There are several ways to re-educate a muscle’s stretch reflex. The first is simply to wait it out. Hatha yoga relies on this traditional method of stretching by encouraging the student to go as far into a stretch as one can safely hold that position. If that pose occurs in concert with concentrated breathing, supported by good strength, the nerve’s stretch reflex will exhaust itself. Once this happens, the student ekes out a little more movement until the stretch reflex kicks back in; he waits for relief then repeats the series.
Another way to lengthen a muscle is to bend as fully into a stretch as you safely can, hold it, and breathe for a minute. Then contract the muscle you are trying to stretch for a few seconds to a few minutes. This is called “contract-relax stretching.” The muscle contraction suppresses the stretch reflex. As soon as you relax your muscles, immediately push a bit more stretch. The suppression of the reflex is only a split second so move quickly but carefully. Pavel Tsatsouline, the author of Relax into Stretch, says studies indicate that contract-relax stretching is “at least 267 percent more effective than conventional ‘wait it out’ stretching.”
A powerhouse way to lengthen a muscle is to add holding your breath to the contract-relax stretch. Bend as far into the pose as you safely can. Inhale and hold your breath as you contract the muscle you are stretching. I find fifteen to thirty seconds is ample time to override the stretch reflex. Exhale and stretch a little farther. Breathe for a moment, then repeat the combination until your muscles are stretched as far as they will go. Hold that fully-stretched pose for a few full breaths.
Alan Davidson is the author of the free report "Body Breakthroughs for Life Breakthroughs: How to Peak Your
Physical, Emotional, Mental, Moral, and Spiritual IQs for a
Sensational Life" available at
http://www.throughyourbody.com.
Alan's also the author of Body Brilliance: Mastering Your
Five Vital Intelligences, the #1 Health and Wellness book
and Winner of Two 2007 Book-of-the-Year Awards.
Watch the Body Brilliance Movie
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