Spiral Motion Yoga and Metabolic Health (Part Four): Some Movement is Bad Medicine

Making sense of the science behind Movement and Metabolism

It is well established that regular physical activity directly influences metabolic flexibility – our body's ability to switch between different fuel sources efficiently. Although skeletal muscle is privileged in the literature (high concentration of mitochondria), the effects of this chemical adaptability reach well beyond muscle tissue and permeate all systems through the tissue gradient via the fascia (connective tissue).

This blog post explores the best way to harness metabolic flexibility through the organs: dynamically or passively?

First, we need to appreciate that physical practice is essential for the metabolic health of all our tissues, not just muscles. According to this paper by Thyfault and Bergouignan and exploring the metabolic capacity of tissue beyond skeletal muscle, "moderate to vigorous physical activity has a pronounced protective effect against metabolic disease" and does so by way of adaptive improvements to metabolic function in multiple organs.

This adaptability is crucial for maintaining optimal health and energy levels throughout the day and compounds to build long-term health outcomes. Individuals who engage in consistent activity demonstrate an enhanced ability to utilize both glucose and fatty acids for energy production, given sufficient rest and nutrition.

You might be nodding your head and thinking Yes, I eat consistent activity for breakfast. But is that activity exposing your tissues to undue friction, setting you up for chronic inflammation?

What do I mean by "friction" - let me be clear, I am not entering the debate on whether or not shear force exists as such in biologic tissue. By friction, in the simplest possible terms, I am referring to movement that harms, where tissues aren't gliding congruently in relationship with one another. In this sense, all movement may be medicine, but some is bad medicine indeed.

I do NOT mean to imply you need to pick either fast/intense or slow/passive movement as the villain. Many of us might have felt pressured to pick a silo and stick with it on that score. I'm arguing here that, fast or slow, "bad medicine movement" is that which is not specifically spiral. Let's explore what we mean by these different flavors of movement.

Dynamic Movement

The metabolic advantage conferred by dynamic physical activity not only improves athletic performance but also contributes to better weight management, reduced risk of metabolic disorders, and improved cell turnover and healing. Even moderate exercise, when performed regularly, can significantly improve this metabolic switching capability within a few weeks. I'm going to hone in on so-called "dynamic movement" such as we might practice in a vinyasa style yoga session.

Let's consider the wealth of research on dynamic warmups vs static warmups for athletes as we can liken vinyasa yoga to dynamic mobility work. Evidence shows that dynamic warmups, those involving multiple joints, activate more metabolic pathways than static warmups. Compound bodyweight exercises such as those you'd practice in vinyasa yoga are achieved as your body engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously, giving you more "bang for your buck" in practical terms than static techniques.

What is better for metabolic health: Active vs Passive forms of yoga?

This question is a woolly one, as there is no one-size fits all. As a PhD candidate, I learned that every research question is a confession... meaning that the questions we ask and the way that we ask them, says more about our vulnerabilities than we realize. We ask questions that inadvertently frame data in a way that demonstrates our bias.

I'll come right out and say it: I happen to prefer dynamic movement at this time in my life, and my bias flavors how I ask and answer this question. Is there a way to raise this concept into the light and remove the "versus"? The new question is: How does the effort gradient of mat-based yoga practice impact metabolism? I used Concensus.ai to help me pull together some of the literature and explore how academics talk about effort. 

Nonlinear, coordinated physical activity such as yoga that incorporates concentric, eccentric, and isometric efforts can significantly enhance physical performance and overall fitness. What is problematic here is that the literature often refers to complex movement like yoga as "dynamic stretching" which I find to be a disservice to all its inherent strengthening features... and can be confusing because styles of yoga are much harder to define due to the combination of effort levels.

Looking at some of the literature in light of the question, it appears to me that "combined stretching" is probably the nerd term that best describes what most of us are doing on the yoga mat, although none of us actually practicing yoga would ever call it as such. 

