📙 Part 2: Describe a natural talent you want to improve

This episode's vocabulary

Flexibility (noun) – The ability to bend or move easily. → My general flexibility helps me in yoga.

Joints (noun) – Places where two bones meet. → I can move the joints of my body in various ways.

Hypermobile (adjective) – Having unusually flexible joints. → I wouldn’t say I was hypermobile.

Poses (noun) – Positions in yoga or exercise. → I can hold yoga poses longer than some friends.

Lower Extremities (noun phrase) – Legs and hips. → I want to improve my lower extremities' flexibility.

Hip Flexors (noun) – Muscles that allow you to lift your legs. → Yoga classes target hip flexors.

Adduction (noun) – Movement toward the body’s midline. → Exercises for adduction strengthen the inner thighs.

Abduction (noun) – Movement away from the body’s midline. → Abduction exercises helpthe hips and legs.

Conscious (adjective) – Aware of something. → I’ve been conscious of my flexibility for two years.

Limits (noun) – The maximum capability of something. → Accepting my body’s limits is important in yoga.

Mobility (noun) – Ability to move freely. → Improving mobility helps prevent injuries.

Strength (noun) – Physical power or endurance. → Strength complements flexibility in yoga.

Balance (noun) – The ability to maintain stability. → Balance is key in holding challenging poses.

Stretching (noun/verb) – Extending muscles to improve flexibility. → Daily stretching improves overall range of motion.

Core Muscles (noun phrase) – Muscles in the abdomen and back. → Strong core muscles support flexibility in yoga.

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say what it is, when you discovered it, how you want to improve it, and explain how you feel about it.

Rory: Well I don't think I'm gifted at anything in particular, to be honest. But if I have to talk about one thing, it might be my general flexibility, I suppose. By that I mean being able to move the joints of my body in various ways. I wouldn't say I was hypermobile or something like that, but generally speaking, I'm more flexible than my friends. It became apparent when I started doing yoga, and I was more easily able to get into poses than a lot of other people, and hold them for longer. Some of my pals are quite stiff by comparison, and struggle to move in different ways. But for me it's not such a problem.

It's been the case for at least two years now, or at least I've been conscious of it since then. I'm sure it's been true for longer than that, I just wasn't aware of it because, well, I hadn't started doing yoga at that point. Of course, it's certainly not the case with all of my joints, and I'd really like to get better at anything involving my lower extremities, to be honest. So anything connected to my legs, like my knees and my hips. I still have issues in those areas, probably because I haven't practised enough. So I suppose I would do more around those specific areas, and there are a load of classes involving things like hip flexors and muscles for adduction and abduction. So it's not like the opportunities don't exist. While it would obviously be great to become better at it, if it doesn't come to pass then I doubt I'll be too caught up about it. An important part to developing in yoga is accepting where your own body's limits are, and I have so many other things going on in my life that it's not particularly necessary. Plus, being a bit less flexible hasn't stopped me from having an amazing life so far, so I doubt it will in the future as well.

Maria: And what do your friends think about it?

Rory: We haven't really spoken about it that much, to be honest. It's not something that comes up in conversation.