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10 Great Exercise Tips for Stretching that your Body will Love.

21/7/2015

21 Comments

 
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Most people would agree that stretching is good for you. And yes it can be wonderful for your body.

How many times have you stretched a part of your body so that your muscle is shaking and you are feeling tension and pain? 

Have you ever found that your shoulders and body feel contracted and tight trying to hold you in a certain position?

This is how most people stretch. What they don’t realise is that this type of tension in stretching will bring muscle contraction and not muscle lengthening. So all the pulling and pushing that is done actually won’t improve flexibility.

How lovely would it be to work with your body and it’s natural function to stretch? How would it be, to really stretch to appreciate, honour and feel gorgeous in your body? Here are some simple tips:

Bev Carter's Top 10 Stretch Tips:

Number One:

Take the time to purposefully stretch. Stretching can be seen to be just ‘that’ thing to do at the end of the session and often it is rushed or skipped altogether. Stretching only need take a few focused minutes and is an invaluable part of caring for your body.
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Number Two: 
Be conscious of what area you would like to stretch. This may sound obvious but do you really take the moment to stretch a particular muscle or do you simply throw your leg up on a bench? Be clear as to what muscle group you intend to stretch. For example many go to stretch their hamstrings (the muscle at the back of the thigh) and turn their leg out from the hip or curl their lower back. This then changes the stretch to other muscle groups rather than the intended one. Take a precious moment for you and feel into what is taking place in your body as you stretch.

Number Three:
Be gentle and supportive getting into and out of your stretch position.
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Number Four:
Use a towel, dyna band, strap, chair, doorway etc to stretch different body parts. Bands and towels are great home equipment to stretch legs with out bringing tightness and stress into your upper body.
Number Five:
Feel into the area you’re stretching. You should feel a gentle lengthening with NO stress, tension, pain or shaking. If your do feel these things you are over-stretching and this will not support with increasing flexibility in the muscle.
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Number Six:
Feel that your body and muscle can ‘surrender’ into the stretch – then you know you are working with the body and it’s natural ‘stretch reflex’.

Number Seven:
Stay connected to your body and feel if the muscle ‘lets go’ after a little while. This is around 20-30 sec – yet you don’t need a stopwatch if you simply feel and connect to the muscles being stretched.  If you feel the ‘let go’ or ‘surrender’ happen you can chose to gently increase the stretch a little or simply enjoy it as you are. If you don’t feel this ‘letting go’ please don’t panic, it may simply be because you may need to hold stretch longer or it may be that you are over-stretching and need to ease off the stretch a bit. 
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Number Eight:
Maintain your posture, whether you’re sitting, standing or lying. Often people slump into a stretch. Bring a sense of being ‘tall and amazing’ to your posture so you can lengthen the muscles in a way that supports their true movement and function.
Number Nine: 
Feel the stillness of the muscle and body and stay with your gentle breath, this will support the ‘letting go or surrender’ in the muscle. The muscle loves to feel safe and supported so it can let go, if you’re over stretching and moving around all the time you will miss the stretch reflex.

Number Ten:
Make stretching part of your daily rhythm to connect with your body. Take a moment to appreciate YOU and YOUR Body in these precious moments of stretching everyday. Make self-appreciation a part of your stretching routine. 
21 Comments
Janet
13/7/2015 06:43:03 am

Hi Bev, always a good reminder to stretch. And you as always explain with articulation and simplicity. I have sciatic nerve pain (pain in the butt)! I have had extensive weekly Chinese remedial massage and reflexology, yet not having enough relief. it is so painful first thing in the morning. Any hints or suggestions? cheers Janet

Reply
Beverly
13/7/2015 08:08:45 am

Hi Janet,
Sorry to hear about your back, lets talk on email
with love
Bev

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Rachel Mascord
13/7/2015 06:50:59 am

I love your tips Bev. I have learned so much having you stretch my body in sessions. In the past I was brutal with myself, always got impatient and rushed it...wonder why I never increased my flexibility?
You are so gentle in your approach and very respectful. I am starting to bring the same quality.
I should print these and put them on my wall.

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Beverly
13/7/2015 07:54:13 am

Beautiful Rachel, thank you, so love your idea to print out!

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Charlene
13/7/2015 06:53:46 am

Nice work Bev

Very useful information for those of us that dont stretch enough and rush when we do.

What a great role model you are !!

