“Yoga is not about flexibility.”
This phrase is something we often hear yoga teachers say. And then, they proceed to teach people how to go deeper into yoga poses.
Here is a typical example of what you often hear in a yoga class:
“We have to open the hips.”
I remember one teacher, who brought a yoga group to Blue Osa, proclaimed,
“Your hips are too closed. We have to open them if we ever want to do XXX posture.”
So here is a fact many yoga teachers REALLY need to hear.
There is no empirical evidence that shows that being more flexible makes you a happier person.
Nevertheless, if you go into any yoga class, all you hear about is flexibility. Perhaps the word flexibility is not used, but it is constantly insinuated.
While the yoga teacher may say that flexibility is not everything, their instructions and body language always speak their intention.
How often have I heard variations of this phrase?
“Do not worry about touching your toes. It is not about touching your toes. Even so, keep working on it. The practice will take you there.”
Many students are left wondering how they can achieve the state of yoga if they are not flexible. I know firsthand because I have to do damage control in my yoga teacher trainings continuously.
The Truth About Flexibility and Stretching
Is stretching good for you? The answer might surprise you.
Why Stretching Leads to More Pain
Stretching will lead you to more pain.
Why?
Because flexibility inevitably leads to instability.
And where there is instability, injury is sure to follow.
From an Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™ perspective, people have no strength in their flexibility. At their furthest flexible point, muscle function is diminished or nonexistent.
And yes! We can test this! (As you will see below.)
The Yoga World’s Obsession with Flexibility
The yoga world is obsessed with stretching, and it is a paradigm that needs to change.
Stretching is ultimately damaging more people than it is helping. Stretching does not help improve muscle function, and there is ample empirical evidence to show that stretching incapacitates muscle function.
Understanding Muscle Function vs. Flexibility
The confusion between flexibility and muscle function is at the heart of yoga’s biggest misconception.
What Is the Purpose and Function Of Muscle?
The #1 function of muscles is to move bones.
The degree to which those muscles move bones is called “range of motion.”
If I asked you to do a seated twist, you would instinctively rotate your body and then use your arms and hands to augment and “deepen” the twist. However, this is not testing the actual range of motion. You are just training your body to become hyper-flexible in rotation.
Test Your True Range of Motion (Not Flexibility)
Wherever you are right now, do a simple test to see how much range of motion you have in your spinal rotators:
- Bring your hands to the opposite shoulders
- Lock your hips by squeezing them to the midline
- Arch/extend your upper back as much as you can by lifting the chest
- Arch/extend your lumbar spine
- With your hips squeezed towards the midline, rotate your upper chest to the right, twisting from the naval
- Notice how far you can twist/rotate
- Now repeat to the left
- Notice if there was a difference in how much you could twist to one side versus the other
Key insight: How far you were able to twist has nothing to do with flexibility. How far you were able to rotate has everything to do with muscle function. Muscles move bones by contracting/shortening. Therefore, to rotate, muscles needed to contract. (One of the primary trunk rotators are the oblique muscles.)
How Much Flexibility Is Actually Harmful?
This is where the flexibility obsession becomes dangerous.
The Problem with Passive Stretching
Stretching muscles is synonymous with forcing muscles to go beyond their capacity to lengthen or shorten.
Think about a simple pose called apanasana (knees to chest pose).
The Apanasana Example
If I ask you to lie on your back, with your arms out to the sides, and pull your knees to your chest:
How close were you able to get your knees to your chest?
The muscles responsible for doing that movement contracted/shortened to bring those knees into your chest. (Some of the key muscles that pulled those knees in are the psoas major and minor, pyramidalis, first rectus, rectus femoris.)
Now take your arms, wrap them around your knees and pull them further. Here, you are forcing those muscles to contract or shorten beyond their capacity. You are passively pushing your body beyond its muscular capacity. Biomechanically, you bypass the nervous system and force the body to do what it is not ready to do.
What Happens When You Overstretch
What happens next is that all the muscle shuts down. Anytime we passively shorten or lengthen a muscle, the brain’s neuropathways to the muscle are severed.
The muscle loses its ability to contact and contract on demand.
Can You Repair Overstretching Damage?
Can you repair the damage caused by overstretching?
Sure.
Yet, the longer you keep stretching and abusing your muscular system, the more effort it will take to repair it.
How Much Should You Actually Stretch?
The short answer is never stretch.
Now for the longer answer.
