HOLD
30 SECONDS
&
RELEASE
did you know that strong emotions & stress can actually and quite literally, break a person's heart? takotsubo's cardiomyopathy, or "broken heart syndrome" mimicking "acute coronary syndrome", or, the reduction or blockage of blood flow to the heart causing pain, shortness of breath, and in some cases, death.
similarly, other parts of your body, including your skin, can be negatively affected by the reduction of blood flow to your cells
♥
your body is comprised of just over 650 individual voluntary muscles that help control your movements and just about a billion or so smooth involuntary muscle cells
your skeletal muscles are built from thousands of muscle fibers - granting the ability of movement while your smooth involuntary muscles allow your digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular, renal, and reproductive systems to function. and most importantly, your myocardium, or cardiac muscles are the three layers of tissue that make your heart pump
“Stretching helps to resolve tension in the muscles. When this tension is resolved, muscles have a better chance of getting the circulation they need to function normally. Circulation is vital in all tissues of the body because this is how nutrition is distributed throughout the tissues. To that extent, stretching may be seen as a form of self-care or conditioning all on its own.”
Kevin Ramsey, Lead Stretch Therapist at Massage Envy
your heart pumps over 2,000 gallons of blood to almost 75 trillion cells throughout 60,000 miles of blood vessels each day. increased levels of stretching can promote these beauty benefits:
increase in blood flow
the "yoga glow" is a thing
blood flow increases the nutrients, and hydration while strengthening the skin barrier
body maintenance & healing
physical activity can cause your fibers to become disorganized, the use of regular stretching can realign said fibers to allow for proper healing
capillary improvement
capillaries are responsible for delivering nutrients and removing toxins before your blood has access to your heart, increasing energy and healing abilities
stress relief
promotes endorphin "the feel good" and "skin healing" chemical release while reducing cortisol which can encourage acne
my favorite stretches
