Sometimes life is strange. You know when you are thinking about a friend and they call. Or you think about having BBQ for dinner and your spouse says, “Hey, I feel like BBQ.” Or you are thinking that you want to do a blog post about stretching every day and that same day one of your students says, “I need to stretch more.”
Don’t-want-to-read-it-all summary:
—Need to stretch every day
—You can do it while you brush your teeth or scroll on the phone
—Stretching may be uncomfortable, but NOT painful
—First stretch: calf stretch (see * below), do both sides
I stretch every day. I think it is very important. Modern society is primarily set up so that we sit a lot and we have our bodies in a set position for a long time so things (muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc.) can get tight and short. We need to stretch every day. Most people will agree but then say they don’t have time. Not having time is a very valid reason, but not a good one. I think that stretching every day for a few minutes is better than stretching for a long time every so often.
There are many stretches that can be done WHILE doing something else. And by “something else” I mean, brushing your teeth, talking on the phone, texting, watching TV, putting on lotion, something you do EVERY DAY. You can incorporate a stretch or two into your everyday routine.
If you think to yourself, “I can’t stretch because I am too tight.” Stop. A stretch is a stretch. If you can’t touch your toes, but you try you are getting a stretch, the point of stretching ISN’T to touch your toes, it is to stretch your body. There could be any number of reason why you may NEVER be able to touch your toes but since that is not the goal, it doesn’t matter. The goal is to stretch.
As a reminder stretching may be uncomfortable, but not painful. Know the difference. It is like a whine compared to an EXCLAMATION (OW!).
We are going to start with a super simple one. Simple may not mean easy for you, but in this case it means you don’t have to get down and then up. You can do it while you are brushing your teeth. I am going to go with the idea that teeth brushing is something done every day so this stretch can be done every day.
This is a simple calf stretch. *You take a step back keeping the back leg straight with the toes facing the same way as your hips, chest, and shoulders. Bend into the front leg’s knee. Keep your stance wide enough – at least shoulder width – apart so you have balance. Press the heel of the back leg into the ground, straighten that leg as much as you can and hopefully you will sense the stretch in your calf. You may not be stepping FAR back and that is fine, just step far enough that you can sense the stretch in your calf of that back leg. You can brush the same side of your teeth as the back leg and when you are ready to switch, you can switch. You can do this at least once a day!
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