Functional yoga does not sound very sexy. However, the concept of healthy functional movement is often overlooked in the yoga world. So, what is functional movement?

In the human body, our bones provide scaffolding or structure. The bones are also like levers. The muscles are the active movers of the bones- the pulleys of the muscles. The nerves tell the muscles what to do. The movement of the limbs should happen in a synchronized, efficient, and pain free-free way.

Unfortunately, as we age, many of the details of this symphonic orchestration become compromised.

Injury, imbalance, or inactivity can lead to nerves that have a slight delay in firing, leading to muscles that don’t activate in the right way.

Some muscles might become tight and overworked while others are weak and unstable.

The chains of kinesthetic activity that organize our movement start to break down.

We can still move around but the movement is limited.

By limited, I mean that the range of motion of a joint might be impacted. Or there might be pain with certain movements. Or you might just notice that things like balance and stability seem off. Maybe you just feel weaker.

These are all signs that our functional ability to move is decreased. Once incorrect patterns of movement come into the body, it takes active reprogramming of the way the nerves, muscles, and bones are working together to correct what the body is doing.

If we don’t do this reprogramming, all the movements that we do including the yoga for example, just further entrench the same dysfunctional patterns.  

By focusing on somatic and neuromuscular reprogramming in our yoga, we can transform the way we practice. We can unlock strength and stability within our practice that will support us on and off the mat.

We hope you will join us for this 11-week yoga series where we will explore the power of somatic and neuromuscular retraining and how it can deepen and transform our yoga practice.