You are as young as you are agile. That is a saying that women who are deep into yoga chant. There is truth in those words. Flexibility allows freedoms. You can tie your shoelaces when you are flexible. You can bend down to pick up your dog or cat. Your joints and tendons need to stay long and healthy.
Everyone can stretch. If you look at the animals when they get up after sleeping you will see them section. Stress in your body is relieved when you stretch. Have you noticed how tense you get when you are under stress? Taking deep breaths and stretching can help the tension melt away. Headaches and backaches can be prevented by spending a few minutes breathing and stretching.
Your relationship with your body improves when you stretch. We often forget about our bodies. Sometimes it seems like our bodies get in the way. It is important to take time to relax, breathe, stretch, and become aware of your body. Your body tells you when things are friends. Investing time in your body keeping it agile is time well spent.
When should you stretch? You can stretch at any time; when you wake up in the morning, at night before going to bed, in the office after working on the computer is a great time. It is important to do a few circles with your arms and walk around for a few minutes or march in place to warm up your muscles.
It is important that your muscles are warm and flexible. You’ll get better results and lessen the chance of tearing a muscle. The goal is to lengthen the muscles, not tear them. If you stretch on a cold muscle, it can tear.
In the old days we stretched before running. Now, most trainers lightly stretch before a workout or wait until after the workout to stretch.
How long should you hold the stretch? That is debatable. Most physical therapists say thirty seconds. My favorite book, “Stretching,” says ten seconds. The American Council On Exercise taught me fifteen seconds. Trying them all and finding what works for you is the best advice I can give you.
Breathing while stretching is crucial. That relaxes the muscles and allows them to lengthen.
In the old days, we bounced when we stretched. No more! There are two tendons that respond when you stretch. A tendon’s job is to keep it from breaking, so it will contract to keep it from breaking. The other tendon’s job is to let the muscle lengthen. Holding a stretch activates the lengthening tendon while bouncing activates the shortening tendon. Holding a stretch without bouncing will produce better results.
Stretching is a natural thing that you want to do often. These little tips will help you get the most out of it.
by Lynn Hahn
