increase flexibility gradually

Posted by granny on December 30, 2009

Even as a youngster after running it would take my muscles days to recover. The tight feeling often made the simple act of climbing stairs painfully difficult. So I often wondered what sort of problem it was that caused me so much pain. Was it weak muscles or a low pain threshold?

It may well be both of the above. Added to this though was certainly a lack of appropriate stretching both pre and post exercise.

A friend told me that their doctor recommended stretching twice a day, every day. This advice reminded me of the benefit of continuous little steps towards our goals. The Japanese sit seiza almost every day of their lives. This explains why old ladies can sit on the floor easily.

The idea of sitting like this seems somewhat painful! However it is the principle that I find interesting.

For the last 4 months I have been stretching much more consistently that at any time I can remember. Initially I didn’t think I was getting anywhere. The change on a day to day level was very hard to notice.

However, since starting work to improve my flexibility and now, there is a vast difference. To begin with standing with legs straight and bending forward, I couldn’t touch the floor comfortably. Now after warming up, I am able to nearly place flat palms on the floor.

This result has come about through consistently stretching for 10 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. These results give me the motivation to stretch every day to become more supple, feel heathier and become stronger.