Unlocking stability - hypermobility

Explore the impact of hypermobile elbows and how they influence the shoulders, neck, and overall posture.

Unlocking Stability: This Week’s Focus on Hypermobile Elbows

This week in our group sessions, we’ve been exploring the impact of hypermobile elbows and how they influence the shoulders, neck, and overall posture. Hypermobility in the elbows can destabilise the upper body, placing unnecessary strain on surrounding joints and muscles. However, through grounded, intentional practice, we’ve been working to correct this imbalance, helping muscles regain strength and stability.

Why Hypermobile Elbows Matters

Hypermobile elbows often extend beyond their natural range, creating a chain reaction of misalignment. This overextension can:

• Cause excessive strain on the shoulder joint and rotator cuff, as they compensate for the instability.

• Lead to tightness or discomfort in the neck as it struggles to support the misaligned posture.

• Decrease proprioceptive awareness (your sense of where the body is in space), making movement less efficient.

Research supports the importance of muscle strengthening and stabilisation for hypermobility. Studies have shown that targeted resistance and awareness-based exercises improve joint stability and reduce pain by creating balance in muscle activation. This is key to long-term joint health and injury prevention. Iyengar yoga is perfect to help correction in this area. The Path to Stability this is how I work with my clients.

To address hypermobile elbows, we’ve been focusing on:

• Building Awareness: Understanding your body’s natural tendencies and learning how to prevent overextending in poses.

• Strengthening Exercises: Activating muscles around the elbow joint and upper arms, particularly the triceps and forearm stabilisers using belts in poses.

• Postural Alignment: Creating balance in the shoulders and neck to support better overall alignment.

Hypermobility is not a weakness—it’s a call for mindful movement. With a consistent and grounded approach, I’ve seen participants gain incredible results. Through awareness, small adjustments, and dedicated practice, their muscles are learning to stabilise, offering both strength and resilience.This work is a testament to the transformative power of Iyengar yoga and mindful movement. When we truly connect with our bodies, we begin to unlock their potential for stability and strength.Would love to hear your thoughts or personal experiences—what have you learned about your body this week?

Supporting Fact:A 2020 review published in Frontiers in Medicine highlights that individuals with joint hypermobility syndrome benefit significantly from strength training, which improves stability and proprioception. This supports the idea that consistent, awareness-based exercises can recondition hypermobile joints for better function.