Look, Ma, I grew!

All through grade school, I was one of the shortest kids in my class. I hit 5' 6 1/2" sometime in high school.  I grew late, with the boys.  When I was a performer, we listed height and weight on our resumes. That 1/2" looked clunky on paper so I edged my height upward to 5'7" on paper.  It wasn't true but my resume looked cleaner and no one ever put their honest weight either so it seemed minor.

On numerous occasions over the past decade, a student has come in to class after a recent physical and told me that they were 3/4", an inch, even 1 1/2" taller.  The common factor for all of these folks was taking Eischens Yoga.  Is it possible that yoga made them grow taller?  Shoe sizes often change for folks as they begin working unrestricted by shoes or socks, and their foot bones start to spread more fully on the floor.  But actual change in height?  Why not?  Over time, gravity and poor use of the muscles around the joints contributes to the compression of the skeleton, and with it the loss of height we expect with age.  The practice of Eischens Yoga asks that we use the muscles in a more balanced way so as to better support the skeleton, and to allow energy to flow through the body.  It also creates space between the joints.  We see it often in classes after transformation work, someone who is visibly taller or has more space between their head and their shoulders.

I no longer am surprised by these moments in class or by the post-doctor appointment announcement.  I love the joy in someone's face and voice as they tell me about their newfound height and that they "haven't been this tall since high school."  

I have been pretty proud to retain my height all this time, even as my friends and peers are starting to lose height.  I figured that was as good as it got, me not shrinking.  Recently, I had my first physical in a couple years.  I have been working on the mat over this same period of time on finally getting space between my pelvis and thigh bones.  And you know what? I am now officially 5' 7".  In my late 40s, I grew half an inch.  Maybe that lie on my resume wasn't a lie, but a prophesy?