emma_forever_yoga

emma_forever_yoga Movement rooted in clarity, anatomy, and lived experience. I help people build strength, flexibility, and skill by understanding how their body actually works.
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Sitting all day can leave your hips feeling stiff, tight, and uncomfortable.One reason for this is that the hip flexors ...
11/06/2026

Sitting all day can leave your hips feeling stiff, tight, and uncomfortable.

One reason for this is that the hip flexors spend long periods in a shortened position and often aren’t challenged through their full range of motion.

That’s why this routine combines both mobility and strength work.

Here’s the sequence:

1️⃣ Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Rock
2–3 sets × 5–10 reps

2️⃣ Active Hip Flexor Stretch
2–3 sets × 5–10 reps

3️⃣ Hip Flexor Contract-Relax Stretch
3 sets × 3 reps
10-second hold

4️⃣ Couch Stretch
2 sets × 30–60 seconds

Strength training and mobility work can complement each other. Building strength and control through a greater range of motion may help your nervous system feel more comfortable accessing that range, which is one reason why active mobility drills can be so effective.

If you’d like to learn more about the anatomy, biomechanics, and neuromechanics behind flexibility training, check out my recent reels where I break these concepts down in more detail.

Save this routine for later and send it to someone who spends most of their day sitting.





10/06/2026

You’ve probably heard people say that strength can build flexibility.

But have you ever wondered WHY?

A lot of people think flexibility is just about stretching muscles longer.

But movement is also influenced by mechanics, force production, leverage, and eventually… the nervous system.

That’s why I wanted to start this series.

Over the next few videos, I’m going to break down the basics of neuromechanics in a simple, practical way so you can better understand what’s actually happening inside the body during strength and flexibility training.

This first part focuses on:
• Kinematics — how the body and joints move through space
• Torque — how much rotational demand the muscles have to manage around a joint

In this drill, the moment the knee lifts and the body moves further from the hip joint, the mechanical demand at the hip increases.

Your hip flexors now have to produce more force while lengthened.

That’s one of the reasons strength work can begin improving flexibility.

And this is only the beginning of the story.

Next we’re diving into the motor system, neural control, and why the nervous system plays such a huge role in mobility.

Reference:
Enoka RM. Neuromechanics of Human Movement. 6th ed.

Your hip flexors do a lot more than just “feel tight.” 👀The main hip flexors — including the iliopsoas, re**us femoris a...
04/06/2026

Your hip flexors do a lot more than just “feel tight.” 👀

The main hip flexors — including the iliopsoas, re**us femoris and sartorius — help flex the hip, support pelvic position, and contribute to lumbopelvic stability when you walk, stand and move through yoga poses.

When they’re both strong and able to move through full range, they can help improve posture, support cleaner movement patterns, and share load more efficiently with the glutes and deep core. This may also help reduce unnecessary strain through the lower back over time — especially if you spend long hours sitting.

That’s why these drills focus on more than passive stretching alone. We’re building strength, control and mobility together. ✨

PhysioPedia. “Hip Flexors.” PhysioPedia, n.d. Accessed 4 June 2026.

Muscle of the Week: Lower TrapeziusOne thing I think we sometimes underestimate in yoga is the importance of supplementa...
30/05/2026

Muscle of the Week: Lower Trapezius

One thing I think we sometimes underestimate in yoga is the importance of supplementary strengthening drills.

Movements like Chaturanga can become surprisingly complex. Some people can practise them for years and still struggle with rounded shoulders, instability, or discomfort — often without fully understanding why.

The lower trapezius plays an important role in helping stabilise the shoulder blade by assisting with scapular depression (“pulling the shoulder blade down”) and upward rotation.

When this muscle doesn’t have enough strength or motor control, the body may compensate with muscles like the upper traps or pecs, which may contribute to rounded shoulders and reduced shoulder stability over time.

That’s where supplementary drills can be really helpful.

The Pronated Y Exercise is a simple bodyweight drill you can do at home to help build awareness and control around this movement pattern.

