Stop Smoking Your Joints!

I have to credit my yoga instructor for that phrase. He frequently calls me out when I "hang out in my joints" in poses. You see, hypermobility's not all that it's cracked up to be.

I became aware of my 'bendiness' back when I lived in Canada. The situation, as I remember it, was this. A bunch of kids were hanging out when one asked the group if anyone could bring their hands from back to front while keeping them clasped. We all tried it, and magically I was able to do it no sweat. Back to front, front to back, heck I could even climb through my arms and make a jump rope routine out of it. Word got out and I showed my 'talent' to anyone that asked.

I kept the skill as I grew up, and soon discovered more Gumby-esque body parts. My fingers could bend backwards, my elbows could hinge out, my legs could twist up pretzel style. The fun was never-ending! One doctor of mine mentioned that I should join the freak show... and I am sure he meant that in the most complimentary, not 'adolescent-scarring, you'll remember this for the rest of your life' kinda way.

During high school, my party antics of contortionism, started to creep up at all hours unsummoned. I would be driving down the street and all of a sudden my shoulder would slip out of its socket. It could take minutes, hours before I could get it back in. Physical therapy was my only option, and that only lasted until I broke my collarbone.

I skirted through college unscathed by further joint issues. Post-college, a running injury to my hip kept me hobbling for three months before a doctor realized it was severe arthritis. Each time I tried doing yoga, the same hip-slip would resurface and I would be off of the mat for several weeks. It didn't take long before I gave up on yoga entirely. I took running back up and soon learned that my knees couldn't take the daily stress. That's when I learned I was smoking my joints.

Out of the blue, I came to try Power Yoga. Unlike Hatha, where the focus is on calmly stretching, Power Yoga capitalizes on strength and muscle. It's what my body needed- to unlearn my hyper-mobile ways and use my muscles for a change. Every now and then, my instructor will catch me idling in flexibility or pulling a Cirque du Soleil move and he'll call me out on it. I'll adjust my posture and discover how challenging the pose really is. I'm grateful that yoga has come to the rescue in saving my joints so that I can still be practicing when I am in my 90's (like my grandmother- she's 93 and does yoga every morning!) In the end, I guess I can also thank yoga for keeping me out of the freak show.

Come practice Power Yoga with me! http://mbodyyoga.com/