How Improving Our Flexibility Can Make Us Happier

Helping the joints and soft tissue in the body to be more pliable and flexible is advantageous because it helps the blood and energy to flow around the body without hitting obstructions (e.g. tightness and knots).

Besides this goal of ‘freeing’ up tension and helping ourselves to improved physical flexibility, I’ve been encouraging students to try out new things and new ways of doing old exercises. Switching things up is a great way to get your mind used to change…

Henry David Thoreau said, “The surface of the earth is soft and impressionable by the feet of men, and so with the paths that the mind travels. How worn and dusty then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity!”

When our brains get bogged down with ideas that may have become outdated, we can get stuck in a way of thinking – just like our circulation and energy really.

“Whether we like it or not, change comes, and the greater the resistance, the greater the pain. Buddhism perceives the beauty of change, for life is like music in this: if any note or phrase is held for longer than its appointed time, the melody is lost. Thus, Buddhism may be summed up in two phrases: “Let go!” and “Walk on!” Drop the craving for self, for permanence, for particular circumstances, and go straight ahead with the movement of life.”  — Alan W. Watts

Like Buddhism, the yoga tradition suggests that the more we cling to things the more difficult we find it to change and enjoy the present moment. How we adapt to change, how we view new ideas and how we deal with difficult circumstances all affect our quality of life and level of stress. There are numerous scientific studies relating to cognitive flexibility that show physical activity (including stretching) has a positive impact.

So, if you can become more stretchy physically, then it stands to reason you can train yourself to be more flexible in your thoughts. One of the benefits associated with inversions in yoga (anything that takes your head below your heart – e.g. downdog or forward bend) is that you are able to see things from a different perspective…

If we are able to recognise when we might need to change our mind or think of a new perspective, perhaps this will lead to less conflict, less stress and more happiness.