I recently had an interaction with a student who shared that she had been having proximal hamstring attachment pain after she had gone into the splits in another class several weeks prior. I mentioned that she might want to think about doing some strength work for her glutes and hamstrings instead of focusing solely on flexibility. She struck a dancers pose as she told me, "The deep stretches just feel soooo good!' 

I can absolutely enjoy the irony in situations like these but I am also able to recall my own journey with this damaging way of thinking. As someone with excess joint laxity, I showed an affinity towards deep forward folds, huge backbends, and "flipped grips." I could finagle myself into those poses and so I did.  I recall the feeling of satisfaction when a teacher would come and lay on me in a seated forward fold. This extreme way of practicing felt good in my ego but it was taking a serious toll on my body. Behind the pretty backbend photos and captions about being "open hearted," I held a secret. I felt terrible in my body. I had near constant pain in my hamstrings and knee. When grabbing my foot behind my head, my back would often seize up and prevent me from walking for days. My shoulder was constantly clicking and achy. This went on for years. Maybe it was my own naivety or maybe it was my interpretation of the oft-quoted, "Practice and all is coming" that kept me from taking a step back. It was not until I adopted a "more isn't always better" mindset that I began to improve. I made the revolutionary decision to stop doing things that hurt and started strengthening the areas that I had been avoiding. I slowly began to understand the difference between feeling truly strong and capable versus feeling gratified that I had contorted myself into an enviable yoga pose. 

Unfortunately, these stories are not uncommon. I often meet people complaining of pain or injury that has arisen or been exacerbated by their yoga practice. I always find it interesting, though, that this seems to be something that is kept hush hush. Maybe it is because we don't want to question a practice or teacher that was there for us in a time of need. Maybe it is because the mental gratification we receive doing certain postures outweighs the physical consequences. Maybe it is because we think that the suffering is normal and it is just something that will subside if we keep practicing. These are often dangerous mindsets that can lead to a yoga practice that is neither nourishing nor sustainable.

I strongly believe in the importance of approaching yoga with a sense of practicality. While not inherently bad, it is not uncommon in yoga to hear about the body in energetic or esoteric terms. I have found it interesting to witness the masking of extreme yoga as "creating space" or "removing blocks." Having experienced this in my own practice, I have come to recognize critical thinking as a means to more fully receive the healing benefits of a yoga practice. I believe that being willing to ask "why" and learning how to distinguish between what feels empowering and what feels gratifying to the ego are invaluable ways of building a practice that is safe, beneficial, and sustainable.