Have you ever injured a joint? 

Your shoulder? Knee? Wrist? 

It’s only at this time, when pain and limitation is present, that we become aware of just how much we depend on the correct functioning of these cushioned links between bones, right?  

Even if there is not injury, we all know that a continuous pattern of activity over a prolonged period of time can cause wear and tear, leading for example to Repetitive Strain Injury, or sometimes even to the recommendation of joint replacements. 

My training as a Structural Yoga Therapist has made me all too sensitive to potential wear and tear through Yoga practice and of the need to safeguard against it. 

I heard one of my teachers, renowned around the world, point out in a workshop that many of his peers are requiring joint replacements yet after 40 years of teaching, his respectful, soft though profound approach to practice has allowed his body to stay strong, supple and pain free. 

We’ve all heard about gymnasts who develop severely painful joints in later life. I wonder if the same is not going to happen in the world of Yoga as success in Yoga is so directly linked to the physicality of Yoga posture practice and attainment of complex and demanding postures.

I experience it frequently in my own classes, that in spite of cues to stay within safe ranges of joint motion, the  tendency to over extend the body and it’s joints is not corrected. This can be due to an ambition to master what is perceived as the ultimate version of a posture which we just-can’t-let-go of! ha ha….. forehead and chest to floor for example in wide-legged forward fold is one which many aspire to yet which takes the body beyond standard ranges of motion and can lead to problems around the discs and lower back.

More often I believe it is simply because it is as difficult to stop the habit of locking and hyperextending joints in practice, as it is to break any other habit. We have to know what to replace it with and in the case of joints in Yoga practice, there often just isn’t the strength in the muscles and so the joints take the load.

What we are often pushing towards is a range of motion beyond what in physical therapy is perceived as a “standard range of motion” in a joint. That means we are going to be causing wear and tear to the joint. Cobra is a common one: shoulders locked and pressed up around the ears, elbows locked indicate a need to build more strength in the muscles of the back, arms and shoulders for a safe practice of the posture which respects the joints. 

Each joint by it’s nature only moves to a certain degree. It can become hypoflexible and we will experience this as stiffness, with a reduced range of motion. For example, standard range of motion in shoulder flexion (when we raise the shoulder overhead) is 180 degrees, meaning the arm should naturally move to a vertical position. If when you lie back on the floor and take your arms overhead, you find they don”t reach the floor, this is a reduced range of motion in shoulder flexion. If a joint goes beyond the standard range of motion it is hyperflexible and equally as undesirable as the hypoflexible joint. For example, being able to place the hands flat on the floor under the shoulders in a standing forward fold could be a sign of hyperflexibility…which is going to bring instability in the joints and a risk of injury, wear and tear and pain.  

Yoga posture is actually defined as a “steady, comfortable posture” in the Yoga Sutras:

“sthira sukham asanam”  is the sutra about asana, translating as “steadiness and comfort in asana”, meaning “Yoga posture is steady and comfortable”.

What we really want to build therefore in Yoga posture practice is stability and through that stability we can find the supplenes we are also looking for.

When we move a joint we have an agonist . The agonist is the primary muscle that contracts to create joint movement. The antagonist is the opposit muscle that lengthens to allow that movement. When agonist muscles are strong enough, giving stability around a joint, the antagonist can relax and become softer and supple. 

The Joint Freeing Series that I use in my Yoga Therapy practice, has great value for supporting joint health. 

It safely builds:

• strength in the agonist muscles
• suppleness in the antagonist muscles
• stability as a consequence around the joints
• healthy range of joint motion
• reduction of pain, and wear and tear.
• plus it builds more sensitivity within us as Yoga practitioners, teaching us to identify and isolate muscle groups so that muscle groups around joints are staying safe and in correct placement within more complicated Yoga postures. 

Practice of the Joint Freeing Series, as it builds stability in the body, also begins to make it’s impact on the mind. As it steadies also the nervous system through intentional, mindful, repetitive practice, it also steadies and calms the mind. This means the Joint Freeing Series is a wonderful practice for pacifying Vata dosha.

We can all benefit from regular practice of the Joint Freeing Series. Try it for 30 days, practicing every day if possible, and minimum 4 times /week for therapeutic effect.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL where I will soon be uploading the full Joint Freeing Series so that you can begin to practice it for body-mind benefit.

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