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Beverly
13/7/2015 07:57:27 am

thats wonderful Charlene
And thank you bc

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Jen Smith
13/7/2015 07:08:59 am

Great article Bev. I can feel the great care in which you approach your work. I feel inspired to include stretching into my daily routine. Great idea Rachel, I'm going to print these out too.

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Beverly
13/7/2015 07:58:15 am

beautiful Jen, your body will love you even more :)

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Jean Gamble
13/7/2015 08:51:07 pm

These are great reminders thanks Bev - I have been forgetting to put that much focus and tenderness into my stretching.

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Anna
13/7/2015 08:58:21 pm

Thanks Bev, I love stretching and this is really helpful to be even more aware that I am paying close attention to my body and really loving it up.

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Raymond Karam
14/7/2015 07:57:52 pm

Hello Beverly,
A great simple, easy to follow blog. This is how I stretch every day without fail. Another thing I find is take time in the stretch to appreciate the 'letting go' or the stretch. I found there was always a thing with stretching where I would subconsciously mark myself. So if I had a deep stretch it was good but if I deemed I was more inflexible than the day before then this was bad. I found that checking those thoughts and just appreciating the feeling of the stretch supported me to stretch even deeper. I take time at the end of the stretch to just lie still for a short time as well, just to feel my whole body and again to appreciate just how good stretching feels. Thank you for this blog, I will print it up as a guide for me as well, a type of reminder.

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Beverly
14/7/2015 11:13:50 pm

Beautiful Ray, thank you for sharing.
Its also good to know that when we are open and connected to our body it will share so much with us. So it will often feel different from day to day, none of which is good or bad yet wisdom and healing to share with us to support our development.

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Anne Malatt
14/7/2015 10:24:21 pm

Thank you Bev, for a great blog on stretching - it is very supportive and inspiring and a refreshing way to look at something many of us ignore completely or do as a chore. I used to stretch a lot, but have let it go in the busy-ness of life... I am re-inspired to do some stretching now, and to take the time to really love and appreciate my body in this way.

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Beverly
14/7/2015 11:14:50 pm

Gorgeous Anne, enjoy

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Donna Gianniotis link
17/7/2015 08:39:17 am

Thanks Bev for these awesome tips on stretching. I find that when I stretch there is a fine balance between the effort required in the stretch and then not overdoing it so as not to feel tension creep into other area's of the body. Stretching does feel amazing in the body and I find super supportive for the body.

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Anne McVeigh
28/7/2015 06:55:56 pm

I love this blog Bev; so many great tips to make our stretching an enjoyable and loving way to be with our bodies.
It never occurred to me to feel the muscle surrendering into the stretch and then gently increasing the stretch if I feel to or as you say 'enjoy where I am at!
I just love the need to accept the messages our bodies are constantly communicating including when we are stretching.
I will certainly join 'the printing out team' on this one.
With Love
Anne McVeigh

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Laura Hoy link
5/8/2015 07:55:48 am

I guess this puts the 'no pain, no gain' saying to shame. So interesting that we think we need to push ourselves and our bodies, but actually that causes harm.

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rosanna bianchini
6/8/2015 08:24:45 am

I agree Bev, gentle stretching and moving does feels gorgeous in my body, it's also a great way to focus the mind too.

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Jeannette Singer-Goldberg link
13/7/2016 07:56:07 am

Thanks for the tips Bev I can feel myself elongating and relaxing as we speak ...

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Julie Matson
26/12/2016 07:02:57 am

Thank you Bev for the stretching tips.
I have been doing the stretches now twice a day for about three weeks and already I can see a difference in the flexibility of my hips and thigh muscles. It makes a huge difference to feel my body when stretching instead of just rushing to finish an exercise routine in order to tick the boxes.

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Peter Bass link
16/1/2018 11:07:02 pm

Thanks- Bev, for sharing such invaluable exercise tips on full body stretching. Yup, stretching is an exercise that is often overlooked. It is mainly because the consequence of stretching is invisible to naked eye. But the fact of the matter is, it has some inner benefits. It increases the flow of blood, sends oxygen to the brain, and gives you the mental peace. Again if you remain committed to this process, then you can attain the perfect flexibility. I know it can be overwhelming to stretch the body having full of muscles. Nobody is forcing you to stretch all parts of the body. You can be benefited simply by stretching the shoulders, neck, lower back etc. Moreover, I can say that as stretching warms the muscles up and prepares them for the physical-jerk, thus you should do stretching properly and regularly in order to get the fullest advantage of your physical activity.

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