One of my greatest joys in life is being physically active.  It saves my sanity.  I run, attend boot camp, love barre class, and ride a spin bike occasionally.  In the past, I have trained for road races {including a marathon} and triathlons.  I find that although recovery may take a bit longer, I am still doing pretty well with endurance, strength, and balance.  However, my flexibility needs a ton of work and it only seems to be getting worse.  Growing up as a gymnast, I suppose I have taken flexibility for granted.  My hamstrings and hips are so tight I cannot do a static stretch without my legs quivering.  Not good.

I recently read that flexibility can help your body reach its optimum fitness level, may play a role in injury prevention, and can even contribute to staving off conditions like arthritis and more serious illnesses. Ok, time to take my flexibility more seriously.

I am committing to add stretching into my life {somehow}!  I would like to a yoga class {or DVD} at least once a week and stretch 10 minutes a day.  I can do that, right?

Do you find you are struggling with flexibility?

Here are a few resources I found interesting/helpful:

1. How to improve Flexibility

2. Increase your flexibility and improve your life {Bold statement!}

3. 6 Stretches for a long, limber body  {Yes, please.}

4.  Leg Stretches that Increase Flexibility for Dancers and Gymnasts  {Going to use this for my 10 minutes of stretching.}

Top image: Mary Helen Bowers from Ballet Beautiful

Tags: health

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2014 at 9:50 am and is filed under Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.