Posture, Language, Hands-On Assists

Yoga for Bendy People: Post #7

Chapter 10: Posture

In this chapter, Libby highlights both the importance of good posture for bendy people and how difficult it is to cue said posture for bendy types because, proprioception challenges ammiright?

The passage below (from page 164) spoke to me. I can remember, as a child, complaining that my lower back and legs hurt if I stood for long periods. Now I know why:

It’s common for hypermobile people to fatigue easily when in an upright position. That’s why you’ll often see them leaning on furniture, walls, or any other external support. Without solid support from floppy connective tissue, the muscles of bendy people have to pick up the slack, which means they work extra hard. It’s tiring and can also lead to muscle tension and pain.

In addition to getting fatigued more easily, bendy people have a hard time knowing where they are in space. This difficulty with proprioception makes it hard for them to know when their posture is aligned. Libby notes that she often sees hypermobile folks push their pelvis forward, so rather than introducing the complicated cue to tilt the pelvis, she’s got more concise cues: “Back it up,” tells them to back the pelvis up until it is over the heel bones. “Stack it up,” encourages them to stack the bones from heels, to shins, to thighbones, to pelvis, to ribcage. She notes that bendy people often thrust the ribs forward, too. From their, bendy people can reach the crown of the head to the sky.

Chapter 11: How to Design an Asana Practice

See our conversation with Libby all about this chapter! Libby designed two practices during our talk:

One for a hypermobile person who also has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia (POTS) & Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)

Another for a hypermobile person with sacroiliac pain and dysfunction

Chapter 12: Language & Verbal Cues

Libby discusses fear-based language in this chapter and points out that this type of language can unconsciously act as a nocebo. (Nocebo is the opposite of placebo.) I’d never thought of it this way, but it’s so true.

The way people explain anything to us leaves an imprint. And if we introduce a yoga pose with language that implies that if we don’t do it correctly, it could be dangerous, then that’s what we will believe. She smartly points out that typically people don’t get injured from doing a pose, “wrong.” They get injured because they’ve been instructed to do a pose one way and that way is not right for their body.

I found my head nodding affirmatively when she says,

One of my personal mottos is, “Normal human movement is not inherently unsafe.”

She talks through how she cues curiosity and awareness rather than fear.

Chapter 13: Hands-On Assists

It’s shocking to me that we still need to have conversations about hands-on assists, but we do! As Libby points out, hands-on assists can be especially detrimental to bendy people. And yoga teachers should be absolutely reverent and clear with their intention before putting their hands on a student. They should also get consent first.

Over the years I’ve found that yoga teachers have been drawn to my bendiness, like a bee to honey. They just can’t wait to lay on my back or press me deeper into my already deep Upavistha Konasana. I’m grateful that this doesn’t happen anymore because there is more awareness within the community and because of consent chips or cards.

I also give off a strong, “don’t touch me” vibe these days 😜 How about you?