Now Playing: Take a Stretch Break

I don’t know exactly when it happened—some time in my late 20s or early 30s—why my body decided to hurt for no good reason. It was like, after years of smooth sailing, my body had become a rubber band that had been stretched to the point of losing all resilience. Bending over with straight knees hurts. Couple that with long bouts sitting at my desk or on a plane. My yoga instructor has a field day with me.

I used to just shrug it off, until the tension headaches came on. Then I found that re-establishing my stretching routine helped me feel better. I used to stretch because a fitness instructor required it, but now I do it because—quite frankly—I can’t get things done if I don’t.

I had a ball talking with yoga instructor Lorna Reed for this week’s episode because I’ve been feeling a need to refresh the stretching skills a little bit. I also needed to know if what I’ve been doing at my desk is actually good for me. She re-enforced some of my thinking, gave me a refresher on proper breathing, and offered some new exercises to try. And she explained why some of the most basic-seeming ones—those “around-the-clock” eye rolls—are so necessary.

Many thanks to Workout Mommy for commiserating with me and providing a great quote—my hamstrings hurt too!

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