Stretching - basic stuff

Since I’m going to be writing about stretching for a few entries, I figured I would start with some basics.  In later posts I will go into some more detail about self-care, postural stretches as well as the spirituality of stretching.  I may even have a guest writer for that!

Some basics on stretching, if you are asking me…

When someone asks me about stretching, it’s usually because they are my client, in my office and looking for guidance on a body issue that they want to improve.  I usually pull something out of my mental bag of tricks and give them 1-3 reliable and easy stretches to impact their situation in a big way.

When ever someone is coming to the idea of stretching – or thinking that they, indeed, want to make stretching part of their lives, they have a few thoughts.  I often find these thoughts to be the most common:
•    I’m not good at stretching
•    Should I join a class?
•    Do I want to do yoga?  What else might be out there?
•    How can I stretch this one part of my body
•    When will I ever do any stretching, it always takes too much time!
•    I hate stretching; I wish I didn’t have to do it.
•    When is the best time of the day to do it?
•    I’d like to stretch but I have no peace in my house to do it!
•    I want to join a class – but I hate stretching with other people, I never get the focus I want

These thoughts, among others that I’m sure we can all think of, are the types of thoughts I have encountered in my clients and myself.

When I am having a conversation about stretching with clients or whoever, I always go back to my first basic ideas on stretching…
1.    It’s got to be something you want to do –you gotta be mindful and aware of stretching being something that you want to do for your mental and physical needs
2.     Make it easy, don’t make it so complex that you won’t do it

Lots of times I have had people tell me that they have not stretched for a long time.  When I ask them why, there is usually an issue with one or both of the above points.  One thing I know is if you don’t have a good enough reason to stretch, then you will not do it.  More often than not, I find there’s a good amount of people that are attached to a situational or mental “perfection” in order for them to stretch.
This is often where I hear stories about how they want to go to a specific class with a specific teacher but they don’t do it because it happens when they are at work or doing something else like taking their kids to soccer practice or “date night” with the secondary.  Sometimes there’s a stretching tape or regimen that my friend/client is attached to so that they need exactly 30 minutes or an hour to go thru the stretches that they really like and know works for them – but they don’t motivate themselves to do it or they don’t schedule their time to make time for their regimented stretching.

Something that happens when one looks at all the reasons why something is NOT going to work… then it doesn’t happen.
What is needed here is a different way of thinking about it.

Where I like to start is with body awareness and the daily activities of life.  What I mean by this is that, if you want to stretch – just do it.
What I suggest is taking the time to check in with how your body feels when you are doing some random thing at work or home, then just simply get up or change what you are doing to do a stretch or two.

The first key, in other words, to get stretching into your life is to start with body awareness and start with what you know you can do.
Most of us can take a couple of minutes to stop what we are doing and stretch out a part of our body that is aching.
You should try it.

In future posts I will address the thoughts and obstacles that can come in the way of stretching and how to deal with them.  I also want to give some stretching advice to help with some common issues.

Always start with being aware of your body and what it needs.
Don’t be a zombie!
Don’t just “turn off” your pain and ignore it.  Address it and love your body.
You’re going to have it till you die.

So take good care of it!