It’s no stretch of the imagination to say that stretching is a way for everyone to gain access to their fountain of youth.
The “Fountain of Youth,” a mythical spring, allegedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Herodotus, in the Alexander romance, in the stories of Prester John.
Stories of similar waters also featured prominently among the people of the Caribbean during the Age of Exploration. They spoke of the restorative powers of the water in the mythical land of Bimini. Based on these many legends, explorers and adventurers looked for the elusive Fountain of Youth or some other remedy to aging, generally associated with magic waters. These waters might have been a river, spring or any other water source said to reverse the aging process and cure sickness when swallowed or bathed in.
But what if you could look younger, feel more energetic, and move with more flexibility all by making stretching a part of your daily life?
When joints are not being used or flexed continuously, your tissue will contract and stiffness will settle in. Loss of flexibility and aging go hand in hand because one’s muscles get stiffer, and our muscles began to shrink. However, when you stretch you can restore and maintain your flexibility, and adding flexibility can slow down aging.
Even if you are already showing signs of stiffness, like having a hard time putting on shoes, pulling a shirt over your head, or even putting on a belt, you can take easy action to begin reversing this trend. Usually, when we face these challenges, we adapt to a more comfortable way of doing things. This only causes our muscles to deteriorate, the less we use them, the less they work.
The great news is that we can regain our flexibility after 30, 40, or even 60/70 years old and older. By maintaining your flexibility you can slow down the aging process.
Have you ever noticed how flexible babies are? Well, they are born with 300 bones, while we have 206 as adults. That’s 94 more than adults have. For babies to be born, the whole skeleton must be squashy, so many of the bones are joined with flexible cartilage. After birth, those bones start to fuse, a process that doesn’t stop until young adulthood. Unfortunately, we can’t turn our bones back into cartilage for flexibility, but we can learn to stretch properly and be able to move easier, bend further stretch more with fewer aches.
Stretching increases your range of motion, reduces your risk for muscle and joint injury, reduces joint and back pain, improves your balance, thus reducing your risk of falling, and improves your posture. These things allow for a more independent and fulfilled lifestyle. There are several types of stretching; static and dynamic stretching.
Whenever you stretch your muscles, it lengthens, the opposite is true as well. Our muscles naturally shrink as time goes on, and we lose flexibility. Establishing a regular stretching routine Increases your flexibility, range of motion, and your physical performance in activities will improve. It’s amazing when it comes to the relief of stress, and calming of the mind. Muscles receive a surge of blood flow from stretching, and posture is improved substantially when stretching is part of one’s regime. If you have back pain that needs healing, or better yet, if you want to establish routines that prevent back pain, stretching is the answer.
There are several types of stretching that will increase flexibility and build a stronger more toned body Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi are a few popular ones.
The main differences between yoga and pilates are that yoga can be used for improving the flexibility of the body and it will also gradually increase the flexibility of your joints. Whereas, pilates focuses on trying to relax muscles that are tense and provide strengthening to the numerous muscles of the body.
The main difference is in execution.
Yoga involves holding poses and postures. Whereas tai chi is performed in a dance-like, martial arts form. Both can be rigorous, or low impact, depending on the person’s fitness level. There are many videos you can find online about how to stretch for beginners that are not part of the systems mentioned above, make sure to consult your physician before engaging in new physical activities, as everyone’s physical condition is different.
Remember, the fitter your body the younger your cells will be, and strength and flexibility equal a more youthful body!
Words by Kaba Abdul-Fattaah.
