Sacred Cow Yoga Studio, Ipswich

Your teacher says extend.
Not simply stretch.

What is the difference?

In an āsana, it is easy to feel one part pulling and think that more sensation means more extension.

But extension asks for something different.
The action has to travel through the whole body.

From the root of the leg to the foot.
From the shoulder to the fingertips.
From one side of the body to the other.

Not one part pulling harder while another part becomes dull.

Guruji put it precisely:
“Each muscle has to be measured…
how one has to balance each and every part of our body,
that is known as self-study.”
— B.K.S. Iyengar, 1984 Barbican Centre demonstration

Measured.
Balanced.

Not simply pulled.
A stretch can remain merely physical.
Extension asks intelligence to enter the action.

The body extends,
but awareness must extend with it.

It is not only about taking a muscle farther.
It is about making more of the body participate —
and more of the body known.

So the next time your teacher says extend,
and your first instinct is to pull harder —

pause.

Ask:
Where is the action beginning?
Where is it travelling?
And where has my attention stopped?

What does “extend” ask of you that “stretch” does not?

We read every response.

Curious to feel the difference in your own practice? Join us and explore Iyengar Yoga with us.

My 25-year-old self would have wanted to show you my backbend in the name of Yoga

I’ve posted backbends before, inversions too, & I still will (context is everything)

Strip away the lens of creating attention for a moment

What does a deep backbend actually tell you about someone?

That they can extend their spine

It doesn’t tell you how they parent or love
Whether they listen or keep their word

Somewhere along the line, physical capacity became a measure of advancement in Yoga

Rewarded, ranked & given hierarchy

At 25 I gravitated towards it too

When did a more complex pose start telling us someone was more advanced in ‘Yoga’?

Progression in backbending is progression in backbending

It’s not progression in life

And these two things get muddled

At 25 I hadn’t lived through many of the things that would test my Yoga more than a backbend ever could

At 49, the difficult practice looks different

I find it fascinating what we’re attracted to

We see a deep backbend & think:
I want that

Why that? Why not:

I want that person’s patience
Their capacity to listen
To be that kind of role model for my kids

Those things are harder to photograph

A backbend stops the scroll for many

A visual system built around attention doesn’t reward these things equally

What looks ‘impressive’ gets seen
What takes years to become often doesn’t

And when so many people’s first contact with Yoga is through a screen, that shapes what advancement looks like, particularly for those brand new

At 25, progression (& what Yoga is) looked different to me

At 49 I don’t identify so much with ‘progression’

I identify with ‘maturation’

I’m passionate about asana. It’s a specialism I’ve dedicated years to

And there’s been a shift from progression to maturation in how I practise & teach it

I’m far more interested in what the practice is doing to me (on all levels)

My capacity to parent
To love, listen, lead

You can’t measure these by the depth of a backbend

They don’t make scroll-stopping reels

But advance these & watch how life moves differently

If you’re Gen X, still practising & teaching Yoga & aren’t interested in following the mould on here, let’s connect :)

If Yoga had a colour what would it be?
Yoga today at 9:30am

I know what helps….Yoga TOMMORROW and SATURDAY

thinking

Yoga classes have reeeee-zooomed!
& the Weather is nicer, see you there

Resonating with 50K followers on our Instagram account… thank you Monknotion for the meme.

https://youtu.be/_Drk1_3nQ1I?si=Kwx0sqIA_yjyh44y

Scientists Discovered What 5 Minutes of Meditation Does to the Body In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick and Dr. Richard Davidson discuss:...

SATURDAY MORNING YOGA…THE BEST! WE START AT 9:30