Let’s talk about stretching! Lately, stretching has been one of my favorite things to do, not only because it is a great way of keeping the body active, also because it’s been a great way for me to cope with stress. I stretch daily, sometimes twice a day (during the day and always right before I go to bed). Stretching has opened me up to take risks and try new things like headstands and splits (which I’m still working on). I’m super excited about today’s post because we’re going to talk about 5 of the many benefits of stretching! Let’s just stretch into the post! Haha
1. Great Stress Reliever
Like I mentioned previously, stretching is a great way to cope with stress. When you’re stressed, blood circulation is slowed down in the muscles because of all the tension. By stretching, you’re allowing the blood to flow normally into the muscles which helps relieve tension and help your whole to relax 1.
2. Calm Your Mind
Stretching can help give your mind a mental break when you focus on mindfulness while stretching and being present in the moment. It helps you to recharge which brings you a calmer mindset. 2
3. Improve Your Flexibility
Stretching can help improve your flexibility which is very important for your health. Especially when you are aging, the muscles become very tight which makes it hard for you to move around. By stretching often, the flexibility throughout the muscles is increased and can slow down the reduced mobility that comes with aging. Also, you become better at performing some exercises and have less chance to hurt yourself while playing some sports.
4. Posture
Daily stretching improves your muscle strengths which increases good posture and help your body to stay in alignment. Your body posture will be less slouched and more vertical when you sit up or stand up. 2
5. Help To Heal And Prevent Back Pain.
You’ve probably experienced back pain at some point in life, especially if you spend a lot of time sitting down or work a lot. I know I have! The solution is to stretch when you start feeling the discomfort in your back. There are a lot of stretches for back pain that you can find on Pinterest and google! I use them all the time!
I really hope that this post will encourage you to start on your stretching journey because seriously you won’t regret it! You’ll immediately fall in love with the results and you’ll feel much better inside out!
Happy FitnessFriday babes!
Xoxo!
SmileyMaruth
References
1- https://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/stretch/benefits-of-stretching/?page=8
2- https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-stretching#benefits