04/25/2026
There’s an aphorism I’ve been teaching for decades: we’re not allowed to use science unscientifically.
It means we don’t get to cherry pick individual studies that confirm what we already believe. If we want to make a scientific claim about our practice or our teaching, we have to look at the totality of the evidence — not just the parts that support our preferences.
This matters in yoga more than most communities acknowledge. We have a long history of selectively borrowing from science when it validates what we already do and quietly ignoring it when it doesn’t.
The research on flexibility training is actually remarkably consistent when you look at all of it. The fundamental variables — intensity, duration, frequency, type of stretch, tissue temperature — are well understood and the findings hold up across populations.
That consistency is worth knowing. And it’s worth holding honestly.