A small tip:Try pausing each repetition at the top for about 5 seconds to really challenge the stability component of the exercise.

Exercises like:• prone swimmers• wall slides• scapular control drillscan also be really helpful alongside your yoga practice.

No hyperextended elbows were harmed during the making of this carousel.

29/05/2026

So why do some people keep practising Chaturanga for years… and still struggle with shoulder pain, rounded shoulders, or feeling unstable in the movement?

One of the biggest things I discovered when researching shoulder mechanics is that Chaturanga isn’t just a yoga pose.

It’s a loaded upper body strength skill.

And like any complex movement, the body will often compensate if certain muscles don’t yet have enough strength, motor control, or endurance to stabilise efficiently under load.

Research around scapular dyskinesis and shoulder mechanics shows altered activation patterns are commonly seen in muscles like the serratus anterior and lower trapezius — two muscles that play a huge role in stabilising the shoulder blade during movements like Chaturanga.

That’s why supplementary exercises can be so valuable.

Things like:
• Scapular push-ups
• Prone swimmers
• Serratus activation drills
• Lower trap strengthening

This isn’t about yoga being “bad.”

It’s about respecting how complex yoga actually is.

Sometimes the thing that unlocks the pose…
isn’t more of the pose.

It’s building the capacity underneath it.

I also have a full YouTube follow-along video with exercises to help build strength and stability for Chaturanga 🙏

Shoulders rolling forward in Chaturanga isn’t always just a “technique” problem.One possible contributor is reduced serr...
21/05/2026

Shoulders rolling forward in Chaturanga isn’t always just a “technique” problem.

One possible contributor is reduced serratus anterior strength or control.

The serratus anterior helps stabilize the shoulder blade against the ribcage and maintain protraction under load. In movements like Chaturanga, arm balances, jump backs, and handstands, this muscle plays a huge role in shoulder stability and control.

When it’s not doing its job well, the ribcage can start to sink between the shoulder blades, which may contribute to that rounded-forward shoulder position many people experience under load.

The exercise shown here is one drill that can help train serratus anterior alongside rotator cuff co-contraction and scapular stability.

And yes… this one burns 😅

If you want more help with Chaturanga strength and shoulder stability, I also have a full follow-along Chaturanga class available on my YouTube channel.

Muscle of the week: serratus anterior.

15/05/2026

Why do some people keep getting shoulder pain during Chaturanga…

while others seem completely fine?

Yes — technique matters.

But sometimes the issue isn’t just the cue itself.

Because it doesn’t matter how hard you try to “pull the shoulders back”…

if the body doesn’t yet have the strength, stability, and motor control to actually hold that position under load.

Chaturanga is a highly demanding movement:
• deep shoulder extension
• elbows close to the body
• forward bodyweight shift under load
• huge scapular stability demands

And when certain muscles become dominant (pecs, lats, subscapularis) while stabilisers and external rotators aren’t doing their job efficiently (rotator cuff, serratus anterior, lower traps), we can start seeing:
• collapsing shoulders
• excessive internal rotation
• poor scapular control
• irritation at the front of the shoulder

Which is why strengthening shoulder stability matters so much.

Exercises like progressive push-ups, prone swimmers, and slow eccentric Chaturanga work can make a huge difference.

I’ve also got a full YouTube class breaking this down in more detail if you want to work on your Chaturanga strength ✨

References:
• Ascend Physical Therapy (2025)
• Struyf et al. Scapular Dyskinesis Review (2025)
• Physio-Pedia: Upper Crossed Syndrome (2024)
• Sahrmann S. Shoulder Muscle Imbalance & Subacromial Impingement

The rotator cuff muscles are the “fine-tuners” of the shoulder joint.In Chaturanga, they aren’t the main muscles doing t...
07/05/2026

The rotator cuff muscles are the “fine-tuners” of the shoulder joint.

