You are only as young as your spine is flexible.
Joseph Pilates
If you think you only need to stretch after a strenuous workout session, you better think twice. Stretching is essential for overall mobility and for keeping joints and tissues healthy. When we don’t stretch enough, our muscles get weak and tight, and they can even shrink. Stretching helps you prevent these issues and improve your posture. As such, we should do it on a daily basis and incorporate it as part of our well-being routine. The more we practice it regularly, the more flexible we become. That’s the cumulative effect of stretching!
| Increases flexibility | Reduces pain | Increases range of motion |
| Decreases injury risk | Increased sense of self-efficacy | Improves physical performance |
| Improves posture | Reduces stress | Improves blood circulation |
The best time to start stretching is today because you probably spend a good amount of time sitting in front of your computer or commuting to work. It’s also best to give your body a light warm-up before stretching, just to make sure your blood flows freely throughout your body and to prevent any undesired injuries. Try to focus your stretching exercises on areas that are key to movement. These include your calves, hamstrings, pelvis, quadriceps, shoulders, neck, and lower back. Take this opportunity to connect with your body by paying mindful attention to the way you perform each stretch.
My favorite stretching routine:
Hold each pose for 10 to 30 seconds. It is normal to feel tension around the areas you are working with, but you should feel no pain. Whenever you feel pain, please stop stretching and consult either a physical therapist or a doctor as soon as possible. It is essential that you perform your exercises with full attention and that you avoid bouncing as that can lead to injuries. Finally, remember that you must be willing to invest your time and patience in the performance of your stretching routine. You won’t gain instant flexibility after only one session and your muscles can be really tight, to begin with.
Tools to Help Your Practise
Concluding Thoughts
Stretching is great for both the mind and the body. It provides us a way to reduce overall pain and increase our fitness. Although it requires time and patience on our part, it pays off to have a regular, if not daily, stretching routine. Once you start incorporating it into your well-being routine, you will feel lighter and more flexible. I have experienced this by performing the stretching exercises suggested in the YouTube video I shared above. I hope you give it a try and let me know about your results.
Other blogs you may like to read:
5 Offline Activities You Must Add To Your Well-being Routine
A 2015 study by Silentnight concluded that people nowadays spend more time on their mobile phones and laptops than sleeping. This means people are not only more exposed to several electromagnetic frequencies, which can negatively impact our health and wellbeing in the long run, but they are also depriving themselves of important healthy habits such as sleeping enough, having quality time with others or keeping an active lifestyle. To counteract this mindless tendency, in this post I’m suggesting you 5 different activities that will not only contribute to your wellbeing but also help you stay offline more often.
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Wellbeing Media 
Stretching… a familiar word, one that could’ve prevented many injuries. And yet, I’m still to lazy or not motivated to do it.
I’ve tried it many times, but I can’t seem to make it stick.
I will try the video you shared. Let’s see if that helps.
Thank you and excellently written as always!
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I hope the video helps, Benny! Give it a try or find one that keeps you interested enough 🙌
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Something I need to get into the habit of doing. Thanks for the reminder. 😀
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It’s really a game-changer, it takes time to build up to see the benefits but it’s rewarding when you can finally reach your toes, hehe 😊
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I need to try that daily stretching YouTube video, it’s something that I need to try and do more often x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
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I’m 99% sure you will enjoy it but let me know once you try it 😊 x
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Great post, this has encouraged me to stay on track with my 30 day yoga challenge
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That’s freaking awesome 😊 Are you following an online challenge? I look forward to reading your results in 30 days!
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I’ve actually been thinking about starting to do yoga again.. I think that reading your post was that extra little bit of encouragement that I needed, so thank you 😊
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That’s wonderful, I’m so happy it motivated you further! Yoga is really great to satisfy our body’s need for stretching 😊
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We having been incorporating stretching into our daily route little by little. Thank you for sharing this, and don’t forget to check out our newest post which dropped today.
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That’s great, I’m glad you are already on it! 😊
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Definitely, and we greatly appreciate it!
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I definitely need to do more stretching!
Thank you for these tips and videos to get me started.
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Thank you for reading 🤗 I find it does make a difference throughout the day, especially for those who struggle with musculoskeletal pain ❤️
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I love stretching and honestly find it so soothing to wind down my day. You’ve included some great essentials along with a fantastic video! Thanks
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Thank you, Alex ❤️ I appreciate your feedback and time 🤗 It’s really a great way to wind down at the end of the day 🙌
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This is amazing, I love the instructions on the video. It’s so easy to understand and follow. Thank you for sharing!
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I’m happy you enjoyed the video! 😊
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I am absolutely not doing enough stretches and I really need to fix that; your post is so informative and a great reminder to make time for this!
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I’m glad you found it useful, Molly 🌻
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I swear by stretching and, having worked with many people in various industries with lifelong injuries, I know how important it is for our physical health. Just look at cats! They stretch constantly and for good reason!
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I’m not a fan of yoga but I love Qigong. The slow and steady movements have done wonders for my back.
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