Stretch the Possibilities in 2018

Embrac­ing change can be dif­fi­cult. We are, after all, crea­tures of habit. Change requires patience, deter­mi­na­tion, and flex­i­bil­i­ty, both fig­u­ra­tive­ly and, in some cas­es, lit­er­al­ly! Why is flex­i­bil­i­ty so impor­tant? Well, for starters, the more flex­i­ble you are, the less like­ly you are to get injured, which is real­ly enough of a rea­son in and of itself. As a bonus, flex­i­ble joints can also help make it eas­i­er to move, requir­ing less ener­gy, and being flex­i­ble can also pre­vent back pain and bal­ance issues.

Let’s start our year of flex­i­bil­i­ty and change off on the right foot with some basic sug­ges­tions to help you stretch and reach your full potential.

1. If it hurts in a sharp shoot­ing way, STOP!! Stretch­ing helps to loosen up your mus­cles, and depend­ing on how tight they are, there may be some sore­ness asso­ci­at­ed with stretch­ing. How­ev­er, it should nev­er hurt in an unbear­able sense. If it does hurt, either stop the stretch and try a dif­fer­ent option, or ease out of the stretch slight­ly to make it less intense. Lis­ten to your body, always.
2. Aim to stretch at least three days a week. You may want to make it a rou­tine in the evening when you get ready for bed, in addi­tion to a post-work­out stretch­ing cool down. Find a rou­tine that works for you, because even a few times a week is enough to reap the benefits!
3. Tar­get the parts of your body that need it most. Think about your hips, or your ham­strings, or your shoul­ders. Where are you sore on a reg­u­lar basis that could use some loos­en­ing or open­ing up? Where do you notice that you hold your ten­sion? If you aren’t sure where to begin, ask your doc­tor which stretch­es s/he would sug­gest for you.
4. We all feel a bit bet­ter with a few good acces­sories, right? Invest in a decent foam roller and a good ol’ can of ten­nis balls. A foam roller can help you stretch more deeply than just bend­ing or con­tort­ing your­self can and ten­nis balls are help­ful for pin­point­ing spe­cif­ic tight spots and loos­en­ing up your feet and hands. It can be a lit­tle awk­ward to get the hang of using any of these tools to help you stretch, but don’t give up on it. YouTube has end­less tuto­r­i­al videos, so don’t be afraid to watch a few to ensure prop­er align­ment before you start. Think of a foam roller as the best way to give your­self a mini-mas­sage, no appoint­ment or tip­ping required!

In this sea­son of change, above all, remem­ber to lis­ten to your body – it is your great­est and most pow­er­ful teacher!