You can see from this picture that I’m flexible. What you can’t see are my two, artificial knees, spinal scoliosis, achy hip and temperamental shoulder due to a long-ago dislocation. I started doing yoga in my teens, 50 years ago. Nothing fancy but I still do a little bit every day. Now, it only takes about 10 minutes a day to maintain that flexibility.
Stretching relieves pent-up stress, helps maintain steady blood pressure and boosts your immune system. A good stretch also releases endorphins that reduce pain and enhance your mood. Besides feeling good, stretching increases flexibility and circulation, boosts athletic performance, and improves posture. So why doesn’t everybody do it? Beats me. It’s DIY and it’s free.
Our bodies bring us immense pleasure. One of the easiest ways to maintain them is simply to stretch. You don’t need to pay for a class or rigorously perform 26 yoga positions. You don’t need to contort yourself into a pretzel in a 100-degree room. You just need to listen to your body. It speaks to you. If it doesn’t, you’re not listening hard enough.
When you first wake up, pull your knees into your chest and hug yourself into a ball. Breathe and observe where you’re stiff. Once you’re up and going, get on a yoga mat. A good one is imperative. Anything less than 1” is too flimsy. Lean into any tightness you have gently and breathe. Pause, shake it out, lean into the tightness again, breathe and repeat. Do this three times, twice a day everywhere you feel resistance. That’s all it takes.
Stretching should be effortless with no bouncing or forcing. Your muscles are like rubber bands. Ease them gently. Otherwise, they’ll snap. Recent scientific studies show that stretching even affects your fascia, (the connective tissue around your muscles). When your fascia is restricted, it causes pain, reduced mobility, headaches, poor sleep and even depression! With gentle and consistent stretching, you stimulate the fibroblasts in your fascia which restores them to a healthy fluid state!
How long will it take for you to get more flexible? You are likely to feel a significant difference after just two weeks of consistent, patient stretching. ‘Slow and steady’ really does win the race here. If we can ‘stretch’ our limousines, budgets and patience, imagine what we can do with our bodies. What have you got to ‘loosen’?
AGEFULLY AGING 
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