Before we get into the good stuff, I recommend checking out the first part of this article here. This is a super quick read, that gives you a good overview and understanding of the basics of WHY the f! you need to square your splits. Now we're back for part two where we get into more of the nitty-gritty details! First up, 'Square' vs 'Un-Square' (and why it matters). This handy little photo shows the main differences in the position: As for the why it matters part: One of the main reasons to put the effort into squaring your hips is that high hamstring injuries are extremely common, and can t ..read more

Each student has their own unique background and journey to go through on the road to becoming bendy. So in this first case study, I want to shed light on one very committed student and peek behind the curtain to give you a realistic idea of what goes into serious flexibility progress! Ines' story begins in a pole studio in Denmark... She started training with me primarily to improve her flexibility for pole dance, but she also had constant low back pain in her day-to-day life. She was having a really hard time with her flexibility. In almost every stretch she was feeling pain in her lower ba ..read more

Let's talk about the way you think about pain. Understanding the sensations you feel when stretching is a crucial part of making lasting progress with your flexibility. If you go into every training session full of dread, tensing up your body during your stretches (to get away from the pain), and fully suffering through it, you're not going to make progress. Additionally, if you train like this often enough, you’ll actually start to convince your body that stretching is a threat, and that fight or flight instinct will start to kick in - which will REALLY hold you back. Your muscles might star ..read more

⁣ To flex? Or not to flex? That IS the question... Because despite what a lot of people say on IG and the internet in general, flexing your feet in a pike/forward fold does NOT give you a deeper hamstring stretch ⁣ ⁣ Changing the angle of your ankle doesn’t affect your hamstrings. It does however put your sciatic nerve on tension. And if you already have sciatic nerve tension (which a LOT of people do), you’re not doing yourself any favors by flexing your feet.⁣ ⁣ ⁣⁣Question time! When doing a pike/forward fold with your feet flexed do you:⁣ ❓Feel a very intense stretch in your calves?⁣ ❓Feel ..read more

An unfortunate truth is that it's incredibly common to work on your flexibility, yet never see any progress. There are so many reasons you might be plateauing, but for today's bite-sized post, the topic is finding the balance between tension and relaxation. ⁣ As you most likely know, there are LOADS of different styles of flexibility training (this article has very detailed explanations for some of them if you want to learn more!). And no matter what, different styles will always work for different people. But one thing I have run into a lot is over-engaging and over-tensing while stretching ..read more

You hear it all the time... "Don't let your hips open!" "Square those hips!" "If your hips aren't square you'll die in your sleep!" Ok ok, maybe not the last one, but seriously how many times have you heard this? And has anyone ever explained to you WHY you need to square your hips? I'm sure you've heard "it's safer", but how so? Allow me to explain! For starters, squaring your hips is an active effort, making the position already safer than the alternative of opening the hips and relaxing. A lot of muscles need to be working to get you into a perfectly square split; your quads, glutes, and l ..read more

Alright, now that I’ve got your attention, let’s talk about the real topic: How you should stretch differently for different purposes. There’s this notion out there now that passive stretching is the enemy and should be avoided at all costs. And the fact is, stretching passively is the #1 mistake I see people make when trying to improve flexibility. BUT, passive tretching has its place. It’s just that its place is NOT to help you increase flexibility for performance-related goals. READ THAT AGAIN Passive stretching is totally fine when used to help muscles release after a workout. When you’ve ..read more

Do you constantly wonder how often to stretch? Or why it is that you spend time stretching every day and still don’t see improvement? Then read on!⁣ ⁣ Let me start off by saying that you DO NOT need to stretch every day to see progress For some people that works, but for others, it’s overkill. Specifically to see progress, it’s often better to consistently do focused exercises your body needs rather than lazily going through a full stretching or yoga routine daily. (And yes, I’m looking at those of you that sit in a straddle for 20 minutes staring at their phones wondering why they don’t get ..read more

Let's talk about WHY #notyoga is on all of my posts on Instagram. I want to start off by saying I have NO issue with yoga, but for the purposes of clarification…⁣ ⁣ Yoga and contortion are not the same. The mindset of walking into a contortion vs yoga class is, and should be, completely different. Contortion training is that of an athlete. You come into a contortion class with the intention of pushing your body to the max and attaining high level skills to eventually be performed on stage. As for yoga, it is a spiritual practice. That’s not to say it’s *only* about spirituality, but that is th ..read more

Let's talk about the way you think about stretching. I hear far too many people say stretching "hurts" or "is painful". And while I understand the sentiment, it is important to categorize these feelings differently and try to understand them. Are you feeling discomfort because something is challenging you? Or are you feeling pain that you think may lead to injury? These are very different sensations, and it's important to pay attention to and understand what you're really feeling when you stretch. While stretching, it should feel like you're stretching the muscles you're intending to stretch ..read more