Is Yoga Enough After 40?

For many years, yoga was my home. It was my daily practice, my anchor, and my way of understanding my body. I especially gravitated toward Iyengar yoga, with its precision, its alignment, and its deep holds. I loved the sense of order in it, the discipline of staying still in a pose and refining it until the body felt like a perfectly tuned instrument.

And yet… over time, something in me began to resist.

Even though many of my dear colleagues still swear by Iyengar yoga (and I deeply respect them), it stopped feeling right for my body. The longer holds, the deep stretches, the pushing into end ranges — it no longer gave me energy, strength, or ease. Instead, it started to feel like my body was fighting back. I experienced discomfort in my joints, tension in places that should have felt open, and a general sense of being “less strong.”

If you’ve ever loved yoga but started to feel that something is off in your 30s or 40s, this might resonate with you. Many women begin to wonder: is yoga enough after 40? Keep reading, because I want to explain what changed for me — and why this shift can be important once hormones begin to fluctuate.

What Changes in Women’s Bodies After 35–40

Most women don’t realise how much changes beneath the surface after 35. Hormones don’t just regulate cycles — they influence muscles, bones, fascia, and connective tissue.

• Estrogen begins to fluctuate → Estrogen supports collagen and fascia, keeping tissues elastic and hydrated. As levels dip, tissues become stiffer, less resilient, and more prone to micro-damage. This is exactly why long passive stretching can backfire: instead of tissues adapting, they may overstretch or even micro-tear. Without estrogen’s cushioning effect, ligaments and fascia don’t “bounce back” the way they once did, and the nervous system often reads passive pulling as unsafe — leaving the body more tense afterwards, not less.

• Muscle mass declines faster → Sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) starts earlier than most expect, with up to 1% lost per year after 40 without resistance training.

• Bone density decreases → Especially in perimenopause, bones need load to stay strong. Yoga alone rarely provides enough.

• Tendons and fascia remodel → With less hormonal support, connective tissues don’t tolerate passive overstretching well.

• Nervous system sensitivity increases → Long passive holds or high-repetition flows can trigger protective tension, sometimes leaving you more sore than supple.

This is why the yoga practice that once felt perfect in your 20s may start to feel uncomfortable — or simply less effective — in your 40s.

Yoga and Passive Flexibility

Yoga comes in many forms, and every style offers something valuable. For me, Iyengar yoga was a foundation for many years — it gave me discipline, awareness, and strength. I still have friends and colleagues who thrive in their Yoga practices, and for them it works beautifully.

But for me, and for many women I’ve spoken to after 35–40, the way most yoga styles emphasise flexibility began to feel different in my body.

• Yin yoga → designed to be passive, with long holds (3–5 minutes) where gravity and props take the work. This can be deeply calming for some, though it does rely on connective tissues more than muscles.

• Iyengar yoga → more precise and aligned, often held for longer durations. There is isometric strength (muscles work without moving), but because the goal is refinement in stillness, it can feel more like stretching into end range.

• Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Power yoga → look more active, but the fast, repetitive transitions can combine end-range positions with momentum. For me, this sometimes left my joints feeling overworked.

For some women, these approaches continue to feel supportive and nourishing well into midlife. But for others — myself included — as hormones shift and tissues change, these same practices can start to feel less stable or even uncomfortable.

Active Flexibility and Resistance Training: The Missing Link

This is where active flexibility and resistance training come in.

• Active flexibility means you move into and out of a range using your own strength. Muscles contract concentrically, eccentrically, and isometrically to support the joint.

• Resistance training adds external load (weights, bands, kettlebells) to challenge muscles and bones, creating adaptations that keep us strong.

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Example: The Low Lunge

• Passive version: Drop in, sink hips toward the floor, hold. Hip flexors stretch, but the lumbar spine and hip capsule take strain.

• Active version: Step in, gently pulse in and out, keeping glutes and quads engaged. Suddenly it’s not just a stretch — it’s mobility training and joint protection.

That shift — from “hanging” to “building” — is profound. It’s why active flexibility and resistance work feel so much better after 40.

How I Teach It in SoulSculpt

Every SoulSculpt class weaves these principles:

• Strength first → weights, resistance, and bodyweight load to give bones and muscles the challenge they need. Here I use the principle of progressive overload — gradually increasing the challenge over time, whether that’s by adding repetitions, slowing the tempo, or layering more complex variations. This keeps the body adapting and building strength.

• Dynamic mobility → pulses, repetitions, and active range. Here I emphasise time under tension — keeping muscles engaged for longer while moving through range. This builds strength through length, protects joints, and nourishes fascia, making it more resilient and elastic.

• Gentle passive release at the end → not as the main event, but as integration, calming the nervous system and allowing the body to absorb the work.

This way, SoulSculpt isn’t just about flexibility or strength — it’s about combining them intelligently, in a way that feels supportive, sustainable, and deeply effective for women after 40.

My Turning Point

This realisation changed everything for me.

I didn’t want to be bendy anymore — I wanted to be resilient. Strong but supple. Mobile but stable.

Passive stretching left me sore. Flow yoga left me depleted. Active mobility and resistance training left me powerful, energised, and at ease.

That’s why I created SoulSculpt: a practice that blends strength training, Pilates, yoga, and somatic awareness. It honours what women’s bodies need after 35–40: strength through range, fascia resilience, and nervous system support.

So, Is Yoga Enough After 40?

For some women, yes — yoga continues to feel deeply nourishing and complete. But for many of us, myself included, yoga alone no longer provides everything our bodies need after 40.

Once hormones shift, we often need more: progressive overload, time under tension, and active flexibility to stay strong, supported, and resilient.

If your yoga practice still feels right, wonderful — keep honouring it. And if it doesn’t, know that there are other options available.

Practice With Me

This is why I teach SoulSculpt every week:

• Online classes accessible anywhere.

• In-person classes here in Cantabria, Spain.

• Women’s retreats where we go deeper into movement, nourishment, and sisterhood.

Together, we practice in a way that honours the changes after 40 — and gives you tools to feel stronger, freer, and more at home in your body.

✨ Closing thought: Yoga can open the window, but strength and active flexibility build the house. After 40, choose the house.

With love,

Shaini