What Science Says About Flexibility and Stretching
According to Stephen Gangemi,
“The thought that stretching relaxes and is therapeutic for tight muscles is not only a misconception, it has never been proven. It actually weakens muscles… Muscle tightness is due to an imbalance. The imbalance lies within the neuromuscular system – so it is a reflection of the nervous system via the muscular system…”
“There is a neuromuscular inhibitory response to static stretching,” Malachy McHugh, the director of research at the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told the New York Times. “The straining muscle becomes less responsive and stays weakened for up to 30 minutes after stretching, which is not how an athlete wants to begin a workout.”
What We Should Focus On Instead of Flexibility
What we need to focus on is getting muscles activated and then stronger. A strong, activated muscle can withstand the stress that life puts upon it.
My Personal Experience with Too Much Flexibility
There have been too many instances where I have taken a yoga class, only to throw my back out.
After one teacher training just finished, I was in the shower preparing for graduation. As I was washing my hair, I reached my hand up to grab the shampoo bottle, only to tweak my rhomboid and levator scapular. I was left in severe pain that lasted for weeks.
As it happened, the day before, I demonstrated a yoga twist that had involved a bind. I had plenty of flexibility, but I had no stability.
The True Purpose Of Yoga Postures (It’s Not Flexibility)
From an Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™ perspective, our goal is to improve muscle function.
Muscle Activation vs. Flexibility: A Demonstration
In the video below, I demonstrate the power of muscle activation. We see an important muscle, the glute, not contracting. It has lost its ability to contract and contract on demand. (The glutes play a significant role in preventing lower back pain.)
Watch how much the muscle function improves once we activate the glutes. The result is mind-blowing. You have to see it to believe it. (Watch at least the first 12 minutes.)
A Stable Body Equals a Pain-Free and Stable Life
It’s time to end the flexibility obsession in yoga.
What the Ancient Yoga Texts Actually Say About Flexibility
First foremost, please join me in a sincere effort to stop this flexibility madness. Even if you disagree with the facts, you are not teaching yoga by focusing on flexibility.
There is no mention anywhere in the yoga sutras or Hatha Pradipika on the importance of flexibility.
What these sacred texts teach us is the importance of breath and merging the mind with it.
One of my favorite quotes comes from BKS Iyengar who is one of the fathers of what we know of as yoga. BKS Iyengar said:
“Health is firmness in body, stability in mind and clarity in thinking”
Notice there is no mention of flexibility in this statement.
Again, there is NO MENTION of stretching or flexibility anywhere in the Yoga Sutras or Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
Next Steps: Beyond the Flexibility Myth
Second, if you feel inspired to learn more about Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™, watch the video above and take the class that follows the demonstration. Once you have finished the practice, notice how your body feels and how much more stability you have than when you started.
A Message to Yoga Teachers About Flexibility
Thirdly, this is a specific message to all yoga teachers.
STOP demonstrating yoga postures to your students. Especially the yoga postures that offer opportunities for you to “show off yoru flexibility.” You are not benefiting your students. You are only satisfying your own ego. Put the needs of your own students first. And that starts with you teaching them yoga. Not showing them how flexible you are.
We, yoga practitioners, have enormous power and sway to affect the momentum of our students. We can choose to help our students become more flexible or empower them to become stable and resilient agents of change.
Take the next step and check out this simple and easy hack to get rid of your back pain.
About The Author, Yogi Aaron
Yogi Aaron is the founder and creator of Applied Yoga Anatomy + Muscle Activation™ (AYAMA), a revolutionary methodology that challenges conventional approaches to yoga. Using a science-backed approach, he prioritizes muscle activation over traditional stretching.
With over three decades of dedicated study, mentorship, and hands-on experience, he has established himself as a leading expert in yoga therapy, alignment, and pain-free movement.
As owner and operator of Blue Osa Yoga Retreat + Spa in Costa Rica, Yogi Aaron leads transformative programs that combine his expertise in yoga instruction, retreat facilitation, and wellness business operations. His work spans both in-person immersive experiences and digital education through The Yogi Club online platform and the AYAMA™ Certification Program.
Yogi Aaron’s teaching methodology represents a paradigm shift in modern yoga practice. AYAMA focuses on activating and engaging muscles to enhance range of motion, build strength, improve stability, and optimize alignment—while reducing pain and injury risk. This evidence-based approach has positioned him as a thought leader challenging the status quo in the yoga community.
His mission extends beyond the mat: to liberate individuals from chronic pain and guide them toward discovering yoga’s authentic purpose through intelligent, body-informed practice.
Learn more about training opportunities with Yogi Aaron at Blue Osa Yoga Retreat + Spa.
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