This week I was a lot more focused on stretching rather than working out. Why? Because my ankle has been tightening up a lot lately. In fact, my legs have just been really tight. So, stretching has become a must in my daily routine.
Types of Stretching
There are so many different ways of stretching. Even if you want to stretch the same muscle. There are standing stretches, sitting and laying down. For my legs, my favourite stretches are the forward fold, downward dog, and pigeon. I find that these stretches also stretch more than just my legs, like my back. My back is another problem area. My spine does need more than a good stretch, but my chiropractor told me that more stretching and yoga in my life was a good thing.
Fitting it in
So, I haven’t done long yoga videos or anything like that. It’s been more like morning stretches. When I get out of bed I try to put stretching first. There was actually one day I was doing a full body stretch when I got out of bed and my back cracked. That felt so good and my back wasn’t as stiff after that. In the long run I would like to try and implement longer sessions. I’ve seen people do challenges where they did 20 minutes of stretching or yoga everyday for 30 days and they share how great they feel. 20 minutes is not a long time at all, and it is totally doable with my crazy schedule. Not for me to try and build that habit.
Other Helpful Strategies
One of the things I notice the most is when I start feeling tight and stiff. It’s on days when I have not been very mobile. So, just sitting in bed and watching cooking competitions when I’m not working. Or, when I am working, choosing to do more office based work which results in me sitting down unless a guest needs me. Everything feels a lot looser if I have a day of moving. So, running errands, choosing to do active work instead of office work, and doing a workout. Another helpful tool is sitting in the hot tub at the hotel. I live here so I might as well take advantage of just having to walk down the hall. This, however, I have noticed is a short term solution and everything tightens up shortly after.
Foam Roller
I bought a foam roller a year or so ago to help with tight muscles when stretching just wasn’t helping. It’s a great tool and feels like a massage on my body. However, this is not something I implement a lot right now. Maybe I’ll make it my goal to use it more next week. I did use it once this week when my hamstrings were feeling extra tight and stretching just wasn’t helping. You know when it hurts that you’re really tight and boy did it hurt.
Stretching is Important
Stretching is so important and I know that I want to improve my flexibility this year. Because of this, I think I’m going to try and prioritise stretching over working out. With money being so tight right now, it’s not like I can afford running shoes right now. Which actually makes me sad because I was looking forward to jogging this summer. Maybe I can get enough money together to buy myself running shoes as a late birthday present to myself. And if I do start jogging again, stretching will become even more important so I don’t hurt myself again. Right now that ankle is really tight so I’m going to focus on stretching and loosening that up before I worry about running shoes.
Stretching Goals
Yes, I do have some stretching goals. If I would have thought of it, I would have taken photos of those poses and where I’m at. I will try and get those for you next week. But there are certain stretches that I would love to see improvement on where my flexibility is concerned. So, I think it would be cool to see where I am now and compare it at the end of the year. Can I meet my goals? What about you? Are you flexible or can you relate to feeling tight and stiff all the time? Let’s work together on making stretching a priority and work on taking care of ourselves this year. Anything can happen, if we try.
