This question is a very popular question but why do we want to gain full body flexibility?
Well, being more flexible helps with
- less bodily aches
- fewer injuries
- better mental health
- increases range of motion within the body
- helps reduce stress
- promotes circulation
- improves posture
So now we know why we should gain flexibility, why do we need to gain full body flexibility?
Most people get repetitive and I don’t mean repetitive with exercises or movement. I mean by the way we sit, the way we walk, the way we hold our children, the way we do our hobbies like cycling, playing music, reading.
The way we move, sit and stand effects different muscles and joints in the body. If you keep moving or sitting in the same way then overtime your body starts to stiffen in that way.
For example if you always carry a child on one hip and you try to switch them to the other, it feels really weird. Like they don’t perfectly sit on your other hip. This has nothing to do with the way your body is and everything to do with how you have trained your body to be. Always holding them on one side means you tilt your pelvis for them to sit on and retract your waist so when you try to sit them on the other side, the usually side is too tight to stretch out and your hip naturally wants to come up meaning there isn’t as much space on the other side for your child to sit. This is all about habit and nothing to do with how your body should be.
Good news is this can be changed. It will take time but you increase your range of motion in your body with the right exercises.
It’s actually quite interesting to see in other people. Next time you go out have a look at how people walk, or sit and notice if they don’t quite look even. It’s really fascinating.
So how do we fix this?
Well in the case of above, you would need to work on some side bending to lengthen out the side that is usually contracted. As well as working on keeping the hips neutral. All of this is done by really getting to know your body and noticing what you need to work on. There are things you can do for full flexibility though and I am going to share these now.
The body can move in so many different ways. Mobility is important but this is mainly to do with the joints. Gaining flexibility allows you to move them joints more freely and to get full body flexibility there are 5 main movements that we want to do daily to see an increase in our whole body. These are:
- Forward Bends
- Backbends
- Side Bends
- Twists
- Hip Openings
These 5 movements are going to give you an amazing range of motion that will really help to even out the body (there are more like shoulder extensions, toe stretching, wrist stretches etc. These are smaller movements that can be worked on later once the bigger body parts are released).
Do each of these stretches for 30 seconds morning and night and notice a major difference in your range of motion and start seeing the benefits I mentioned at the top of this post.
Notice how good your body starts feeling after just 1 week of these simple movements!
If you would like to practice more on these 5 main movements of flexibility then check out the mindful stretch program below. Where you can find 30 classes to help keep you consistent with your practice. With different lengths and different energy styles you can always find a class to suit your needs of the day. Because we know we are all different and have different needs but we all need to gain flexibility. Suitable for beginners!
This program is not staying open for long, we will be closing the doors soon so that we can focus on the new members enrolled. If you are seeing this when doors are closed then Sign up to the waitlist so you can be the first to be notified when the doors reopen!
Leah xxx