One of the biggest concerns I have heard voiced in regards to aging actively is the idea of flexibility. I read that as being able to continue to move when you want to, where you want to, without any pain. We don’t always have to be moving, but it is great to have the choice and ability to do so!

Stiffness is the opposite of flexibility. Stiffness is the bodies way of dealing with pain, be it through damage or dysfunction. How many times do I take a health history and nobody mentions the sprain from 30 years ago or the dislocation that didn’t have the proper rehab?

As a rather klutzy but enthusiastic high schooler, I can’t remember how many times I was in the ER for sprains and strains. There was never any rehab, when the pain stopped I got going again. My body formed compensatory patterns that helped me move despite my dysfunction. There is arthritic stiffness now added to those patterns.

However, some of this stiffness is not a result of injury but “faulty movement patterns or activity performed repeatedly with poor form, alignment, posture, and coordination. The body leans on stiffness or tightness when unable to use fundamental or functional motor control and the stiffness becomes part of the person’s movement.” (Cook-Movement) Gray Cook goes on to say that general stiffness can be a result of “poor authentic stabilization”.

Which brings us back to trying to create mobility with good authentic stability.

Today we are on the mat working on hip mobility while keeping our trunk stable during the movement.

A few suggestions I give my clients are to remain relaxed in the upper body, especially neck region, are anchor your rib cage, and zip up your pelvic floor. The anchoring and the zipping are not easy to master. But if we can relax through the upper torso our trunk has an easier time responding naturally.

The mat is one of the safest places to explore this I feel as you are not putting any extra load on your joints.

As a reminder, this movement should be done in a pain-free range of motion. Give a look and let me know what you think in the comments below.