new? That's the real trick, isn't it?

Soft pretzels on a stand