Why Stretch? Ways Stretching Has Improved My Life

Since many of us are pole dancers at Flexines, we all stretch in the hopes that, one day, we'll nail our favorite moves, like Scorpion or Extended Allegra. Stretching has had some other benefits for me, and I hope that sharing them with you might help you enjoy your stretching a bit more.

Stretching & Decreased Back Pain

I spend a lot of time online. Seriously. I work, play, go to school, and stretch here, among many other things. Add that to school days, couch potato time, and my nasty little habit of carrying a side bag, only on my right shoulder, and it is no surprise my lower back knots up. Before I used to have to weedle hubby into massaging out the knots--quite the chore for him because the entire time I squirm and scold him that it hurts lol :) Muscle relaxers work quickly, but I don't like to depend on medication. Tylenol Precise heat patches work amazingly, but take time to heat up.

Enter stretching.

"Cobra" (c) 2009 by Lululemon Athletica,
CC Attribution 2.0 License

Not leg stretching, that seemed to get my back going right away. Aerial Gypsy recommended, maybe scolded a bit (haha,) that I should stretch everything. I half listened and it helped tremendously. I find that back stretches that stretch me backwards, such as cobra or pidgeon stretch (pushing back,) worked faster than pills and helped longer, if I did enough repetitions. A good self-massage method utilizes your pole. Sit with your back to the pole and roll your back hard into your pole. Try from side to side and top to bottom to pinpoint the knot, then push into that spot to knead it out.

Easier to Do Odd Tasks

One day I had my leg propped up on the wall of the shower, and realized shaving was much easier. Stretching myself towards my feet has a practical, albeit humorous, purpose! Ha! 

As I've mentioned before, when I started stretching I could not touch my toes. Even to sit around I had to be cross-legged or on a chair. It's funny, I never realized that having the flexibility to sit with my legs out in front of me would matter, but it actually gives me more positions to shift around in. Dexter marathon? Bring it on!

My partner in life used to complain here and there about how I whine a lot about being uncomfortable, especially when I was just laying around on the floor watching TV or sitting at in a movie theater. It was really easy for me to get into a position that strained my muscles, past their small window of flexibility, and it would pinch. I think that sitting in a movie theater might be more comfortable for me now because warming up and then stretching increases blood flow to my back and loosens it up. 

Then too, certain funny positions in a parked car are much easier... ah, the small thrills of keeping my marriage alive ;)

Social Stretching

I didn't think this was possible, but stretching has helped me connect with other like-minded people. When I first started stretching, it was so intimidating to stretch with people that would slide easily into the splits. After a while it became all about spending the time stretching with no one following the same routine. We just working on what we needed to. I imagine this is what makes taking yoga classes fun, except we don't usually see each other doing the stretch side-by-side, and inevitably make negative comparisons. Having other people to meet with, at a certain time, holds me to stretching--otherwise I would easily convince myself to spend the time on ice cream and an episode of Criminal Minds! (If you haven't already checked out our Facebook page, this is where we coordinate events.)

Feel free to comment with your own stretching love below!