What are postural reflexes? What do they do for you?
Postural reflexes are automatic movements that control the equilibrium required once you started walking and dealing with the gravity pull. They maintain your posture, balance and fluidity of movement effortlessly if there is no interference in the way.

What does that allow you to do while in your yoga class?
By activating your postural reflexes, it allows you to release through and expand into each pose in a way perfect to you in each moment. It also allows you to create modified versions of the poses you know not to attempt yet.

Don’t I do that when I try to be aware of my posture?
Not quite. There is posture and there is poise. Posture is something held, fixed and stopped in time that you can look at, like on a picture. However, poise is a sort of postural balance at work. And it is the job of the postural reflexes to maintain this postural balance as best as possible!

What is preventing my postural reflexes to do their job then?
Great question! Do you find yourself holding up into what you think is good posture and feel the urge to collapse in a flash if you let go of any holding?Did I hear you say “yes”? There is your answer; any amount of holding is preventing the postural muscles to do their job. No holding is necessary to be upright. We are so well designed in that way.

Have you ever thought that the unconscious way you handle movements in your everyday activities shows up in your yoga class? And could it be that although you do yourselves good when practicing yoga, yet you also strengthen unconscious habitual patterns that you take for granted everyday?

How can I learn not to do this holding and still be up?
Your golden key to all this is the ability to trigger your postural reflexes to stop overusing your muscles just to sit or stand upright! This way you can handle any activity or your daily yoga practice with confidence and know what is appropriate for you at any given moment. This way, you listen to yourselves rather than force your body to conform to a specific shape.

Coming soon “What is Off The Mat Yoga“?