Flexibility Is Not the Same as Control

Originally shared in the Nurture Bodyworks newsletter · February 2025

When I first started yoga, I thought flexibility was the goal: the deeper the stretch, the better. I chased extreme ranges of motion and believed that pushing farther meant progress. Hyperextending my knees, locking my elbows, and sinking into poses felt normal.

Eventually, I learned to create more muscular support around my joints instead of collapsing into flexibility. I thought I had moved beyond hyperextension, but I later realized my body was still relying on overextension as a default, even when I believed I was standing or moving in a more controlled way.

A familiar end range can feel neutral

Being hypermobile, my elbows naturally want to lock in tabletop and my knees want to press backward when I stand. My spine also tends to create movement through a few familiar areas, including my lower back and neck. Because those positions are familiar, they do not always feel extreme from the inside.

Now I practice softening enough to come away from the end range. That small change asks my muscles and nervous system to participate instead of letting the joint or ligament hold me up.

Postural Restoration changed the question for me. Rather than asking how far I can move, I ask how well I can sense and control the movement. Can I breathe there? Can I come out of it? Can I distribute the motion instead of repeatedly borrowing it from the same place?

This has changed how I practice, how I teach, and how I help clients build mobility. More range is not always more freedom. Sometimes freedom is having enough support to choose where the movement comes from.