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Health & Fitness

"Your Range of Motion Helps Determine Your Age."

“Your Range of Motion Helps Determine Your Age."

 

   “You’re never too old to become young.” – Mae West’s  slouched shoulders and extremely tight muscles do not have to be your future.  It’s never too late to improve your flexibility and live a more youthful life than ever before.  Your current range of motion is in direct correlation with how young you look and feel. Throughout your life, your body creates a cast that (you become stuck inside of) holds you captive. 

   Your “cast” is a clear picture of your daily habits and lifestyle.  If you sit at a desk all day long, your cast will have slouched shoulders and bent knees.  As time passes, your range of motion will naturally decrease and your cast will become restricted.  Stretching and using The KIKA Method ™ of assisted stretching are key ways to break free of your cast and stretch further than ever before.

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There are three main reasons why people lose their range of motion; 

1)       The ability of a muscle to relax and achieve the greatest range of movement becomes hindered.

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2)        There is no commitment to achieving  and maintaining flexibility.

3)       The aging process. However, it does not have to be that way.

What is keeping you from reaching your flexibility goals?

   I was surprised when I asked a client to completely lie limp on the floor and she had no idea how to go about this.  The idea of relaxing our muscles completely to achieve the greatest range of movement is a tool unknown by far too many.  Throughout our day, we hold every inch of our bodies instead of letting it go, so it can move freely without being restricted.  We live in a world where reading a bill has the power to make our entire body to tense up.  Watching the evening news can cause shoulders to tense and raise up by our ears.  Our bodies tense up as a defense mechanism.  The question is how do we release the tension  created in our bodies?

   One of The KIKA Method ™ of assisted stretching’s main elements is following the bodies natural pattern of breath to release tension.  When you exhale, feel yourself letting go of all the tension in your body.  Here is a quick exercise.  Crunch your shoulders high up by your ears again, then drop them, crunch your shoulders high up by your ears again, then drop them down.  Your shoulders should be in a relaxed and neutral state like this, all of the time.

The second range of motion inhibitor is age.  As we become older, our range of motion naturally decreases.  Bone density can be lost, spinal vertebrae can be compressed, and the bodies trunk begins to curve and look shorter, with age.  We can fight the natural affects of gravity by stretching our muscles and making them more flexible.  Some people believe that they were born with the curse of inflexibility.  While genetic factors do play a role in flexibility in some cases, it’s never too late to increase your current state of flexibility.  Working with the KIKA Method ™ of assisted stretching, will help you become more flexible and help prevent injury.  Stretching should be safe, pain free, and effective.  It is important to get the body used to stretching now! You have a chance to get the most out of your range of motion!

One hour in the gym, two minutes in the shower, then out the door!  You should not finish any physical activity without stretching.  The third range of motion inhibitor is ones commitment to achieving flexibility.  How much time do you set aside weekly to improve your range of motion?  After a workout, your muscles become tense, shorter than before, and restricted if you do not set aside a time to stretch weekly.  Stretching after a long day of work or a workout, releases the tension gained during the day and gives the muscles a fresh start.

Stretching should be fun.  It should help improve your range of motion and it should become a part of your lifestyle.  Play your favorite music while you stretch to create a private experience for yourself that will not only leave you singing, but will also leave you feeling younger and more flexible than before.  Stretching can open the fountain of youth for you  but only if you make a commitment to achieve flexibility.  You can fight the affects of gravity and live in a flexible, unrestricted  body, by using these simple suggestions.  Always remember it’s never too late to create the changes that you want to see in your body.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Stretch Long and Live Long- The KIKA Method ™

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