Yoga is great. It helps you stretch, release tension, and feel more in tune with your body. But what if your yoga practice could do even more, help you stay strong, balanced, and less likely to get hurt as you age? At ICB, we believe in using movement in a smarter way. Here’s how you can rethink yoga through what we teach.
What’s “Tensegrity”And Why You Should Care
“Tensegrity” is a big word. But it has a simple idea behind it: your body works best when it holds a balance between tension (pulling) and compression (pushing). Think of a bridge or a tent parts hold tight, other parts push out, and together those forces give strength without letting things collapse. Functional Patterns
When your body loses this balance, it starts compensating, meaning other parts do more work than they should. This can lead to pain, bad posture, or trouble when you move. Yoga can help with balance but only if you also focus on keeping tension and structure in your movement.
Flexibility Isn’t Enough
Yoga is often about stretching deeper, twisting more, opening up. That’s good but only as part of a bigger picture. There are some limits:
- Fascia needs tension: Fascia is connective tissue around your muscles. If you stretch too much without tension, it can dry out and lose its “bounce.”
- Ligaments don’t bounce back: These are stronger tissues that hold bones together. When overstretched, they can get loose and make joints unstable.
- Strength suffers: If a muscle is always stretched, it can lose its ability to push or pull well. That means everyday movement gets harder, not easier.
What To Look For In Better Movement
Here are things ICB encourages to make your yoga practice and any movement, work better in the long run:
- Organize for force: Instead of just bending or stretching, think about how your body produces force. That means keeping good posture, using your core, and moving with control.
- Don’t just hold poses, use them: Static poses are okay, but adding movement and resistance (like pushing or pulling slightly in the pose) builds strength and helps your body learn how to support itself.
- Respect your body’s design: We weren’t meant to just stretch, we’re meant to move, walk, run, jump. Use yoga to support real-world movement rather than just beautiful poses.
Why Does Less Sometimes Mean Getting More
If your movement practice (including yoga) focuses too much on getting flexible at all costs, you might be trading in stability and strength. And that can cause problems, pain in joints, posture issues, or getting worn down too soon.
Better to do fewer deep stretches with more control, tension, and awareness. Let your movements train your body to handle force, whether walking, lifting something, or just getting up from the floor. That builds resilience, not just how flexible you are.
What ICB Recommends
- Start your yoga sessions with breathing and alignment work.
- Use poses where you slightly resist or push against ground/floor or hold with control.
- Include dynamic movements that challenge stability (e.g. slow transitions from pose to pose).
- Mix in strength work that supports your movement patterns, so your body holds up, not just stretches out.
Final Thoughts
Yoga can absolutely help you feel better, more flexible, and more relaxed BUT don’t let flexibility be the only goal. To stay strong, balanced, and pain-free, you need movement that trains stability and structure, too.
Want help blending yoga + biomechanics so your body works like it’s supposed to? At Iron City Biomechanics, that’s what we do. Let’s talk about your movement.
