Yoga has gained widespread recognition for its ability to increase flexibility, build strength, and promote mental clarity. For naturally flexible individuals commonly referred to as bendy people yoga can feel both rewarding and deceptively easy. However, hypermobility, which is common among bendy people, presents its own challenges. These practitioners must approach yoga with greater awareness to ensure safety, prevent injury, and develop balanced muscle support. This topic explores yoga for bendy people, providing tips and practices specifically tailored for those with high natural flexibility.
Understanding Hypermobility in Yoga
What Does It Mean to Be Bendy?
Being bendy generally refers to someone who has hypermobility in their joints. This can be genetic or developed over time through stretching and activity. While it may seem like an advantage in yoga, excessive flexibility without strength or control can lead to overextension and joint instability. Yoga for hypermobile people requires conscious engagement of muscles and mindful awareness of range of motion.
Common Risks for Flexible Yogis
People with hypermobility are more likely to:
- Overstretch ligaments and tendons
- Experience joint pain or dislocation
- Neglect muscle engagement in poses
- Rely on passive flexibility rather than active strength
This means that bendy yogis must shift their focus from how far they can stretch to how well they can control and stabilize their bodies.
Yoga Goals for Flexible Practitioners
Build Stability and Strength
One of the key goals in yoga for bendy people is to develop core stability and strengthen surrounding muscles to support the joints. Poses that emphasize muscle engagement, rather than maximum range of motion, are especially beneficial. This includes practices that cultivate awareness of alignment and intentional movement.
Practice Proprioception
Proprioception refers to the body’s ability to sense its position in space. Flexible individuals often lack accurate proprioception, which increases the risk of overstretching or misalignment. Yoga sequences that include slow transitions, balance work, and breath coordination can enhance body awareness.
Learn to Work with Boundaries
Rather than always pushing into the deepest version of a pose, bendy yogis are encouraged to work within a range that feels secure and supported. Using props, modifying postures, and focusing on sensation over appearance are excellent ways to honor personal limits.
Recommended Yoga Poses for Bendy People
Strengthening Poses
These yoga poses help build strength to stabilize joints and protect hypermobile areas:
- Plank Pose (Phalakasana): Engages the core, shoulders, and legs while promoting whole-body awareness.
- Chair Pose (Utkatasana): Strengthens the quadriceps, glutes, and lower back while requiring proper alignment.
- Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): Encourages muscular engagement in the legs and arms, with focus on hip and knee alignment.
- Boat Pose (Navasana): Strengthens the abdominal muscles and teaches control through the core.
Proprioception and Balance Poses
These poses improve body awareness and alignment:
- Tree Pose (Vrikshasana): Enhances balance and encourages grounding through the standing leg.
- Eagle Pose (Garudasana): Increases focus and coordination while strengthening joints and muscles.
- Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana): Combines strength, balance, and awareness, requiring controlled extension.
Supportive and Grounding Poses
To counteract overstimulation and help restore calm, these postures are ideal:
- Child’s Pose (Balasana): A restorative posture that promotes stillness and breath connection.
- Legs-Up-the-Wall (Viparita Karani): Helps release tension in the lower body while providing gentle inversion benefits.
- Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana): A gentle hip opener that can be supported with props to avoid overstretching.
Tips for Bendy Yogis to Practice Safely
Engage Muscles in Every Pose
Never rely solely on flexibility to get into a pose. Instead, draw the joints together, activate core muscles, and maintain tension through the body to support your form. In a forward fold, for example, engage the hamstrings and hip flexors rather than simply collapsing forward.
Use Props Generously
Blocks, straps, and bolsters are essential tools to bring the floor closer or maintain alignment without risking overextension. Props are especially useful in poses where joints may be unsupported, such as deep backbends or splits.
Focus on Alignment Over Depth
It can be tempting for flexible practitioners to go deep into every stretch. However, prioritizing clean alignment ensures that muscles are doing their job and joints remain protected. Working with a yoga teacher who understands hypermobility can help refine technique.
Include Strength Training in Your Routine
In addition to yoga, incorporating strength training exercises like resistance bands, pilates, or bodyweight conditioning can further stabilize hypermobile joints and correct muscular imbalances.
Mindful Practices for Mental Support
Breath Awareness
Breathing techniques such as Ujjayi (ocean breath) and Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) improve focus, calm the nervous system, and create a steady rhythm to guide movement. Controlled breath helps reduce the tendency to rush into or out of postures.
Meditation and Self-Observation
Hypermobility may lead to a performative attitude in yoga striving for deeper poses or aesthetic shapes. Meditation encourages internal focus and acceptance of the present moment, reminding practitioners that yoga is about connection, not competition.
Listen to Your Body
Each day is different. If a pose feels unstable or painful, it’s okay to back off or rest. Self-awareness and self-compassion are vital tools for sustainable practice. Regular check-ins during class can prevent injury and encourage a more intuitive approach.
Yoga for bendy people offers a unique opportunity to explore movement with greater awareness, intention, and integrity. Rather than chasing the deepest expressions of poses, the goal becomes building resilience, mindfulness, and control. Through conscious alignment, muscle engagement, and breath-centered movement, hypermobile individuals can enjoy the many benefits of yoga while keeping their bodies safe and supported. With regular practice, bendy yogis can develop not only impressive flexibility, but also the strength and focus needed to maintain long-term wellness on and off the mat.