Unlike static stretching, dynamic and combined stretching methods can improve muscle performance and flexibility. Static stretching has been shown to decrease muscle strength and electromyographic (EMG) activity, particularly in concentric and eccentric actions such as those studied by Sekir et al. in their 2009 paper.

Dynamic and combined methods require more problem-solving and mind-body coordination, as they involve complex movements that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously. This engagement not only burns more calories but also enhances skill acquisition through improved neuromuscular coordination, shown by Matsuo et al. in their 2023 report. The results of their randomized crossover trial showed that 300 seconds of static, dynamic, and combined stretching all improve flexibility and muscle force, with combined stretching showing the greatest effect on flexibility and performance.

Additionally, dynamic stretching has been found to trigger a stronger hormonal response, which is crucial for muscle growth and recovery, compared to static stretching, according to Sekir et al., 2009. They conclude that incorporating these dynamic and coordinated efforts into physical activity routines can lead to more effective workouts and better overall physical conditioning. 

Disambiguating the nomenclature to make sense of the science

In my exploration of the literature, I found that by "static/passive," often academics and sports MDs are referring to the application of ice and heat, facilitated stretch, or other such treatments administered by a giver and received passively.

However, when you or I (movers) talk about "static/passive" practice, most likely we're referring to Yin, Restorative, or other slower styles of what is academically considered a dynamic stretching practice. What I think we need to take on board from this research isn't so much the quantitative data, but the confusing nomenclature that doesn't match up with what most movers are doing on the mat.

My purpose here is to point out that due to the increased metabolic demands of intense activity, regular dynamic yoga practice likely leads to greater metabolic flexibility and improved overall fitness adaptations than much slower styles. However, even the slower styles of yoga are still considered "dynamic stretching" and thus conferring metabolic benefits. 

Further, the multi-joint movements of increasingly dynamic yoga can approximate the challenge of real-world activities, making them more functional for everyday life. Ultimately, for my argument here, the important thing is not how fast you move, but that you can change your pace and always move in low-friction harmony within rotational joint congruence.

Finally, what we're aiming for as movement practitioners is not to cast Dynamic yoga versus Slow Yoga to decide "which is better." Instead, our aim is to constrain movement practice for maximal adaptability (eustress) and minimized risk of injuring ourselves and clients (acute/repetitive strain) in the process. 

Those of us engaged in the higher-intensity end of the dynamic yoga spectrum want to have our cake and eat it too: we want all the metabolic benefits of vigorous activity without the inflammation response of the injuries that such vigor is more like to confer. It's the paradox that characterizes daily life for ageing Ashtanga practitioners especially, and anyone wishing to keep pushing the boundaries after age forty.

This paradox is the point of this blog series, where I argue that we can maintain a vigorous dynamic movement practice and minimize the deleterious effects of inflammation if we focus on rotational movement that "wraps" the joints for greatest stabilization. I'll get into this more in the next post.

HILF FTW

Getting fit and staying fit -- which I think we can do by way of high intensity, low friction movement (HILF) -- is crucial for supporting the cellular health of all tissues.

HILF amounts to prehabilitation that maintains robust mitochondrial function. Your body needs plenty of high-functioning mitochondrial boots on the ground following connective tissue injury, as mitochondrial health greatly influences tendon healing, which becomes important as we build the case for harnessing metabolic resilience in joints by constraining for low-friction movement.

You can out the study by Thankam et al on the rotator cuff tendon injury (RCI) using rat and swine tissue by way of my Study Explained post. Their results strongly support an association of mitochondria in the healing of tendon tissue following RCI, showing increased mitochondrial density and activity that has been associated with the early phases of healing response in several tissues.

You can check out the previous post in this series to soak up the basics on metabolism.

Wait for the next blog post in this series to find out more about the importance of joint congruence for metabolic health OR sign up to my free newsletter, The Metabolic Mover, to make sure you get each post in the series straight to your inbox.