Stretch More, Stress Less Dana Rae Paré
How often do you stretch? Here’s 7-reasons why you should loosen up.
Positively Flexible
Are you tired? sore? overwhelmed? stressed? mentally drained? Stretching can help.
7- Benefits of Flexibility
- improved posture
- less pain
- greater strength
- more balance
- improved physical performance
- a more positive state of mind
- look and feel younger
Lunge With A Twist
Let’s start with the physical.
Stretching can improve your posture by releasing tension in your neck, chest, shoulders, lower back and hips. All of these areas play a role in aligning your spine, allowing you to stand up straight and have more balance.
Enhancing flexibility through therapeutic stretching also means greater range of motion for your joints. This can help to increase strength and improve physical performance.
Less tension and more flexibility means less pain, less prone to injuries and quicker recovery.
Feel like getting flexible?
Hip-Opening Side Bend
Besides improving posture and performance in physical activities, stretching can help you to mentally stress-less.
In order to mentally focus at optimal levels for your job and have energy to be there for your loved ones, it’s important to take care of your mental health. Stretching, combined with slow conscious breathing allows your mind to calm, relax and reset.
How do you weave mind/body flexibility into your daily life?
Start with a few daily stretches like the ones in these photos: forward bend, lunge, side bend. Keep it simple. Consistency is key.
For a longer therapeutic sequence try my Restore class at least once a week. The meditative pace of breath synchronized with slow deep stretches calms the chatter, melts the stress and allows you to literally let go.
Make time to stretch, you’ll look and feel more vibrant with the positive physical and neurological body/mind benefits.