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Day 166 of stretching and flexibility journey Note: I caught a cold from this past weekend and still recovering. Though I'm still stretching, my ability to concentrate and focus has diminished greatly. I’m now on the 5th (or 6th) week of this block that I created and today’s focus was hamstrings and quadriceps. I definitely adequately pushed myself today; I’m feeling sore, specifically in my upper hamstring, right below my buttocks, predominately in my right leg. The soreness could be a result of either (or combination of) practicing the forward fold while hinging at the hips (versus bending in the lower back) and the deliberately longer holds in the lunge position. Speaking of the lunge position, today I wore knee pads (originally purchased for floor work in dance). I haven’t experienced this sort of discomfort before but now, when I stretch my right (target) leg back and rest the knee on the floor — even with the Pilates mat — there’s discomfort in the knee and that distracts me from feeling the stretch in the quadriceps. Also, I noticed a painful sensation around my knee but not in the same spot as usual (i.e. behind the knee), the pain triggered when I stand on that one leg and bend: feels like too pressure. This pain might just be a result of “too much volume” from this past weekend (i.e. about 10 hours of dancing in total). To keep it short, I actually am quite excited about feeling this new pain. Sounds ironic but the way I see it is that due to stretching and increased range of motion, I’m able to move and dance in ways I couldn’t before. And so I believe that I’m now stressing different muscles (in a good way).

A few brief comments, today. Your first point is insightful, and accurate. "True or not" is black or white, by definition, and The fastest way to "get that energy and confidence" you is by actually doing the recommended practise.