HEAD-TO-TOE STRETCHING: (MOVEMENT CULTURE)!

I challenged myself to "upgrade" my H2T abilities recently...

👉 This is a common goal in the #movementculture and I had achieved the H2T a few years ago, but never...

-Freestanding
-In a pistol squat

Woohoo! :-D

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Not much! :-P But it was fun to unlock new achievements. Now to integrate them!

🔑 A FEW THINGS THAT HELPED ME:

I was sitting a 30-day meditation retreat when I decided to do this. Practicing meditation for 10-hours a day for 30-days certainly didn't hurt (deeper awareness). 😜

In fact, having a BODY BASED meditation practice (Vipassana meditation centered on observing body sensations) helped tremendously.)

WHY?

🧘‍♂️ INNER IQ (INTERIOCEPTION)

Interioception or "Inner IQ" made me more skilled at stretching. It's not exactly mystical...when I pay closer attention (mindfulness) the QUALITY of what I'm doing improves (duh!) It's like the "Goldilocks principle"...NOT too much, NOT too little, but juuuustt the right amount. :-)

A 30-day retreat just SUPERCHARGED this.

🤔 HOW MANY SETS / REPS?

I didn't follow a prescribed set/rep scheme (such as 100, 200, 400 "pulses / bounces" per day.) I let the inner IQ / interioception / inner feeling be my guide.

I'm a big fan of letting "the body be the boss".

Call it "cybernetic training" or "intuitive training" or whatever the hell you want, but when it comes to flexibility, there is always an OPTIMAL DOSE.

How do you know this? THE BODY TELLS YOU!
...but you have to learn how to LISTEN! :-)

Practicing observing subtle inner body sensations helped me know exactly how many "reps" to do.

😱 HOW TO AVOID HAMSTRING STRAINS?

Hamstring strains/pulls (especially around the ischial tuberosity) are WAY TOO COMMON when people start Ballistic Stretching. I actually felt this creeping up on me around Day 22 of the retreat.

The remedy? I did some "Targeted Tissue Work" (aka very pin-point, trigger point-style self-massage in 2 places:

1.) The attachment point of hammies (ischial tuberosity)
2.) The lateral hamstrings (the tightest of the hammies)

I'm a massage therapist & flexibility/mobility teacher, so I've got plenty of videos on YouTube re: this topic...I'm nerdy about it. :-P

🌟WHAT'S NEXT?

Probably maintenance mode. I don't actually have much use for more range of motion (ROM) than this. So I'll put my hamstring flexibility on cruise control and tackle a new goal.

❓QUESTIONS?

Happy to answer any questions about the head-to-toe, ballistic stretching, or flexibility/mobility.

Cheers!

-Shane