Laurel Yoga

4 days ago

My answer: It depends. (Unsatisfying yes, but hear me out.)

The question (paraphrasing) “is it safe to hyperextend in asana?” is a yes/no question. Dichotomous language doesn’t work when talking about movement. Movement requires a body. Bodies are complex; they constantly adapt and change. Using dichotomous language to talk about the body is like using a hammer to program a computer. Wrong tool.

To know if a student can explore their range of hyperextension, I would learn their history of injury and loading. Myself, my elbows hyperextend. I load my elbows in hyperextension, I ‘microbend’ and every other range of elbow flexion. I try to train every range under appropriate amounts of load (not too much).

Mechanotransduction (read Move Your DNA, Katy Bowman) is an adaptive process taking place in the body every second. It’s the conversion of mechanical input (loads) to biochemical processes (adaptation). In order for the body to gain resiliency to loads that are position specific, you have to load appropriately within that position. (SAID principle) If we follow this theory, never loading my elbows in hyperextension means my elbows don’t become adaptively more resilient in hyperextension.

It depends though! We don’t want to overload (too much too soon, or too frequently too soon). That’s how injury happens.

For me, I’ve been weight-bearing on my arms for close to 20 years. Adaptively, my elbows are maybe more resilient to a wider variety of loads compared to someone who is just starting to weight bear, or working with an injury or condition (like hypermobility).

Awareness is key. A lot of times students can’t find the difference between, say, plank with elbows hyperextended vs without. My first goal as a teacher is to help them discern between both so they have options.

It’s complex! When we talk about complex topics responsibly there’s gonna be a lot of inconclusive language and qualifying. Anything more satisfying (like a black and white answer, “elbow hyperextension is an unsafe position in asana”) is likely oversimplification (because whose elbows are we talking about?)
.
Ultimately, a complex topic oversimplified is dogma.
.
Thanks for the question, Katie Tree! ... See MoreSee Less

Laurel Yoga

6 days ago

We’ll keep this brief - LAST DAY TO GET the @movementlogictutorials Pelvic Floor Tutorial!
.⠀
If you’ve been thinking “Man, I could use more pelvic floor knowledge bombs in my life,” you should know that the Movement Logic Pelvic Floor Tutorial goes away in just a few short hours - and this is the last time it will be available at this price. ⠀
.⠀
In this tutorial you will...
.
Learn a movement-based approach to working with clients who have an array of pelvic floor concerns.
.
Acquire a progression of corrective exercise techniques for clients either with diagnosed pelvic floor conditions, continence issues, are pregnant, or suffering from unspecified pain.
.
Review musculoskeletal anatomy to better understand how the pelvic floor integrates with the rest of the pelvis, trunk, neck, and legs.
.
Study up-to-date, biopsychosocial pain science that breaks down old beliefs around pelvic floor health – what’s ‘normal’ and what’s not.
.
Sound like something that would benefit your or your student’s movement practice?
.⠀
Click the link in bio to grab it or go here: laurelbeversdorf.com/product/pelvic-floor-tutorial/
.
@sarahcourtdpt @trinaaltman #movementlogic #pelvicfloorexercises #pelvicfloor #pelvichealth #pelvicfloordysfunction #pelvicfloortutorial #neverstoplearning #teachsmarternotharder ... See MoreSee Less