Body responds best to long hold stretches

[Jason]

@oliviaa, like you, I find my body responds best to long held stretches. It often takes a full minute just to start to relax. 

Do you have any suggestions for how to make long hold stretches work even better? I've heard Kit refer to your micro-movements. 

I'm also curious about intensity for long hold stretches. I find if the stretch is very intense it takes a lot of effort to remain relaxed. After the stretch I feel mentally spent and have to really prepare to hold another stretch. Does it sound like it's too intense?

Thanks!

[CraigR]

Hi Jason, I’m not Liv, but since there’s been no reply yet I’ll chime in here with some thoughts based on my own experience.

First, for any long held stretches you need to find comfortable and supported positions. Use any and all props you have to support yourself and help bring your focus to your breath and the felt sense of relaxation rather than any other sensations, such as the effort required to hold the position.

Adding in micro-movements are definitely an incredible way of exploring the end positions of stretches. Slow, small and mindful movements only. However, I do find there is a catch with this movement, and that is many people gravitate towards adding in movement simply as a way to avoid the uncomfortable sensations of the stretch.

Re intensity, it does sound to me like you could back off the intensity somewhat. Everyone experiences and responds to intensity differently so you can only experiment and see for yourself. You might find that future sessions become more productive if you don’t push so hard during the current session.

[Jason]

Hi Craig,

Thank you so much for the reply.

You are spot on with my use of micro-movements and I really appreciate bringing this to my awareness. I totally use micro-movements to briefly reduce intensity.

Regarding supported positions, I've come to really enjoy this part of the process. Figuring out what to use and how to use it is like a puzzle. I've started making illustrations to remember how to set up for a stretch. Sometimes the area I'm using in the gym looks like several people are working there but it's just me and my props.

-Jason