Stretching Benefits Your Whole Body, So Try This 30-Minute Full Body Stretch Routine

Sometimes, life is stressful and you end a week feeling about as tense as a rusted bike left chained to a fence. Or, maybe it’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining on your living room floor, and you think, I can’t possibly let this quiet go to waste—I must roll out my mat and get some stretching in. No matter the reason, stretching can be a salve in good times, bad times, and average or uneventful times. The health benefits of stretching are well-documented. And this recent episode of Good Stretch with Pilates instructor Chloe De Winter offers a nice, extended, full-body stretch session that can seriously benefit your body and mind.

Stretching has a whole host of benefits. The Mayo Clinic explains that stretching before a workout can prevent injuries, improve the results of an exercise, and improve movement in daily life. And there’s broader value to practicing a slow full range of motion movements. For example, according to the Mayo Clinic, stretching can help increase your blood flow which can, in turn, support an increased supply of oxygen to your body and help deliver energy and nutrients to your body sooner than if you hadn’t stretched.

Stretching can also support your immune system in a couple of ways. First, the Journal of Cell Physiology published this study in 2017 that demonstrated stretching’s positive impact on reducing inflammation. Additionally, stretching has a tremendous effect on your nervous system and emotions if you engage your breath slowly. Deep-breathing and slow concerted movements can help the body calm down and switch on the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the opposite of being in fight or flight and is known as rest and digest mode. During this time, your body calms down and levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline are lowered.

Are you convinced of the benefits of stretching yet? Well, if you are, De Winter has a great full-body stretch session in store in this episode.

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