Stretching

I’ve been trying to be more “in tune” with my body & its needs. I know I’ve briefly mentioned something about this before but as a quick refresher, I’ve had this compulsion to get myself physically well. I know what I should do but there’s this feeling of being overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. Everything I’ve read is like, “Just start!” But what if what I start with is wrong? What if something else would be better?

GAHHHH!

So, in an effort to drown out THAT noise, I took a moment & quietly looked inward. Without sounding too “out there,” your body will speak to you & let you know what it needs. Listening to your gut, intuition, spirit, soul, inner child, whatever you wanna call it is life-changing.

And for me, my gut is telling me to stretch.

Toe beans!

It’s February & here in the Midwest, that means it’s cold as shit. My body aches with stiffness & pain. I know I sound like some old man (lol) but what I mean is that I’m not as nimble as I was when I was 17. Especially when I’m cold. All I wanna do is get warm, stay warm, & sleep.

Unfortunately, life & responsibilities take precedence. And right now, a top priority is getting my physical health in check.

I used to have a stretching app but it didn’t do it for me. It was more like stretching for runners if that makes sense. I’ve done yoga, which I enjoyed, but I found a lot of it to be heavy on my *knees & I couldn’t physically do it. I felt defeated before I could even try. I’m used to barre & floor stretches so maybe I’ll do those. I mean, I know those work & it doesn’t hurt my knees.

I know what I need. I don’t need some light stretching. I’m talking deep, therapeutic shit. “Breathe through the pain” type. And maybe that’s why I’m hesitant to start. I know it’ll be painful & difficult.

Ugh. I don’t know.

I’m thinking I’ll start small (5-10 minutes a day) & work my way up from there. Hopefully, I’ll see some changes sooner rather than later.

Oh, side note: you should NEVER stretch cold. Holy shit, people. I cringe when I see actors in shows stretch cold before a run. Think of your muscles like a rubber band. If the band is cold & you stretch it, it snaps in half. If it’s warm first, it’ll easily stretch & glide through your hands.

* My knees have been fucked up since high school. I had a physical therapist tell me I was doing too much on them & that’s why. They’ve gotten a lot better but I still have some limitations. Oh, & it’s genetic, IMO. My dad has had something like 8-10 (serious) surgeries on his knees. Whatevs, right?

Haha for real