Topic: Flexibility

Downward dog: the foundational yoga pose. The pose that is supposed to "reset everything." The pose that feels so good to practice when you wake up.

This post is for you, my running friends! And anyone else who has short, tight hip flexors...

Back pain is the result of too much movement in the spine relative to the surrounding areas. It can be from too much flexion (forward bending), too much extension (backward bending), or too much rotation during our everyday lives. Yoga can decrease your back pain if you learn to perform the poses in a way that promotes _stability_ of the spine. Doing the poses the wrong way can contribute to hypermobility and pain.

Yoga can be used to improve our flexibility, but if we are not practicing carefully, it may cause a hypermobility (the loss of control at a joint). This is what can lead to injury.