Buddha once said, " Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care."

This past few months I have been able to continue to connect with individuals who are not physically active, even when asked the simple question, Do you stretch? The answer always  seem to be, I am too busy? It's no wonder that many people don't include some form of physical activity into their daily routine, but I also believe many individual are in pre-contemplation stages of changes because of habits in their daily routine and/or environment. 

Stretching is a stress relieving activity, you feel it immediately in your muscles, ligaments, and joints. It's an activity that can help reduce headaches, assist in posture, and help reduce body ache and pain. Stretching allows for the body to be flexible to prevent future pain. So of course we don't feel much pain in our Teens and early 20's if you are healthy, but once you reach 30's 40's, and 50's your body naturally goes through changes because of age and health. So, its good timing to evaluate if you can benefit from daily stretch exercise routines. 

Start planning to include stretching during am or pm for about 10 minutes and you can increase time as you go. If you have an injury or illness that prohibits this daily practice check in with your provider to see what your limits are before beginning. If your healthy and good to go think about what stretch exercises you may wan to include.

The following are different stretch exercises : 

Back stretch

Arm Stretch (Tricep)

Hamstring Stretch 

 Knee to Chest Stretch

These are just a few examples you can find on the internet, but there are many more you can find. If you do include stretching, listen to your body. If something hurts STOP! because stretching can be uncomfortable, but it should never be painful. If there is persistent pain, you might want to get evaluated in case there is an underlying condition. I hope you get inspire and motivate to keep your body healthy and flexible.