Flexibility is being able to bend easily without breaking, to be adaptable. Flexibility is something you should be thinking about.
As an ex-dancer turned CrossFitter, I can tell you from experience it’s not easy convincing people flexibility is important. In the dance world, it’s not only encouraged but also absolutely necessary to be flexible. How dangerous it would be it to try to do a leap or attempt to connect fouette turns without being able to do a straddle and splits. But what does the rest of the world care?
The quality of bending easily without breaking is an important one. Do you want to be able to pick your children up from the ground without a back injury? Do you think it’s important to be able to tie your shoe without help when you’re sixty years old? Perhaps you’d even like to be able to lift yourself off the floor gracefully after getting down to play with your dog. Whatever your reason, I can guarantee you need to get more flexible.
Find Your Why
Sure being flexible sounds easy enough, but what does it really take? It just takes a purpose. It’s that easy. Understand that your health might hinge on your ability to bend, and then get going. Once you have found your “why” – the why being what connects flexibility to your greater purpose – hold onto that. If you’re not sure, get a pen and paper and start writing. It’s okay to have more than one why!
Find Your Time
Nobody is telling anyone to go spend 90 minutes a day doing hot (although if you do and you enjoy it – that’s fine. Yay you for moving!) Spend 10 minutes stretching in the morning before breakfast or while you watch your favorite TV program or while you read a chapter in a book. Spend 10 minutes before bed or 10 minutes during your lunch break focusing on you and your body. Prop a leg up on a bench while you wait for the bus. Lift your chest and arms up to the sky when you stand up after sitting down and working for a while. Whatever movement feels good to you, do that. Just try.
Find Your Fun
It doesn’t have to be painful and it certainly doesn’t have to be boring. Try new ways. Explore your own body and find its limits. Then hold it at that limit and watch the limit extend.
Find Your Guru
Follow YouTube videos for guidance. Go take a yoga class at a local studio. Find a toddler and try to mimic all of their movements, which is not easy – toddlers have some of the best squat form and mobility I’ve ever seen! But you should at least give it a try!
All humans need to be able to bend without breaking. In a world where desk jobs are the norm and yoga is for hippies, there is a desperate need for a wake up call. If someone tries to mug a passerby on the street, I sure hope that passerby is able to sprint away without pulling a hamstring or swing at their attacker without throwing a shoulder out of place.
My why is to see what my body can do. I want to learn my limits and then stretch them. My why is to prove to everyone I encounter that vegans are and can be the epitome of health. My why is to prove to myself I can do anything. My why is to show my parents how eating well and moving often can cure illness and ailments. My why is to be better than the person I was yesterday. What’s your why?
