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Animals and babies instinctively know the benefits of movements that gently stretch the muscles and ligaments of the body. Our bodies too often find themselves in unnatural, “squeezed” poses, bringing tension and pain … A few serious arguments in favor of stretching exercises.
Relieve stress, correct posture, improve digestion, get rid of headaches and joint problems – all this can be achieved with the help of stretching – stretching exercises. But it is important to remember that such exercises are not always beneficial on their own.
As many experts note, the intensity of stretching should depend on the individual capabilities of a person. The main principle is no violence against yourself! Otherwise, you can get overstretching of microligaments, or the so-called effect of old rubber. The most useful thing in stretching is not the amplitude of movement, but the change in the effects of compression and stretching.
How Stretching Works
According to physiology, in a state of stress, the muscles remain in constant tension (hypertonicity), not allowing blood and lymph to circulate normally. The stretched muscle does not just relax, but comes into a tone opposite to the tension. More blood flows to it, as a result, its nutrition (trophism) improves. Improves blood supply to the heart muscle, brain and other internal organs.
Stretching exercises are a special form of energy work, they are included in all Eastern bodily practices.
The same thing happens with lymph circulation. All cells of the body, and most importantly – the brain, receive more oxygen. And finally, the main advantage of stretching over dynamic exercises: static stretching allows you to maintain relaxation and control over breathing. Stretching exercises are a special form of energy work, so they are included in all oriental bodily practices, whether it be yoga, tai chi, wushu or qigong.
Chinese medicine perspective
If the muscles can be affected by massage, then the ligaments can only be affected by stretching exercises. The development of joint elasticity prevents arthrosis and arthritis, and according to Chinese medicine, by developing joints, we literally prolong our lives.
“The Chinese believe that the foot works as a lever for the heart,” says Igor Kisurin, a specialist in oriental health techniques. – The ligament acts as a trap that captures the blood and does not allow it to circulate freely. Therefore, an elastic ligament is a necessary condition for preventing rapid wear of the heart.
Ligaments also affect the functioning of the liver and gallbladder – these organs are responsible for irascibility and a state of depression. The right stretching complexes allow you to observe the golden mean – to remain in a calm, harmonious, balanced state of mind.
Pilates
It was the Eastern practices of working with the body that formed the basis of the famous system developed by Joseph Pilates. Pilates was a sickly child, suffered from asthma, but regular exercise made him a healthy, athletic young man.
Once in prison during the First World War, Josef tested the invented technique among his political prisoner friends who suffered from health problems. After the war, Pilates moved to New York, where famous dancers and artists began to practice according to his system. The technique has received worldwide recognition. In the 90s, its principles began to be used by rehabilitation and medical centers around the world.
Unlike fitness programs that focus on developing large muscles and fast-twitch muscle fibers, Pilates involves deep-lying muscles: the transverse abdominis and pelvic floor muscles, that is, the small muscles that support the body from the inside. “This kind of work turns simple physical exercises into real mental training,” says Maria Permyakova, instructor at the Moscow Pilates Institute. “She develops the ability to concentrate on her feelings.”
Callanetics
Callanetics, based on the effect of static stretch and subsequent contraction, also takes its name from its founder, Callan Pinckney. Pinckney was an American ballerina who got rid of her back and hip and knee problems through exercise.
While traveling to the East, she studied yoga and breathing exercises. Her system has absorbed all the best from yoga, ballet, modern dance, tai chi and even belly dance. Instructors call it a natural body sculptor, they note a low injury risk.
A feature of the system is a high static load on different muscle groups: having taken a given position, you need to hold it with muscle effort for 60–100 seconds. But some experts believe that callanetics has contraindications: it is not suitable for those who suffer from asthma or serious cardiovascular diseases.
The path to inner harmony
Each technique has its own nuances, each is based on conscious breathing, control over the body, concentration on sensations, the ability to control individual muscles, continuity of movements. The scientific director of the section of restorative medicine of the Russian Association for Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Sick and Disabled (RASMIRBI) Mikhail Eremushkin explains that the prototype system of these techniques has existed for many thousands of years. It is part of Eastern philosophy, and its components are time-tested.
Today, new methods of working with the body are emerging. You are unlikely to be able to radically change the figure with the help of stretching, but it is not at all necessary to have an athletic figure to feel good. It is more important to learn how to restore the emotional state, to find a balance between nervous overexcitation and complete apathy. After all, it is about this – about spiritual harmony – that most people dream of. And this will help yoga, Pilates or regular stretching.
Stretching exercises for the whole body
1. Shoulder
Performance. Sitting or standing, spread your legs slightly, placing your feet parallel to each other. With your back straight, bend your arm at chest level and pull her elbow toward you with your other hand to stretch the brachialis muscle. Press the elbow with increasing force for 15 seconds, then relax. Repeat three times with each hand.
exercise effect. Stretches the triceps muscle (triceps) and shoulder muscles, kneads the joints, which are often clamped. When fatigue appears, the upper body is clamped first. By relaxing this area, we prevent the tension from spreading further.
2. Loins
Performance. Lying on your back, stretch your arms out to the sides, palms down, legs straight. Bend your right knee and place your right foot on your left knee. Then turn the pelvis to the left and tilt the right knee to the floor as low as possible. Turning your head in the direction of your right hand, press your right shoulder to the floor as much as possible to increase the effect of the twist. Breathing deeply, hold this position for 15-20 seconds, then turn to the other side.
exercise effect. Stretches the spine, especially the quadratus lumborum and gluteal muscles, and is also good for back pain. These pains are often related to our emotional state. Relaxation of the lumbar region will allow you to gradually relieve emotional stress.
3. Waist
Performance. Standing, legs slightly apart, feet parallel to each other. Raise your hands with interlaced fingers above your head, palms up. Without bending at the waist, firmly plant your feet on the floor and stretch upwards, as if you wanted to reach the ceiling with the top of your head. Then, leaning slightly to the right, pull the left side. Be careful: try not so much to bend as to reach up. Don’t forget about breathing. Do not stay in this position for too long at first, as this is a rather tiring exercise.
exercise effect. “Opens” the chest, stretches the muscles of the waist and the press, returns the spine to the correct position. Relieving tension from the diaphragm and solar plexus, it promotes deep breathing and charges the body with calmness and energy.
4. Buttocks
Performance. Standing, legs slightly apart, feet parallel to each other. Grasp your left foot with your left hand and pull it towards your buttock. Breathing deeply, hold this position for 15 seconds (do this twice for each leg). You should feel the stretch in the anterior thigh muscle. You can lean on the back of a chair or against a wall to help you maintain your balance.
exercise effect. It relieves tension from the quadriceps muscle, which has a large load, and therefore it tends to lose elasticity. By stretching and relaxing the muscle, we saturate it with oxygen and help it to acquire a smooth, rounded shape.
5. Spine
Performance. Sitting on your knees, lie down with your chest on your hips, while trying not to tear your buttocks off your heels. Hands lie on the sides on the floor, palms up. Lower your head, resting your forehead on the floor or laying it on its side; you can put a small roller under it. Close your eyes, breathe easily and deeply, try to concentrate on your breathing and not think about anything for at least 30 seconds.
exercise effect. In yoga, this position is called the “child’s pose”: it calms the mind, gives rest to the legs and relaxes the entire spine – from the lower back to the cervical vertebrae.