The worst lesson from the Rolfing sessions
Throughout my years-long adventure in yoga, I’ve received the same advice, over, and over, and over again:
Stretch.
If that sounds obvious, it is. I’m stiff, I should stretch. I’ve heard it from yoga teachers, yogi friends, people offering unsolicited advice, even Tim Miller.
Yes, even Tim Miller.
Via sportsgirlsplay.com. If only it were so easy
But it’s a difficult one to swallow, for one reason: Aren’t I stretching enough, already?
It’s not even debatable that I’m stretching — via yoga — more than I ever have in my life. If you round down the amount of time my Ashtanga practice takes, we’re looking at a solid hour a day on average. In my mind, that’s a lot. When and how am I supposed to add more stretching into the mix? And why do I need to? Isn’t an hour of pretzeling myself a pretty solid show of commitment?
Well, during my most recent Rolfing session, Russ put it in more undebatable terms: I simply cannot stretch myself enough. It’s just not going to happen. I might feel like I’m stretching a lot, but it isn’t enough. I need to be lying on basketballs, foam blocks this, curved implements that. The stretch has to happen — gravity versus whatever it is I’m lying on. I can pull and yank and grab and whatever else, but it isn’t going to take me very far.
Pretty much what people have been telling me. Even Tim Miller.
Yes, I’m a slow learner.
This is not happy news, for all the reasons cited above. How and when do I add this in to things? Do I fit it in with morning Ashtanga? Do I make it part of an evening routine?
An even more pointed question: Does what Russ said finally sink in and do I actually start stretching? Because I’ve heard this before…
Posted by Steve
i have been reading your posts about rolfing with a lot of interest. have you ever tried feldenkrais method? (disclaimer- i am learning to be a practitioner for this) it is a way to retrain your nervous system, so that you move with more ease. basically, you learn, by paying attention to your body, to only engage what needs to be engaged to perform a movement. all that additional muscular effort that happens all the time..that turns into shortened muscles. this will most likely increase flexibility, as a by-product. it has helped my ashtanga practice greatly, and is very very helpful for injuries. there are a lot of resources out there- cds, websites, and i think there is an institute in san diego.
I’ll check it out! Thanks.
S