My best friend and I were talking recently about a condition he suffers with. I was trying to be a good friend and help so I uttered my favorite mantra about stretching.

He turned to and said “ so how do you stretch?” It floored me. “What do you mean” I said. I thought everyone knew how to stretch. It a natural urge. You wake up your body wants to move…. to STRETCH”

“ I know what you mean by stretching but how?

So I stopped myself going into chapter and verse about haven’t you seen any of my free videos or looked at by my book?

I thought maybe he’s not alone I have been so wrapped up by twenty six years of being a therapist that I had sunk in the curse of knowledge.

So let’s get back to basics.

A muscle cannot stretch! Yep it’s impossible.

Muscles are designed to contract. They work mainly in pairs or groups. So to achieve a stretch you have activate its partner or partners into contraction.

Stretching is good for you and your body because is it increases flexibility, aids blood flow that then incorporates the immune system. It helps your joint mobility and reduces the chances of delayed muscle soreness.

Stretching helps the connective tissue or myofascial.

Myofascial tissue is fascinating and I could get very excited about how it affects you and your body ( like a kid waiting for Christmas excited!). It’s an incredible part of the body that medical science has been dismissing up to around approximately fifteen years ago. Yes when I trained we were told to ignore it. Know the science shows that not only is this tissue the web that weaves the body together but how, if you become out of balance it can clearer impact and cause pain to other areas. ( but I digress.)