Digest Number 1422

[Guest guest]

I too have a tendency to hyperextend some joints eg knee and have

been taught that best for me is to hold a microbend. This is a bend

that only I know about and the teacher can see, because they know

what my leg looks like on full extension. If I extend my legs fully

as in standing or sitting forward folds, I am hyperextending and that

is potentially damaging. I think holding the poses with a micro bend

in the appropriate joint encourages muscle strength to sustain the

posture that in the long term is the right alignment in the yoga

practice for me. Also we hyper-extenders can be a bit narcissistic,

speaking for myself, as we are more flexible, so we use our

flexibility to get into postures rather than focus on breath bandas

and gaze etc, so working at the edge of our practice means backing

off and letting go of the advantages hyperflexibility can give. Hope

that helps

Judith