Tightness is secondary to weakness

Over the past eight years I have studied Hatha Yoga. Most people think yoga is just stretching, but there is so much more to yoga. When one first starts practicing Hatha Yoga, especially Empowered Yoga, one can't help but notice the deeper understanding that comes with practice. What we are teaching relates more to physical and mental strength and conditioning. In this blog I will begin to explain the physical perspective.

 

One of the recent trends in the exercise science world is "Tightness is secondary to weakness." This means a tight muscle is a weak muscle.  However, if the muscle is strengthened the proper way it will release its tightness and its functionality will return.  When a muscle is tight it is resting in a shortened state, the same way it would in a sedentary body (not in motion). When you are moving, the tight muscle or muscles do not move through a normal range of motion.  These tight muscles do not function properly, resulting in weakness. I could go into greater detail why tight muscles do not function properly and why the ultimate result is weakness, but it involves understanding muscle physiology. Just take my word on this one.  

 

It is important to stress that there is a proper way to strengthen a tight muscle and return it to its optimum length and function. Aimlessly applying resistance in the form of weight training will not necessary give you what you are looking for. There needs to be a greater understanding of how the human body moves to successful return function and length back to a muscle.  The human body moves on a pulley system, so when one muscle shortens another one lengthens. Every muscle in the human body has an opposing muscle or muscles that create this pulley relationship. 

 

Does a tight muscle affect the opposing muscle or the integrity of the pulley? Newton's Third Law of Physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law applies here. If one side of the pulley is tight it gets locked in a shorten state causing the opposing muscle to get locked in a lengthened state. The pulley system falls into a state of dysfunction. 

 

Let's look at the pulley system from an energetic perspective--view it as a wheel. I say energetic because the pulley system of the human body is more like a loop.  If one muscle represents half the wheel, and the other muscle represents the other half of the wheel, how would an imbalanced wheel spin? It would be slow, use too much energy in creating motion and certainly not spin very gracefully. How would a balanced wheel spin? Quickly and gracefully while using less energy.

 

In the next blog I will focus on how the health of one pulley system affects all pulley systems within the body.