Strength vs Flexibility: The Missing Piece in Most Women's Yoga Practice

One thing I have noticed over the years of teaching yoga is that no two women walk into my class with the same body.

Some women can comfortably bend forward and touch their toes, but they struggle to hold a simple plank for a few seconds. Others are physically quite strong but find it difficult to sit cross-legged because their hips and lower back feel stiff. There are women who can balance beautifully in Tree Pose but complain of recurring knee pain, while others have never practised yoga before but have enough strength to move confidently through most postures.

Watching so many women practise over the years has taught me one important lesson. Our body doesn't ask us to choose between strength and flexibility. It needs both, and they work beautifully together.

Unfortunately, when most people think about yoga, flexibility is the first thing that comes to mind. We have all seen photographs of people performing advanced backbends or effortlessly folding into difficult postures. It is natural to assume that flexibility is the ultimate goal of yoga.

But after years of practising and teaching, I don't think that is true.

Flexibility is certainly one of the many benefits of yoga, but it is not the only one. In fact, if flexibility develops without enough strength to support it, the body can become unstable. Similarly, if we only focus on building strength and ignore mobility, movement gradually becomes restricted and everyday activities start feeling more difficult.

This is why I don't think these two qualities should ever be separated.

I often tell my students that our muscles and joints need a healthy balance of both. Flexibility allows us to move freely, while strength allows us to move safely.

Think about something as simple as bending down to pick up a heavy grocery bag.

You need enough flexibility to reach the floor comfortably.

But you also need enough strength in your legs, core and back to lift it safely.

Climbing stairs, carrying luggage while travelling, playing with children, getting up from the floor or simply maintaining good posture while working for long hours all require the same balance.

Life doesn't demand flexibility alone.

It demands strength too.

This becomes even more important after the age of 35.

As women, this is the stage where our bodies naturally begin changing. Muscle mass slowly starts declining, bone health needs greater attention and hormonal changes begin influencing the way we feel and move. Many women also find themselves becoming less active because work, family and other responsibilities leave very little time for themselves.

This is one of the reasons I encourage women to look beyond the idea of exercising only for weight loss.

Instead of asking, "How many calories did I burn today?", I feel a much better question is, "Is my body becoming stronger than it was last year?"

Can I sit on the floor comfortably and get back up without support?

Can I carry my shopping bags without my back hurting?

Can I climb a few flights of stairs without feeling completely exhausted?

Can I travel, play with my children or grandchildren and continue doing the things I enjoy without constantly worrying about pain?

To me, these are much more meaningful signs of fitness.

Over the years, my own understanding of yoga has also evolved.

When I first started practising, I was fascinated by the physical aspect of yoga, just like most beginners are. Holding a difficult posture or becoming more flexible felt like progress.

Today, I define progress differently.

I feel happy when my body moves without stiffness.

I appreciate having enough strength to support my yoga practice.

I value good balance, stable joints and being able to move through my day without discomfort.

Those changes may not be visible in a photograph, but they have a much greater impact on the quality of everyday life.

This is also why I introduced strength training into my own routine several years ago.

Not because yoga wasn't enough.

But because I realised that the two complement each other beautifully.

Yoga has taught me body awareness, balance, mobility, breathing and mindfulness. Strength training has helped me build muscle, improve bone health and become physically stronger. Together, they have helped me feel more confident in my body than either one could have on its own.

I have seen the same transformation in many of my students as well.

Women who initially joined yoga only to lose weight gradually started enjoying movement for completely different reasons. They felt stronger while holding yoga postures, their balance improved, everyday aches reduced and they found themselves moving with much greater confidence.

That is when I realised we often think of yoga and strength training as two different paths, when in reality they are walking towards the same destination.

Both are helping us build a healthier body.

They are simply contributing in different ways.

If yoga teaches us how to move with awareness, strength training teaches us how to move with resilience.

If yoga helps us improve mobility, strength training helps us preserve the muscles that support those movements.

Neither is trying to replace the other.

In my own life, I have never looked at them as separate practices. They have become part of the same journey, where one strengthens what the other begins.

Perhaps that is why I encourage every woman, especially after the age of 35, to include both in her weekly routine.

You don't have to choose between being flexible and being strong.

Your body deserves both.

And when the two come together, something wonderful happens.

You don't just become better at yoga.

You begin moving through life with greater confidence, better posture, healthier joints and the strength to continue doing the things you love for many years to come.

For me, that has always been the real purpose of fitness—not simply to exercise well today, but to build a body that will continue supporting me through every stage of life.