5 Reasons to Stretch & Release anytime
/You’ve seen Stretch & Release join our Monday timetable in the city and might be wondering why you should prioritise adding a stretch session into your routine. Here’s the good oil!
A dedicated Stretch & Release class will improve the way you move! As you learn to release those tight muscles your body will function better. You will find a greater range of motion and performance in your everyday movement (like bending over to pick something up) and exercise (whether barre or anything else!) when not encumbered by a tight muscle that blocks your movement or won’t allow you to find a full range of depth.
Release will make you feel ‘lighter’! We use rollers and balls to release the fascia during this class. Fascia provides structural support to connect and hold the muscles, ligaments and tendons together and adapts to stress. When fascia is too tight, it is involved in the development of conditions like hernias, upper postural problems, lower back pain, muscle coordination and proprioception. Proprioception is the sense of effort, the sense of force, and the sense of heaviness. Receptors involved in proprioception are located in skin, muscles, and joints.
Fascia that surrounds the muscles is called myofascia. The fascia that surrounds the muscles is connected throughout the body as a network, so pressing and rolling into the fascia assists it to relax and change the shape of the muscle. The fascia acts like an elastic band extending and then returning to its original shape each time.
You’ll be more flexible! This might seem a bit “Well, d’Uh!” but did you know stretching doesn’t just lengthen muscles? During Stretch & Release the ligaments that connect bone to bone and help stabilise joints are also targeted. Ligaments are composed mostly of long and stringy collagen fibres that create bands of fibrous and tough connective tissue. Ligaments are therefore more elastic than tendons, and may be gradually lengthened to assist in increasing a person's flexibility.
Improves circulation by increasing blood flow to your muscles. Better circulation helps the body recover faster by removing waste by products in muscle tissue and delivers essential oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and organs - including your heart! A strong circulation system is one part of the puzzle for a healthy body.
Master body awareness. While we are always aware when things are painful, sometimes we need to stop an tap into our body to find other areas of the body that need attention that might not be crying out in pain but instead giving a little niggle! For instance, did you know sore shoulders often come from the neck? But you might not be aware you’re carrying tension there because you’re just feeling your tight shoulders! Stretch & Release class is great for stopping and getting in touch with what your body needs. The lovely Rachell is also happy to give you some information on what muscles you’re targeting in a stretch so you have greater awareness of your body!