Welcome to the first "official" edition of Wellness Wednesday! It's part of a fun little series of posts I started on social media to encourage my friends to take care of themselves. I have decided to incorporate it here so I can be a little more in depth in lieu of clogging up newsfeeds with a mile long post. These may or may not be weekly and they may or may not tie in to that weeks regular Friday postings. Basically I'm giving myself an out if I forget (because that's a thing sometimes lol) but the goal is weekly so enjoy!
The most common response I hear from clients when I ask if they are stretching their body is "Welllll....".
It makes me chuckle every time but I promise I'm not judging because lets be honest, as the saying goes, "Those who can, do. Those who can't (or are just really lazy sometimes), teach". That's verbatim right? lol When I delve a little deeper, many times it is expressed that there are just not enough hours in the day. That's when I chuckle again and ask how much time we spend scrolling through social media apps, watching tv, playing games, etc.. None of those things are bad or worthy of being shamed for, but if you have 30 minutes to watch TV, you can absolutely multi-task and do some stretching during that time. "I don't wanna" isn't actually a valid excuse even though we all use it (myself included lol).
Challenge yourself to find 5 minutes a day to stretch something for 7 days in a row and see how you feel. Find a doorway and do some butterfly stretches! They help open up the chest wall, allowing for deeper breathing along with being a great helper to loosen up the neck and shoulders.
Drop your heels off of a step (holding on to the railing of course!) and stretch your feet, calves and all the way up into your hips. Struggling with sciatic pain? Surprise! I have one for you too! The "legs up the wall" is an amazing tool for low back and sciatic (along with many other benefits!). Make sure you hold your stretches for 20-30 seconds each so the muscle has time to commit it to it's "memory" (there's so much science). If you have a smart TV, utilize the video app that I don't have the rights to promote but it rhymes with LouNoob. There are a plethora of short stretching videos for every single muscle group and pain you might have.
The goal is not perfection! I am consistently reminding my clients to be kind to themselves. Our world is often dictated by results and we tend to fall into an all or nothing attitude. Did you only remember to stretch 4 days? Sweet! That's 4 more days than you were doing before and your body still loves you for it! Wellness is more than just exercising and eating healthy. It is a whole body/mind/soul connection that is vital to living our best lives. Now go stretch something!
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