Your Brain Decides how High to Lift Your Leg
Mobility is more than muscle strength or flexibility — it’s a safety decision.
Most dancers grow up hearing some version of this message:
If you want higher legs, you need stronger muscles and more flexibility.
And to be clear — that’s not wrong.
Strength matters. Muscle length matters.
But what’s often missing from the conversation is this:
Your muscles don’t decide how high your leg goes.
Your nervous system does.
Every movement you make is coordinated, regulated, and ultimately permitted by your brain — based on how safe that movement feels in the moment.
Mobility is a Permission, Not Just a Physical Capacity
From an applied neurology perspective, mobility is not simply about how strong or flexible a muscle is.
It’s about whether the nervous system feels confident enough to allow that range.
Your brain is constantly asking questions like:
Do I know where this joint is in space?
Can I control this movement without losing balance?
Have I experienced this position safely before?
If the answers feel uncertain, the nervous system responds by:
Increasing muscle tone
Limiting range of motion
Creating the sensation of “tightness”
This doesn’t mean something is wrong.
It means the system is being cautious.
The Brain’s Job: Predict and Protect
The nervous system has one primary role: keep you safe.
It does not care about:
Aesthetic lines
Height of extensions
What the choreography demands
It cares about:
Stability
Control
Predictability
When a dancer lifts their leg, the brain rapidly integrates information from three key systems:
Proprioception — Where is my leg and pelvis right now?
Vision — Can I orient and balance successfully?
Vestibular system — Am I stable relative to gravity?
If any of these inputs feel unreliable, the brain limits range — even if the muscles are technically capable.
Where Strength and Muscle Length Fit In
This is an important piece to say clearly:
Yes — strength matters.
Yes — muscle length matters.
The muscles that lift the leg need sufficient strength, and the opposing muscles need enough available length.
But those muscles don’t work independently.
They are coordinated by the nervous system.
When the brain confidently activates the lifting muscles, it should also reduce unnecessary tension in the opposing muscles. This natural coordination allows movement to feel lighter and more available.
This automatic relationship is often called reciprocal inhibition, and it depends on how safe and controlled the movement feels to the nervous system.
When confidence is missing — because balance, joint awareness, or control feels uncertain — that coordination becomes less efficient. The result often feels like “tightness,” even when the tissues themselves are capable.
Why Stretching Alone Often Plateaus
This helps explain a familiar experience for many dancers and teachers:
Early gains from stretching
Followed by a stubborn plateau
Or mobility that disappears under stress or fatigue
Stretching can change tissue properties — but it doesn’t automatically change the brain’s perception of safety.
If the nervous system doesn’t trust the range, it will continue to apply the brakes.
That’s why dancers often say:
“It’s there in warm-up, but gone in center”
“One side is always higher”
“It feels tight even though I stretch constantly”
These are not failures of effort.
They’re signs of incomplete trust
Reflective Prompts (For You or Your Students)
You might explore:
When does my leg feel most available — and when does it disappear?
Does my balance feel steady or effortful in this range?
Do I feel clear about where my hip and pelvis are, or am I guessing?
What changes when I slow down and sense before lifting?
Often, awareness itself becomes a signal of safety.
The Takeaway
Mobility is not just about stretching harder or strengthening more.
It’s about whether the nervous system feels safe enough to coordinate strength and length efficiently.
When you improve:
Sensory clarity
Balance confidence
Joint awareness
The brain often allows more range — without forcing it.
Mobility isn’t the absence of tightness.
It’s the presence of trust.
To your success,
Deborah .