As with many things in my life, I started stretching after a therapy session. I can’t remember what we talked about, but something in me wanted to move in the morning, and my therapist suggested sun salutations (one to begin, adding more as I feel comfortable doing so). Around the same time, I was talking with a friend who said I should just search for yoga videos on YouTube and find one I liked.
Can you believe my first time trying yoga was directly on a hardwood floor? A mistake I plan to make only once, thank you; I got a mat from Winners the next time I was downtown. I found a few videos I liked, using keywords like “beginner” and “bedtime” (having completely forgotten my morning goal, I had read that stretching could improve one’s quality of sleep). As I repeated sequences over days and weeks and months, I felt my flexibility increase and I felt more rested in the morning. I could feel my body better as I moved, which helped bring me out of my head, instead of my usual of being caught in whirling thoughts.
Stretching became a much more regular part of my life when I started massage school, and then when I got into shiatsu, I learned a series of stretches for the twelve organ meridians called Makko ho. Like with the repeated videos, going through a set sequence most mornings meant I could feel each stretch become easier. I could go deeper, hold them longer, and really sink into the muscles involved in each pose. Before long, I started freestyling, trying to sense what movements my body craved. With no presenter to follow, I stayed in each position for a few breaths before moving into the next.
Consistency for me does not look like doing something every day. I aim for most days, and I frequently find a groove that lasts for weeks or months before falling out of the routine. I have accepted this as part of my experience, and I focus a lot of energy on building new routines. Each time I start up again, I am surprised at how quickly my flexibility improves, as if the muscles remember and it just takes a few sessions to shake off the rust.
Stretching is an excellent way to practice the feeling of being in your body, which can in turn be an excellent way to get out of your head. It can be a group activity you sign up for with a friend, it can be a video you follow on your screen of choice, and it can be a simple movement on your way to doing something else. I like to try and take some time to focus on how it feels to move this part or that, to flex or extend a particular joint, and listen to my body to find out what needs to move and how.
If you’ve had a good consistency of stretching going and life gets in your way, know that it is perfectly normal to face challenges and interruptions. You can start over when you are ready. Maybe you even feel your body and your muscles start to invite you to move before you get back into it. Try not to be discouraged by any flexibility lost, and instead note how much you have retained, and breathe deep and be present with how good it feels to commune with yourself this way.
And do yourself a favour: get a comfortable mat to practice on! Your knees will thank you.
I have no idea where the time goes, but another month has gone by, which means my third year of practice as a massage therapist has concluded! The spider plant I received at graduation is now huge, I have learned things that can only be obtained outside the classroom, and I have gained a deeper understanding of the body (which includes my own). It has been an amazing journey, and I am excited about the possibilities that await me in my fourth year of massage practice.
I am offering 50% off your next session (book by end of day August 31st) with promo code ANNIVERSARY25. Thank you to all new clients, and a bigger thank you to those have been with me for a longer part of this journey. In working with your tension and easing your stress, I learn so much, and I give my own body so much of the movement it needs.
In the future, I am looking to move away from bigger platforms that do more harm to queer and other marginalized communities than good. To that end, I am asking for testimonials to publish on my front page. Please let me know if you have some words to share and how you would like to be credited (first name and last initial is usual, but your privacy is paramount).
