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Thanks Nathan. Will look into it and let you know if help required.

Good going

I tweaked the outside of my left knee skiing a couple days ago. It's feeling pretty good, but I’m giving it some more time before I do any leg stretches since it isn’t quite 100% yet. I've been doing some gentle limbering and exploring the range of movements with it including resting squats. My unstable wrist (old scapholunate ligament injury that causes some instability but thankfully no issues with typing) is also not real thrilled at the moment--unrelated to the last stretch session--I caught some cast-iron on a weird angle the other morning. I'm going to see if I can find a spot indoors that I can attach a band to and look at doing some of the shoulder mastery course until I’m in a spot to finish off the starter course. Until then, I'm just exploring movement, relaxation, and staying open and connected to bodily sensation. That internal work to me is in a lot of ways more significant than the development of particular external forms. As much as I want to become more flexible, it strikes me that grace and ease in the body require (among other things I’m sure) inhabiting and accepting the body as it is now rather than how I would like it to be. I’m experiencing in real time that the distance between the ought and the is inhibits grace and ease in the body and watching tensions come and go and how my whole experience of being changes as they do is providing me with insight into patterns of mind, body, and mind-body and some subtleties of sensation and experience I've missed in the past. Lying relaxation practice.

Day 246 of stretching and flexibility journey I had skipped lying relaxation practice on the 16th and 15th so I just reset the counter of consecutively performing the lying relaxation practice - experienced some unjustified shame for missing two days and practicing self compassion and recognize that I am also building determination and persistence Yesterday night, followed the 14 minute 2019-ITS-day1.mp3 script After dance class last night, I performed the standing quad stretch, flexing the knee, tilting the pelvis, breathing, then slowly driving leg back These quad stretches are truly relieving right knee pain. As I sit here crossed legged, I recognize a little tension still in my right leg but even just a week later from starting quad stretches, I can perceive less tension Recap of stretching session (C-R) on Tuesday (3 days ago) Targeted hamstrings, quads, and hip flexors Observable increase in ROM for hip flexor lunge position (more details below — see 20 second recap video below) Some positive changes happening in my left hip flexor - I almost always feel left hip flexor pain when I first wake up (similar to what Kit had reported about crawling out of bed with back pain for years) Though still feel pain, the intensity is much less and the pain duration is much shorter During the stretch session (243 days since first starting this journey), the left (L) hip flexor stretch FELT different During the C-R portion of hip flexor stretch (lunge), I very very very slowly drove the left heel back and inside my body, best way to describe it was, like my left hip flexor felt like dough that you stretch while making bread (or similar to like slime that kids play with) In other words, sort of felt like fascia was moving instead of the muscle itself - I hesitate to say this because I cannot see what's going on inside my body but the sensation was similar to when my left hip had popped weeks ago which I too think was fascia release

Tension is the bodies way of protecting itself. Relaxing in the tension is a good strategy for life.I think Viktor Frankl said between the stimulus and the response there's a space and in that space is where freedom lies.Relaxation opens up that space so that you can choose how you want to respond rather than react

Yes, they can. They are ordinary MP3 files. How you get them onto your phone will depend on your model, technological prowess, etc. If nothing else, you can play them in your mobile browser, but downloading them would be preferred, since that will save bandwidth (which is good not only for Kit, but for you and the environment). If you are not sure how to download files to your phone, or play them, perhaps it would be easiest to install VLC media player, which is free and available for all devices. VLC can open and save the MP3s for you. Let us know if you need help figuring it out.

Keep up the singing lessons,sing for the sheer enjoyment of singing don't do it for an instrumental purpose.

The tension is probably from years of pressing down your emotions. You're an analytical man however the intellect can be used to distance oneself from one's feelings.. Freud called it intellectualisation

So let it go, already! The somatic and emotional work you mentioned in the earlier post can all be addressed, directly and indirectly, by developing a relaxation practice. I have a deep background in (and still run a practice in) stress management, and the advice that I continue to give you is based on excellent scientific and empirical work over many decades. A question to ask yourself, I suggest, is what is the root of the incredible resistance you have to simply lying down for 20 minutes, listening to a step-by-step proven formula that relaxes you?

From a lifetime of swimming against the current of my true self, metaphorically speaking.

Where do you think the tension comes from Alexander?

I should add that the long lunge does not have to be done while balancing, as Elise is. One finger vertically on a picnic table alongside me to keep balance is what I do, and holding for time in the deepest position is the way to progress this. All adjustments to squareness and tail tuck must be done before the deepest position is reached (you will not be able to make these adjustments once there). There is a lot of work that can be done in the position, too; I will make a video of my own on this, soon.

It's obvious to anyone who reads what you write, Alexander. Do the relaxation practise every day for three months. Let us know when you begin, and we will send you encouraging messages monthly.

