Remember, we play here!

Generally, mobility is a combination of Strengthening Tissues and Lengthening Tissues.
When you strengthen the tissues, you stabilise, in most cases, the structure of the body. Every joint has space it needs for its range of motion and without the stability of the strong surrounding tissues, the space collapses causing a myriad of discomforts and pain.
In the same breath, that strong tissue needs to have the ability to lengthen in order for you to access a healthy range of motion ie, being able to scratch your back, reach behind you or do your hair.

How do we do both? How do we strengthen AND lengthen?

Through play.

Think about it.

Children have this enormous amount of never-ending energy and a level if mobility to match. Do you remember squatting down to watch ants when you were a kid? You could stay there for hours watching these ants build mounds. Here is a test- try squatting with your heels on the ground. Seriously. Go try it. Right now.
Hard? Challenging? Painful? IMPOSSIBLE? Not a chance?!

Yeah.

I believe that there is a link between Mobility and Energy and vice versa. To have one, you must have the other. They are intrinsically woven together. As we leave adolescence, we begin to follow societies rules for “How to behave as a proper adult.” in terms of movement which equals, in short, linear movements and sedentary lives. Sitting still. Using chairs, couches, beds, toilets, vehicle seats, that are all the same height preventing your pelvis from ever going below your knees. This is what separates us from the children. Children squat to watch ants. Adults do not.

There is a reason why we see a ‘Rewilding’ movement taking place where countless social media coaches educate people on how to regain our wild movements for the betterment of our body and its functions.

The system we are living in where we must follow the rules on “How to behave as a proper adult” in terms of movement is failing us. It is failing our body. There are organisations, such as The Blue Zones founded by Dan Buettner, who dedicate their studies to the longevity of humans. They have discovered the link between being able to get off the floor without the use of hands and living a long and healthy life. (See Study A & B)
Just as one example!

Yoga offers us a pathway by which to attain a healthy level of mobility and here, at Skyriver Shala, we add a hefty dose of playful movements to the postures. We move through all three body planes where we sway and swivel and round and arch. Every time you move the body, you gain information about the body. It takes time to be able to train your inner ear to hear the whispers from within and it is worth every minute you wait. Having a trained sense of inner awareness is called Interoception. The idea that we can see within the body. Gaining this special skill can allow you to notice if something isn’t right waaaaay before you ever would have been able to. You will know your body so well that you can pin point exactly where the pain or discomfort is to your doctor which can allow them to do a more thorough diagnoses before tests. I have been able to develop my inner sense of body to the point where I can feel my femur heads rotate in my pelvis or my humorous bone rotate in my shoulder. I can tell when my left shoulder isn’t engaging the larger muscle groups and I am able to softly correct this because, I know, that I’ll end up with frozen shoulder again if I don’t.

Let’s start by sitting in a chair. Now play with the posture. Sway. Twist and turn. Round in the spine. Open the chest and arch in the back. Move