09/03/2022
THE HOLY GRAIL/TAIL OF FLEXIBILITY
Yoga is known to improve flexibility and ROM (the Range Of Motion of the respective joint). Yoga is by no means exclusively about improving your mobility, but flexibility is definitely promoted through asana practice. The goal should always remain to promote freedom of movement but at the same time also the stability of a joint. After all, “over-flexibility” (so called hypermobility) is a not uncommon syndrome that can lead to problems for the affected 15-20% of the population. More on that in another article.
As a yoga teacher, I am often asked: "When will I finally become more flexible?", "Can I learn the splits at all? How long does it take?"
There is no simple answer that applies to everyone. So if you read about programs like: Learn the splits in 28 days, then I advise you to be skeptical!
What does it depend on whether you can learn the splits, for example, and how long it will take?
Eight factors are relevant to answering this question:
YOUR AGE: As you get older, the connective tissue surrounding muscles, which plays an important role in stretching, loses its elasticity. The good news is that this process is highly dependent on your activity level. If you exercise regularly, you can keep this aging effect to a minimum.
YOUR GENDER: According to studies, women actually seem to be a bit more flexible than men. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that men, thanks to their stronger muscles, are less concerned with mobility (than, for example, with building strength), but it is also due to the different structure of the connective tissue in men and women. In addition, women enjoy, on average, a greater tolerance for stretching. For example, women feel relaxed and more flexible after passive stretches, while men tend to struggle with stiffness in the stretched areas afterwards.
(Article continues in the comments.)
