Do you practice yoga? Practice yoga and still have pain? Stretching out aches and pains? Mesmerized by all the yogic shapes? Hiro discusses his method of bridging science and anatomy with the spirituality of Yoga. Hiro paves the path of his journey from Ashtanga Yoga to his current Body Smart Yoga method. He shares his story with pain arising after years of the Ashtanga practice and how he changed his pain game by introducing active stretching, engagement, and strength to his practice. Throughout the episode, Hiro discusses how mobility and different types of engaged stretching can allow safe access into different postures, can rid your pain, and how strength is not just built in the gym. He addresses the trending wave of focus on aesthetics and shapes in yoga, and how that distracts from respecting anatomical differences. Using the example of pigeon pose, Hiro dives into the urge of needing to stretch unstable, weak, and tight muscles and how that may be non-optimal as increased stretching shifts into targetting passive structures (joints and ligaments) in the body. Through this example, Hiro highlights the importance of integration of flexibility and strength, and how this practice of mobility can help hyper and hypo-mobility individuals. Finally, Hiro shares his programs and challenges that outline the drills, exercises, and knowledge that got him out of pain. Let’s take a deep dive into practicing yoga without pain!

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What You Will Learn In This Interview with Hiro

3:45  – Is Yoga Spiritual or Science?

6:00 – Is Yoga all about aesthetics?

7:30 – Why may Yoga be bringing up your pain points again?

9:55  – How to address anatomical differences when approaching the general public

12:15 – Is Yoga about making the shapes?

15:05  – Should you be forcing pigeon pose & how to perform it safely

23:21  – The importance of integration, strength, and mobility

27:30 – When did Body Smart Yoga evolve?

35:10 –  Why does Body Smart Yoga help hypermobility?

38:37 – Perks of Hiro's Hip Program

41:49 –  What Hiro's challenge entails

44:13 – How to learn more with Hiro

About Hiro

Hiro Landazuri always knew he wanted to heal others from a young age. He began teaching yoga in 2007 while pursuing a dual master's degree in medical pharmacology and cardiopulmonary surgery. Body Smart Yoga is meant to empower his students to find a deeper awareness of their physical and emotional bodies through detailed self-assessment and injury prevention. 

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To learn more about Hiro and view full show notes, please visit the full website here: https://jen.health/podcast/141

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