double jointed

Hello Cati

Thanks for your post. Your hyper-mobile arms seem to be a worry for you. I think that there is nothing you need to be concerned about in the 2 particular instances that you mention. You seem to be quite aware of what your body is doing in Locust. And this particular effect of the body on the arms is quite normal especially as the body (upper body including arms and shoulders as well as your core, coupled with the ability to truly and tightly lock out the legs no matter what) builds more and more strength. Over time you are likely to notice your body can lift up more.

What you are doing in between Cobra and Locust is only helping your dissolve tension so again, that is good.

What I would recommend is building your muscle strength to help you stabilize the joints in question. Poses that you can pay particular attention to are: Half Moon and Awkward
and any other pose where your arms can be activated strong and straight (eg Standing Separate Leg Stretching, Triangle etc).

In Awkward pose you have a good 5 or so minutes of activating muscles through your upper and lower arms to lock them out fully. You will feel your biceps and triceps engage and cause that firmness right through your elbows and then feel that energy extend right through to beyond your fingertips! Be mindful, because you can straighten your arms without engaging them fully.

In Half Moon or other poses with arms over the head, please make sure that you place a priority in preventing shoulder shrugging so you do not create any tension in the shoulders and neck. This probably won’t be your problem since you have hyper-mobility. But do let me know, can you get your arms ‘straight’ locked out with your palms together?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