Why I Don't Teach Stretching: An Intro to AYAMA Yoga

Think yoga is all about stretching? Think again. AYAMA™ (Applied Yoga Anatomy & Muscle Activation Technique) flips the script—helping you activate muscles instead of deactivating them with passive stretches. The result? Less pain & inflammation, and more stability & mobility that actually lasts!

This is Quadruped Pose, one of my favorite muscle activating postures from AYAMA

If you're not sure you want to read all of this, you can go ahead and skip ahead to the TLDR Bullet Points at the end!

AYAMA: The Yoga Upgrade Your Body’s Been Waiting For

For years, people have been all about flexibility, linking it to being young, beautiful, healthy, and happy. This craze mostly kicked off with stretching-focused fitness and yoga introduced to the West by Jane Fonda and teachers like Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Yoga) and BKS Iyengar. Plus, influencers like Madonna made these flashy practices super popular. So, it's no surprise that many folks today think yoga is about being bendy and that stretching can fix all their aches and pains.

However, this could not be farther from the truth. Passive stretching (using outside force like pushing, pulling and/or gravity) to bypass the body's natural range of motion damages the muscles' contractile abilities and strength. When major muscles are deactivated, joints are not supported which leads to collapse, injury and pain (because smaller muscles have to come in and try to do the jobs of the larger muscles which exhausts and inflames them).

Passive stretching may offer emotional release and temporary pain relief, but it destabilizes the body, failing to address the underlying issue and ultimately worsening the situation. Unfortunately, because people experience short-term relief and relaxation from "stretchy yoga" and receive encouragement from teachers and peers to continue, they do more and go deeper. They think they are managing their pain and taking the right steps, but they are actually exacerbating their problems.

You might be thinking to yourself, "But aren't muscles stretching with every single movement and pose you could possibly make?" The answer is, yes. But as long as you are using muscle contractions to stretch, and only going as far as your muscles can take you without using gravity, pushing, puling or any other outside force, that's called "active stretching" which is good!

Why I Got Into AYAMA

In a nutshell, I was already connected with my teacher, Yogi Aaron, owner of Blue Osa Yoga Resort in Costa Rica. I just so happened to be experiencing a BAD case of "tech neck" at the time when he released his controversial book, "Stop Stretching!" in 2022.

For those unfamiliar with tech neck, it's a condition where the neck muscles become weakened and overstretched due to constant forward slouching—such as when working at a desk, browsing Instagram, or editing videos on a computer. In this posture, gravity pulls the head forward/down for prolonged periods. This leads to a loss of range of motion and pain because smaller muscles, which are not meant to move the neck or hold up the head, start compensating, get overused, and become inflamed — OUCH! The human head is HEAVY...

The crazy thing is: This is no different from what can happen to other parts of the body from lots of conscious, intentional passive stretching in yoga classes.

Seeing this image, it's not hard to understand why working in this position day in and day out fucks up so many people's necks! Stand-up desks can help a lot, but most people still need to activate with AYAMA too!

So I was ripe and ready to try something new. I did Aaron's 7 Day Neck Series on YouTube, and it worked!! The techniques were so simple, and the explanation behind it was so easy to understand that I was instantly sold. I got his book and immediately started making changes to the way I practiced and taught yoga.

How I Teach Yoga Now

In my current, systematic teaching approach, I have removed 99% of the traditional poses that involve passive stretching (like child's pose, pigeon and "binds"), opting instead for more dynamic variations that keep you within the body's appropriate range of motion while gradually, safely increasing it. I incorporate specific activation techniques throughout my classes, designed to facilitate the achievement of advanced, climactic poses with greater ease. As a result, students leave each session feeling stronger, lighter, and more confident — fully equipped to take on the challenges of daily life (especially if that involves going to the gym)!

For those seeking more personalized guidance and attention, private sessions allow for a targeted focus on addressing specific pain patterns and mobility limitations, ensuring a customized approach to individual needs, as well as specific techniques and modifications that will help you get the most out of group classes and your life off the mat!

TL;DR Summary:

🔥 Why stretching isn’t the answer: Passive stretching may feel good short-term, but it weakens muscles, destabilizes joints, and often makes pain worse.

💪 What AYAMA does instead: Uses muscle activations to wake up your body, improve strength, support joints, and expand your range of motion safely and quickly - the techniques are so simple you won't even believe it!

🌍 Who it’s for: Everyone! From people with chronic pain to young yogis who want to prevent injuries down the road. Most adults live with some chronic pains that they think are "normal" that could easily be identified and fixed.

🧩 How I teach it: I have taken out 99% of the common poses I used to teach that involve passive stretching, and replaced them with more dynamic versions that don't cause harm to the body. I also weave activations into my classes that help you to achieve advanced poses more easily, and walk away from the session feeling ready to take on the world! Private sessions get even more targeted to help fix specific pain patterns and mobility limitations.

✨ The bottom line: AYAMA™ isn’t about doing less yoga—it’s about doing smarter yoga so that you can be bulletproof - Strong. Stable. Pain-free.

“Attempting to build strength from an unstable foundation is counterproductive.” – Yogi Aaron

➡️ Ready to future-proof your body? Try AYAMA™ and discover the difference! Join me for group classes, sign up for private sessions or ask me to do a free mobility assessment on you!