Healthy Movement

Bodies are vastly different, from person to person.  At the extremes, they range from stiff and tight with little range of motion, to hypermobility - a body that will move beyond the safe range of motion for its joints.   Sometimes a body has little movement in some areas, and much movement in others.  

Healthy movement is a little movement in a lot of areas.  When we move, if there's stiffness or restriction in one place, a place with more mobility will compensate.  If it moves too far, an injury may occur.  

I have hypermobile thumbs.  The joints can move in a way that looks exactly like the photo here in the Wikipedia entry.  I rarely move them that way now, but did quite a lot when I was young and it was interesting to say "Hey, look what my thumbs can do!"

Flexibility is valued in yoga.  Increasing flexibility is high on the list of reasons that people are interested in yoga - myself included, when I started.  More flexibility lets a yogi "do" more poses, get into prettier shapes.  And yet it is the more flexible people, rather than the stronger, stiffer ones, who are most apt to be injured, because they can push past the limits of what the body's structure can support.

I'm very interested in how to teach mixed classes so that the people who can benefit from increasing their range of motion can find more space and openness, while those with too much mobility stay safely back from the edge, and build more strength to support their body.  How do I do that, teaching the same pose to a group?  I think the answer is aiming both groups toward the middle, in terms of the shape of the pose.  Some will feel stretch and lengthening, and others will feel muscle engagement and holding back.  Both will be getting what they need.