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Effective Stretching

A pupil once showed me a stretch that he performed religiously after every running outing. It was a hamstring stretch, one that is very commonly performed. It involves propping one foot up on an object of suitable height and leaning forwards towards the propped-up foot while balancing on the other leg . The man had the correct position, but was actually tensing the very areas he wanted to stretch. Partly, he had fallen into the trap of having a particular expectation of what the successful stretch should feel like. The result, apart from pain, was that inevitably his hamstrings were getting tighter and shorter. This was hardly surprising, since this was what he was actively, albeit unconsciously, practising.

I might add that this was a veteran age athlete, therefore experienced and one of considerable intelligence!

Understand why!
Why stretch at all? Don't do it just because someone told you to; understand the goal and purpose of each and every stretch you do, and ensure that you are not inadvertently preventing the achievement of that goal.

Basics
Two points are absolutely basic to the adequate and safe performance of a stretch. The first is that our weight should be allowed to fall freely through our skeleton, unhindered by undue tension on the way to the floor. This does not mean becoming floppy: a toned, energised, yet relaxed state should be the goal of any athlete, both when actively engaged in sport, as well as the rest of the time. And it applies particularly when stretching.

The second point is that we should in no way hinder the freedom of our breathing.

Another pupil showed me a series of neck and shoulder stretches that she was in the habit of performing religiously. It quickly emerged that while "stretching" one side she was tensing the other, resulting of course, in a zero nett improvement. She was also restricting her breathing throughout.

As soon as she was shown how to ease off the breathing, as well as leave out the habitual neck tension, she was delighted to find the stretch much more effective and far less effort. Of course, the whole sensation of the stretch was now different to the sensation she had associated with her previous concept of stretching.

Your muscular matrtix
Our basic level of organisation, the "how" or quality of our action underlies our performance of any activity. Is it co-ordinated and integrated as described below, or does it fall short in some aspect, resulting in one-sidedness or exaggerated asymmetry, recurrent tensions, stiffness or even stress and anxiety? Our basic, personal "how" is present in stretching just as much as in whatever activity precedes stretching, or comes after it. (This explains why some people are loose-limbed and may remain so without ever stretching, while others stretch diligently or have regular massages yet are always a bit stiff - it reflects their basic personal "how" or way of being-in-action.)

When our postural processes are working freely and efficiently, then a number of corollaries can be noted:

• We are at our full height and easy with it; we are relaxed, yet ready for action;our posture is good; we can move freely; our muscles are enjoying a gentle passive stretch.

• We are breathing freely and are able to orient our major sense organs, i.e. our eyes, where and how we want; that is, we enjoy an absence of neck tension.

Take your time
We can be working towards developing these qualities at any time: at rest just as much as during activity. During stretching, no less than at any other time, we should be ensuring the strain-free working of our postural processes.

So, take your time when stretching! Think about specifically what you want to achieve with each stretch. No stretch should ever come at the expense of tightening somewhere else!

Allow your weight to rest freely through your bones (legs and feet when standing, bottom bones when sitting). And always ensure that you are breathing freely!

Developing greater body-awareness, bridging the inevitable gap between what you think you are doing and what you are actually doing, is an invaluable aid to better performance in any area. It also brings greater poise and grace generally. A teacher of the Alexander Technique can help you achieve these goals.

Michael Stenning and Léonie John have taught the Alexander Technique in Canberra since 1985. The Alexander Technique is a method of securing a high standard of poise, muscular co-ordination, breathing and general functioning. It has application in many areas including health and sport.