Why You Should Take Time to Stretch Every Day

I danced for 12 years, competitively for seven. During those seven years in particular, I was very serious about being the best dancer I could be, not only for myself but also for my studio and competition team. Part of my at-home practice was nightly stretches and ab exercises. I knew how flexible I needed (and wanted) to be, so taking time every night to stretch my muscles and work on my splits contributed to my continued success as a dancer (among other things).

In high school, I shifted from dance to sports, and later to straight training and fitness. When I stopped my rigorous stretching routine from dance, I lost most of my flexibility. Although I didn’t have to do splits or grand battements or other fancy dance moves, I should have kept up with stretching more than I did.

At my job, we have “daily stretching” sessions every afternoon. It’s a small group, led by one of my fabulous coworkers, and we invite others from around our floor to join and participate. We love the daily stretch for so many reasons.

Stretching is good to recharge and refocus our minds.

The daily stretch forces us to step away from our computers, even for just 10 or 15 minutes. Taking stretch breaks gives our minds a chance to rest and recharge. That way, when we go back to tackle the rest of our days, we’re refocused and can go back to work with fresh minds. And since we spend most of our days working on computers, stretching our necks and shoulders is crucial to preventing future problems. The daily stretch is strategically schedule for the mid-afternoon slump, when we need something to wake us up to power through the rest of the day. We’re a clever bunch.

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It’s calm and relaxing.

Stretching should never be rushed. It’s meant to be slower so you can feel the effects in your muscles. When I danced, stretching and warm-ups were just as important as learning the routines and practicing. If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you understand the pace. For a long time, I didn’t like yoga because it was so slow, and I was more used to high-intensity training and workouts. But now I understand that yoga is meant to be slower for deep stretching, and I appreciate the practice much more. So when you take time to stretch, don’t rush yourself. There’s no hurry!

Everyone should be able to touch his toes.

This is basic flexibility, y’all. With a little practice and stretching each day, you, too, can bend down and touch your toes. Don’t be like Sheldon. Be (more) like Penny.

And perhaps, most importantly…

The more flexible you are, the less likely you are to get injured.

I cannot attest to this enough! Flexibility means your muscles can move better when you’re active, which makes everything else in your body play nicely with each other. It’s just good for you. However, being flexible isn’t an automatic guarantee for avoiding injuries; it just means you might be less prone. Accidents happen and the smallest motion can cause an injury.

Two summers ago, I hurt my knee (while I was abroad, which was awesome…) and spent the latter half of the summer in physical therapy. PT made me thankful for two things: one, that my injury wasn’t severe enough to warrant surgery; and two, it reminded me of how important stretching is for overall fitness and health. Since then, I’ve been more conscious of making time to stretch each day. It’s a small addition to my routine, but it makes a huge difference, especially in fitness.

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I’ll never be as flexible as I was when I was 15, and that’s okay. I have no need to be that flexible anymore. But stretching should absolutely be a part of anyone’s daily routine, no matter how active you are. All you need is 15 minutes, in the morning, afternoon, night, whenever. If you need a guide, there are tons of stretching and yoga videos on YouTube (I recommend Yoga with Adriene) that are great to start or end the day.

No matter how you go about it, I highly encourage everyone to find time today to rest and stretch. It’s one of the best things you can do for your body. Take care of yourself!

How do you take care of your body every day? Do you practice yoga or daily stretching? What are your tips for beginners?