Well, consider reading this: https://kitlaughlin.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1570-the-secrets-of-stretching/ And, of all the attributes needed to "achieve my middle, front splits and pancake, as well as improve my backbend", consistency is #1. Procrastination is self-sabotage, that's all. And there's no problem with that, either. This is why in my reply to you, I asked you, "What do you want?" If you understand this question at a deep level, you're on your way. No other advice will be needed, or helpful. Re. front splits: do the long lunge twice a week; I will link you to Emmet Louis's explanation (he was a student of mine for a long while, and we talk regularly) below. In the bigger picture, the hip flexors are the key to both the front splits and all backward bending. Go to our YouTube channel (kit laughlin) and search on "quads and hip flexors". All the best ones are there, free. Do only twice a week. Keep the hips square, and tuck your tail, flexing the glute on the back leg to do this.

I won’t take up too much space on this vital thread, other than to say thank you @Jason for re-organising this list. (Thanks you also and primarily to @Kit_L for the generosity in recording and sharing in the first place). I have used these recordings on and off for a couple of years. I need to commit to the three lunar cycles Kit speaks of and really ingrain the habit. Can you also advise, can these files be downloaded to my phone to play offline too? This is something that I have wanted for a while. Cheers Simon

So, an update is in order. On a general note my pelvis feels less rigid, and I suspect that it might have shifted "into a less tension generating position". This is expressed through the hip flexor/RF stretches where I experience less of a block and more of a stretch, though the tension still varies notably compared to the left side. I have also experienced improvement in my Bulgarian split squats. I had, and still have, a tendency to internally rotate my hips, shift weight bearing medially, do a small arch and side bent. As a result of addressing this I am gradually targeting the evasive right gluteus medius while also having a more pronounced posterior pelvic tilt and control of the movement. In my pancake stretches the pattern of internal rotation is also present, in addition to some degree of adduction of the hip and lateral shifting/glide of the bottom vertebrae. My primary focus is to force external rotation of th hips and maintain firm contact to the floor with the glutes. This results in cramping of gluteus medius as well as a strong sensation of stretch-related tension at the estimated site of the origin of gracillis. A pleasant sensation though its painful. Any specific comments or suggestions to the above? You suggest I may be carrying a lot of tension which is absolutely true in my opinion! Even though I have become very flexible by the standards of most people, with the exception of a few specific sticking points, I still have a lot of tension which may not just be genetic, but also emotional/mental. I am addressing these separately but seeing how I responded to the singing exercise I may focus more on somatic emotional release.

@Kit_L In terms of what I want - I would like to achieve my middle, front splits and pancake, as well as improve my backbend. Greatly welcoming any words of advice and wisdom!

Perfectionism leads to procrastination.Maybe you don't want to do the practices everyday that's fine there's no absolute rule saying you should,set the bar lower it will take pressure off yourself and you can relax,you don't have to be perfect you can be human.There's days where I don't want to run,if I feel that way I don't run

What do you want? IOW, what do you want out of the movement practise? If you can be clear with yourself about what you want, people here might be able to help with suggestions. I also recommend not doing any one thing every day, but instead do one of a number of things each day, and have a day off once a week where you just walk for pleasure.

Program 15 - Fingers, hands, wrists, and forearms Kit said: “In the beginning you’re going to feel as though every stretch is just painful, but then something strange and miraculous happens. At some point, the sensation of the stretch itself turns into a pleasure.” It's a perfect description of my experience with pretty well every new stretch I've encountered in a tight area. Usually, "some point" is after I've done the stretches a few times. This particular area is one that needs a lot of work for me. There are muscles in my forearms that I don’t ever remember being anything other than tight (even as a kid). As I'm prodding at some of them after this a few of them do seem very slightly softer than when I started, and that's something at least. When I was doing the stretches, I kept waiting for the point where the muscles would relax and they didn’t. Even spending a few minutes in a position often brought no noticeable relaxation. So it’s probably going to be a while before I experience the stretches as enjoyable. I've experienced similar with pretty well everything else that I found tight, so I know the process works as long as I'm patient with myself and just enjoy discovering tension that I know will relax eventually. My right side is quite a bit tighter than my left, which isn’t a surprise since that’s the one that I’m rehabbing. I appreciate the contractions though since they bring a little more awareness. I was also expecting this session might go much worse than it did (especially on the right side), so being able to do all of the positions and just spend some time getting used to the different them while appreciating that I can feel where I'm tense even if I don't know how to relax that tension is a win. I could at least keep my belly soft and my shoulders and upper back from tightening up throughout. LRP.

Hey everyone! I am looking for some advice on here about Procrastination, Consistency & Motivation - I have at times in the past had a great movement practise but am currently really struggling to do the practises every day, especially as it is more self led rather than a guided follow along. Would so appreciate any tips and advice to help with this! Thank you.

Yeah it is more useful

More useful, don't you think? It is the mind's habit to move to a binary position on everything. The reality is that reality is seamless – it's the mind that cuts it up into pieces.

So not either/or but both

Let thoughts about the practise go, let all thoughts go, and you will!