Episode: 54

Hypermobility versus Flexibility with Alexandria Crow

Most people & probably you at some point thought that flexibility was essential to do yoga, correct? This is a common misconception that most people have. Media has also paid an important role in creating this false image. On the show today, I chat with Alex Crow. A competitive gymnast turned yoga teacher about hypermobility in yoga.

Alex has a very impressive gymnastic background, but like many of us enthusiasts, she is drawn to yoga’s philosophical concepts. Her injuries in gymnastics over the years have sparked her interest in developing programs designed to address the problematic approaches of Yoga. She elaborates on the misconceptions about flexibility and the dangers of hypermobility.

Alex wants people to understand that the poses and the ability to do them have nothing to do with Yoga. In fact, forcing your body to be hypermobile can do more harm than good. She explains that our bodies have a unique set of range of mobility and that’s what we should work on if we want to maximize the physical benefits of doing yoga. Practicing this basic idea allows us to have room for relaxation and meditation. The more conditioned our bodies are, the more replenished we become.

Debunking the misconception of hypermobility is an important first step in yoga. This episode covers answers to your questions. Join us and I’m sure you’ll be picking up that yoga mat in no time!

Hypermobility & Yoga Episode Highlights…

  • How does one draw the line between flexibility and hypermobility?
  • Alex talks about being a gymnast-turned-yoga teacher
  • Modern Asana practice and the pursuit of flexibility
  • Common misconceptions about Yoga
  • How to balance mobility and flexibility
  • Is there a particular joint or a set of poses that is a red flag?
  • The role of repetition for being hypermobile
  • Alex talks about sensation
  • How everybody has a unique range of mobility and why that’s totally okay
  • Alex explains how the techniques she developed can help in aging and pain
  • Why yoga is more than just a physical activity

Resources and links mentioned:

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Featured Guests

Alexandria Crow

Alex Crow is an internationally respected teachers’ teacher who leads trainings and workshops around the world. In her in-person continuing education workshops, online DeConstruct to ReConstruct Course, Yoga Physics mentoring program, and 300-hour teacher intensive, Alex untangles common misperceptions and limiting beliefs around yoga. Alex helps teachers better understand the history and philosophy that underpin a yoga practice, as well as the physical mechanics of the body and how to apply that knowledge to asana. All of her teaching is grounded in the idea that group classes should be accessible and sensitive to all.


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