how did you learn how to stretch in gym class as a kid? i think i was doing it wrong the whole time
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specifically what i picked up is that i was supposed to try to stretch as far as possible and hold it there as long as possible
this was dumb and stupid. i think i have now learned a better way to stretch
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the better way to stretch appears to be to extend until the first point at which you encounter resistance and hang out there. maybe wiggle back and forth a bit. wait for the resistance to relax
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feels about a million times better. actually working through some longstanding tension in my thighs
why the balls did no one tell me this as a kid 😡😡😡
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among other things, this form of stretching is
1) wildly non-competitive; it does not matter if someone else can stretch more than you, it's completely irrelevant to the actual point
2) does not happen on a fixed timescale; nobody can timebox when the resistance will relax
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can't believe i spent so much time trying to *match other people's bodily positions* instead of being taught how to feel what was right for my body smdh
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all of this is a metaphor for a bunch of other things too, i mean, take your pick really
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the first time i caught even a hint of this was when i was in a random free yoga class and the instructor said something like "yoga is supposed to feel good" and i was like [extreme pikachu face]
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like wait wait wait you're telling me exercise isn't intrisically about suffering what???
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evergreen tweet
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hey remember how we went to school where we spent 8 hours a day for over a decade having what our bodies could do completely under the control of authority figures
boy i wonder if that had any lasting effects
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I think this is true. It helps me to imagine "breathing around the tension". If you're holding your breath when you stretch it's not a stretch it's a pull imo