I was asked about stretching around a month ago – when to do it, how to do it, what to do and it made me consider what I do, what I like to do and why. This corresponded with an Andrew Huberman podcast I had listened to (which is here) that chimed with my own beliefs.
I think mobility & stretching is really important – part of how you can send a message to your body that it is still needed and it still needs to be moved (gently) into different positions. I also firmly believe this is something that should be seen as a separate entity from programmed exercise and be viewed on it’s own, something that stands alone as part of a daily practice.
My own personal preference is to stretch first thing in the morning, after I have showered and meditated. I see this as a way to gently introduce movement to my body at the start of the day, letting it wake up and move (a bit like how animals will have a good stretch on waking). It’s maybe 5 – 10 minutes of easy gentle stretching that shakes away the long period of inertia from sleeping. I’m not trying to maximise prep for exercise, I’m introducing my body to the day. I also believe that a gentle routine that takes key areas into account, little and often will give me the best benefits from stretching. Around 2 years ago when I was searching around looking for a routine to take from I came across Makka Ho (you can read the same article here). What I loved about this was the simplicity and flow that this had. Initially I would do this morning and evening, however that has evolved into something different for me now. I also read more deeply on Makka Ho (which you can also do here) and was not surprised to find it’s background in far eastern philosophy around enabling a healthy system.
Over time I have changed / added / adapted my morning / evening stretching routine to incorporate different elements. In the mornings I’ve stuck with the 4 basic Makka Ho stretches (as in the first article) and added in kneeling on my toes, then my ankles to help stretch & mobilise my feet, 45 secs for each. Then the last stretch I do is taken from yoga and thread the needle left & right to help mobilise my thoracic spine. I really want a bar to hang from – as this something to also add to help give my joints some space and re-align / settle. This in turn allowing my organs to relax into (what I think should be the case) a more settled and effective position to allow my body to carry me through the day.
At the end of the day I’ve been trying to stand on one foot (taken from yoga – in a prayer stance) for one minute. I can always tell how settled I am by how easily I can maintain my balance. This less about stretching (although it is creating tension within my body) and more about bringing a sense of calm and control to my movement.
I firmly believe that having this regular AM / PM routine works really effectively at maintaining supple muscles & well conditioned joints. Coupled with showering & meditation it seems an excellent way to clean, calm & ready myself to then move through the day. I see this as something that allows my body to continue to be able to exercise and helps reduce the stiffening and slowing of movement that is inevitable with age.
