125+ Stretching Exercises: The No-Gym Guide
From beginner to advanced; to gain flexibility, staying young, and achieving meditation through Yoga
RHP
Copyright 2021 RHP
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9798505293362
DEDICATION
To all who wants to get fit.
CONTENTS
Introduction | |
| Beginner | |
| Intermediate | |
| Advanced | |
Introduction
Before we get into the reformation of your body, if I can humbly ask you to leave a review for this book when you feel like you are ready. It really does help out a lot with reforming the algorithms we all live under.
Likewise, I made a uniquely designed digital graphic which you can print out or keep as a background for a daily reminder. The illustration has all the poses gone through in this book, slotted into categories, and beautifully designed into the three stages from beginner to advanced. You can only get this by sending me an email on with proof of purchase for this book and then I will send it to you. Then I will also send you a personal email when new books of mine are out. Do not worry, I loathe spam emails myself I do not spam! We already live in an attentionless world to begin with, I do not want to contribute to that.
Similarly, to aid you in your stretching journey, and exclusively for the Audiobook version, is an attached PDF document with all the 125+ stretches gone through in this book.
Okay, with that out of the way. Lets begin.
Stretching is uncomfortable. It takes too long, and it doesnt bring as many visual benefits as you would like. These statements are usually uttered in response to someone recommending stretching exercises or Yoga. Especially if you are a triathlon athlete or a buff that has lifted weights for decades.
See this has been the dominant thought behind stretching. But it is starting to change, and you are the testament of this change: because you purchased this book. For which I would like to say a heartfelt thank you, both from me, and your body.
In some ways it is true that heavy weightlifting or running a marathon will visually give you results. But I am here to tell you that stretching can help you tone your muscles in the right direction, while also giving you stronger flexibility and balance. Additionally, stretching alleviates and combats many of the hidden markers that later will damage you, as well as injuries you will experience later on in your life. Especially if you sit at an office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Our bodies are simply not geared towards such a lifestyle - we are engineered to run across steppes or deep within thick jungle or forest brushes.
A great allegory for stretchings benefits is that I assume you care about not getting sick. Whether it is getting the flu, or blood poisoning. You cannot see neither virus nor bacteria, and yet we put an extra layer on when it is winter, and we dont consciously cut our hands on rusted nails. Discounting that, stretching tones your muscles and make you have a well-rounded body in both feel and looks. It helps your body be the best it can be for future ailments. And in addressing the ignorant stigma regarding stretching, I am here to tell you that I have known male weightlifters and female mountain trail runners who completely crack under just a basic stretching routine.
Stretching exercises will truly reform your body. But really to do this, it starts with your mindset. See lifting weights or going for a run or a swim mentally takes more energy. It is harder to go out for a run in the light frizzle of rain or freezing white blizzard. But stretching can be done in your bedroom, living room, or spare room. It takes less mental energy to get the habit in. Because central to stretching exercises we have yoga and central to yoga is not just stretching postures, or asana, themselves. It is about awareness both in the world around you, but also inward towards yourself. You will be more in tune with your body, its capabilities, and where it needs work. But it will also trick your mind into working just that little bit harder.
Speaking as a world-athlete in laziness myself, I struggled a lot in finding something I could commit to daily, combined with also having an increasingly hectic schedule. But finding stretching exercises and yoga really did transform my life. Over time it improved my balance, flexibility, muscle toning, natural posture, breathing, mindset and awareness.
Even though it may feel like lower energy and exertion is being put out, the same effects and other wonderous results can be found in incorporating stretching into your every day.
There are many types of stretching exercises and by extension, yoga. You cannot not talk about yoga when you talk about working out, with stretching. Because yoga, as we will learn a bit more below, is over 9,000 years old. Perhaps even older, since this is just the oldest text that scientists have found that discuss yoga. And within yoga we have the many types of yoga or stretching postures, which over millennia have gotten more postures and stances.
If you want to achieve a better cardio and athletic physique, then Vinyasa yoga is for you. Here you not only get the benefits of the stretching itself and the muscle toning, but you also coordinate your breathing with the posture changes you carry out. In this way, through your breathing you gain stronger control over your breathing and increases your cardio, ramping up the frequency of posture changes.
If you are a beginner and just need a taste of what stretching can do for you, then Hatha yoga would be for you. This type is more physical and not so much about frequency. It is therefore slower paced and more accessible. But even with the slow pace you certainly can delve into some fat burning and muscle toning postures as well. Just look at the advanced poses in this book.
At last, because we will be here all day if we would go through all of the posture types in an ancient and respected practice, we have Lyengar yoga. Lyengar is all about precise and detailed movement. Now this is not necessarily fast, but it is about skill, mindfulness, and dexterity. Here your focus would be on balance and flexibility.
Three types that are different, but they all fall under the wonders that stretching exercises can do for you. Now lets take a look at the evidence.
Scientifically, stretching means that your muscles are being strained and formed to both lengthen and shorten at the same time. It also trains your joints to move around in a full range of human capable motions.
Likewise, it increases your athletic abilities. It improves your running so that it allocates more efficiently energy throughout your body while you are running. This effectively makes you last for longer distances. It decreases your risk of injuries when working out. It limits soreness after you have worked out, and at last it also speeds up your recovery, so your inevitable soreness will not last for as long.
In general, if you are under 65 years old, it is also medically recommended to hold your stretch for 30 seconds or more. If you are 66 years old and over it is recommended that you hold the stretch for double that, so 60 seconds, or more. In both instances you just set a daily routine, either in the morning, or when you find time for it. The paramount importance is just that you are doing it. [1]
As Sasha Cyrelson, clinical director at Professional Physical Therapy says regarding us aging and how we can alleviate and help our bodies, We need to take an active role in maintaining and improving the length of our muscles so we can continue to enjoy our abilities without pain. [2]
