Thursday, August 6, 2009

Stretching Tip #3 Know Yourself

When stretching, always consider your own baseline--ignore what others are doing. Think back when you were a child--could you do the splits? Could you touch your toes easily? If you weren't flexible then, you aren't going to develop too much more flexibility. Consider what you are capable of and work from there--you goal isn't to be gumby but to increase the range of motion available to you and to extend your muscles to where they can go -- not some standard set by the fitness industry or your yoga instructor. When you feel a slight tension, stop and keep the stretch there. There should not be pain--as you feel comfortable go further and don't feel disappointed if you can't. Work from where you are and you will incrementally improve.

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