It gives me something to look forward to and ensures that I am practicing self-care every day. Despite the conflicting opinions on how beneficial stretching is, I believe that we should all be adding it to our daily routine. It only has to take a few minutes and you can stretch right in bed if you feel like it!
It wakes you up:
On days when it feels difficult to keep your eyes open, stretching is a must. Knowing I have a few minutes in the morning to focus completely on myself makes me want to get moving for the rest of the day. Typically, I am very stiff when I wake up in the mornings. Therefore, loosening and relieving the tension in my muscles awakens them, making it very difficult to doze back off to sleep.
It can help with your mental health:
Stretching has greatly helped with my mental health. It has proven to be very helpful with my feelings of anxiety as well as detachment. It eases you into your day as it is a very slow and calming activity that makes you relax your muscles and loosen the tension in them.
When I feel anxious, loosening the tension can help ease it as it takes the focus off of the outside world and it slows down my mind. For feelings of detachment, I have found that I feel more connected with myself when I focus on my body and become aware of its movements. Stretching can connect you to your body and relieve so much stress off of your shoulders.
Gives you time to think:
As a relaxing practice, stretches set a very relaxed tone for the day. By starting your day with something relaxing, you are setting yourself up to feel more calm throughout your day. While stretching, it is easy to allow your mind to wander. Some days, I spend this time planning out what I have to do for the day to help set my intentions for what is to come. On other days, I spend this time practicing mindfulness and just allow my mind to be present at the moment. No matter what you use the time to think about, it is useful to have this extra time to collect your thoughts.
It could make you more productive:
Like many people, I used to grab my phone first thing in the morning and mindlessly scroll through all my apps and checking my notifications. Sometimes it would take a full hour out of my morning as it is so easy to procrastinate while on your phone. By stretching before picking up my phone, I realized that I have not gotten stuck in the endless scrolling mindset as I am awake enough to recognize my priorities. Now, I waste noticeably less time on social media and feel better about how I am spending my time.
Even if it is only for a few minutes each morning, stretching can be a very valuable act of self-care to begin practicing. These benefits are all on top of the obvious benefits of stretching such as becoming more flexible. Overall, even if you only have the time to add stretching a few times a week, I highly recommend you give it a try.