Did you ever notice how much cats stretch their bodies? After a nap they stretch. On the way to the food bowl, they stretch. And even just laying around the house, they stretch some more.
I wonder if that's why they are so relaxed. Cats do have a reputation for being pretty chilled out most of the time. They seem to saunter around and do what they want to do when they want to do it. Life pretty much happens on their terms.
But we humans certainly don't have the luxury of taking naps whenever we feel like it or sauntering our way through our daily routines. But we can adopt one cat behavior that offers even humans great benefit. We can stretch!
Stretching our bodies is an amazing way for us to reduce the effects of stress. Here's the deal...stress wreaks havoc on our muscles. When we get stressed out, we tend to clench many muscles - without even realizing it! Over time this subconscious clenching results in extremely tight muscles. And tight muscles can lead not only to pain, but other serious health issues, as well.
Learning how to stretch your muscles, and doing it on a regular basis is a great way to combat the effects of stress on your body. You can develop a routine that targets your most troublesome muscle groups and be on the road to flexibility before you know it. Amazing results can be achieved in just a few short minutes a day!
The ultimate stretching guide has to be Bob Anderson's cleverly titled book, "Stretching." This encyclopedia-ish guide combines simple drawings and instructions for stretching every muscle group in your body. The Massage Therapists I know consider this to be the most well-respected and comprehensive, easy-to-use resource for understanding how to stretch all muscle groups.
I refer to this book often as stretching is a part of my daily routine. It's amazing how much better I feel after one single stretch. And after a whole routine of stretching? Wow - what a difference 5 minutes can make.
We abuse our bodies so much with computer work and bad posture, don't we? Were our bodies designed to be sitting 90% of the time? It doesn't seem likely. Stretching - and following the lead from our animal companions is an easy, simple and effective way to undo the stress that we put on our bodies every single day.
You'll be amazed how good you feel after just one stretching session, so go ahead, act like a cat. At least for a couple of minutes a day. Your muscles will thank you!