In Chaturanga, they aren’t the main muscles doing the lowering phase — the triceps, chest, deltoids, and scapular stabilisers handle most of that work. The rotator cuff’s role is more about helping keep the shoulder joint stable and centered while the body moves under load.

When these muscles (or other stabilisers like the serratus anterior) become weak, the shoulder can become less efficient at handling force. This may show up as shoulders dipping forward, collapsing, winging, or feeling pinchy during repeated Chaturangas.

And interestingly, high reps alone usually aren’t the main problem. It’s often high reps without enough strength and control in the stabilising muscles.

That’s why exercises like:
• Prone T-raises
• Prone swimmers
• Scap push-ups

can be helpful for building better shoulder stability and awareness alongside improving technique.

The goal isn’t just “doing more Chaturangas.”
It’s building a shoulder complex that can actually control the movement safely and efficiently.

References:
• Physio-Pedia — Rotator Cuff & Shoulder Stability
• Magee, D. Orthopedic Physical Assessment
• Neumann, Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System
• Studies on repetitive load and yoga-related shoulder injuries





06/05/2026

Why do some people lower slowly in Chaturanga… while others drop?

A big part of it comes down to something called eccentric contraction.

When a muscle works, it can do three main things:

* Concentric → the muscle shortens (like pushing up)
* Isometric → the muscle holds (like a plank)
* Eccentric → the muscle works while lengthening

And this is the one most people overlook.

In a Chaturanga, your triceps aren’t just holding you up —
they’re controlling the descent as they lengthen.

That’s what gives you that slow, steady lowering.

But if you don’t have enough eccentric strength,
your body will take the path of least resistance…
and that’s when you drop.

⸻

🧠 How to train it

This is where something like a pronated skull crusher can really help.

Your arm position is very similar to Chaturanga:

* elbows stay close
* wrists stay straight
* you’re mimicking that same lowering pattern

But instead of supporting your full bodyweight,
you’re using a load you can actually control.

That means you can:

* slow the movement down
* build strength in that exact position
* train your triceps to control the descent

Because in Chaturanga, you’re working against gravity + bodyweight —
which can be a lot, especially if you’re still building strength.

So sometimes it’s not just about “trying harder”…
it’s about training the specific strength you’re missing.

And this is one of the reasons why adding weights can be so useful —
it gives you the opportunity to target a muscle
in a way that bodyweight alone doesn’t always allow.

⸻

🔁 Key takeaway

If you want more control in Chaturanga:

👉 Train your triceps while they lengthen

* Enoka, Neuromechanics of Human Movement
* McArdle et al., Exercise Physiology
* Basic strength training literature on eccentric vs concentric contraction





Most people think Chaturanga is just “arm strength”… but it’s really about control.When you lower into Chaturanga, your ...
30/04/2026

Most people think Chaturanga is just “arm strength”… but it’s really about control.
When you lower into Chaturanga, your triceps aren’t pushing you up — they’re working eccentrically, meaning they’re lengthening while still under tension to control the descent.
This is exactly where a lot of people struggle.
If the triceps (and shoulder stabilisers like the serratus and rotator cuff) can’t manage that load, that’s when you see the collapse at the bottom.
That’s why building strength specifically through this eccentric lowering phase is so important — not just for performance, but to reduce unnecessary strain through the shoulders, elbows, and wrists.
This week’s “muscle of the week” is the triceps, and understanding how they work can completely change how your Chaturanga feels.
I’ve also put together some simple drills to help build this strength progressively.

Chaturanga strength | yoga strength | upper body control | triceps strength | yoga for beginners

Some geeky refs if you’re into the why
• Eccentric muscle contractions: higher force, more control. Hoppeler, 2017.
• Eccentric vs concentric explained. Kenhub – Eccentric Muscle Contraction.
• Muscle biomechanics & contraction types. Physiopedia – Muscle Biomechanics.
• Eccentric strength in yoga poses (triceps + shoulders). Yoga Journal & Strength for Yoga.
• Chaturanga mechanics & scapular action. Yoganatomy & Yoga Anatomy Academy.
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