Yoga Glossary · Foundations
Ligaments & Tendons
Tendons connect muscle to bone and move joints; ligaments connect bone to bone and guard them.
Both are dense connective tissue, but their jobs differ. A tendon attaches muscle to bone and transmits the muscle's pull — the Achilles tendon delivers the calf's force to the heel. A ligament attaches bone to bone across a joint, acting as a guardrail that limits how far the joint can travel. Muscles move joints; ligaments fence them.
The distinction drives several yoga safety rules. Tendons adapt and can be loaded progressively, but ligaments have poor blood supply, heal slowly, and — crucially — do not contract: stretching a joint into its ligaments (hanging in hyperextended knees or elbows, forcing end-range twists) loosens the guardrails themselves. Teachers cue muscles to stay engaged at end range precisely so ligaments do not take the load.
In practice
- A stretch that feels like it is 'in the joint' rather than the muscle belly is a warning, not a breakthrough.
- Micro-bend the knees and elbows in straight-limb poses: muscle takes the load back from the ligaments.
- The pulling sensation at the sitting bones in deep folds is the hamstring tendon — treat attachments with more respect than bellies.
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The Yoga Glossary is an educational study reference. Definitions are standard yoga and anatomy knowledge in plain language; nothing here is medical advice.