Stretching & Strengthening Are Not Opposites

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One of my very favorite topics to discuss with yogis is the fact that “stretching & strengthening are not opposites”. I honestly can’t think of another myth in the yoga world that has caused as many misunderstandings about the body as the widespread idea that these two are binary terms.

For example, the idea that stretching & strengthening are opposites leads to myths like:

-strength & flexibility are opposites
-a muscle contraction is “balanced out” by stretching
-stretching *lengthens* our tissues & strengthening *shortens* them
-we can re-align “bad posture” through stretching & strengthening
-stretching *weakens* our muscles
-the human body is a 2D organism composed of oversimplified, black-and-white, dichotomous relationships like these ☝🏽

Here’s a quick video that elaborates on this compelling topic!