Some things I wish I knew when I was younger as someone with a hyper-mobile disorder are not stretching to my limit, not being the circus gymnast for my friends, understanding the consequences of hyper mobility for a few!!

No! When you’re hyper mobile, more stretching only causes injury. Yoga is taught as the be all end all, best thing ever and hyper flexibility is admired and deeply encouraged. Yes, the average body needs more flexibility, most bodies are stiff, but the hyper mobile body is way too lax. We need to build strength - Dr. permitting.

What engaging your muscles actually looks like! This means when you move, you contact your muscles. See video describing this❤️. This man’s that you’re tightening up your muscles before, during and exiting your posture so you are not going to your personal full flexion. This helps prevent tissue, tendon and joint over extension and therefore less injuries!

This is not saying you’re not bendy. You are!! What the research is saying is you’re a human Gumby. The difference between flexibility vs. stability is joint laxity and muscle strength around it. When you are hyper mobile, you are stretching past the point of safety without enough muscular support. So while we are praised for being super flexible, what we are doing on the inside is hurting ourselves, sometimes seriously. Your body is relying on your ligaments instead of your muscles. So the goal now, is to engage your muscles with every movement to keep those joints safe. One day at a time. Many blessings!!

Joint-safe means movement that protects the joints and ligaments. Instead of flopping into a posture, we control the movement by engaging the muscles around the joints. So, for example: shoulder shrugs: in these, instead of going up all the way from your shoulders to your ears, when you engage your shoulder muscles, you can’t go as high, but that’s the goal when you’re hyper mobile. We are protecting the body by building strength through muscle resistance.