I ain’t joking. There is indeed such a thing as getting more flexible without effort.
Drummrolll…..
It’s called Thai Massage. It is also referred to as lazy man’s yoga. You just lie there and let me do the work of stretching, moving and massaging you. When you get off the mat your hamstrings are longer, your back straighter, your hips looser and your shoulders more relaxed.
Many people go through the trouble of practicing yoga. I love it!!! I am a major yoga freak and certainly encourage all my clients to practice it if they are so inclined. But for some it just ain’t the thing to do. For others, it may be their thing, and they just need that extra boost to improve their practice. In either case, that’s where I come in.
See, the thing is, when you get older, and we all do (BIG NEWS!) our bodies get more and more inflexible from driving, sitting at a desk, computer work, yard work, and so on unless we give the good ol’ body a nice lengthening. And flexibility is very important.
Reflect for a minute.
What are some of the activities you do that require flexibility?
Reaching for a coffee mug high up in the cupboard
Bending down to tie your shoes
Squatting down to be level with your grandchild
Crawling on the ground for yard work
Having outrageous sex 🙂
Looking over your shoulder when driving a car
You got the idea. Flexibility is important and truth be told, for most of us that ain’t coming naturally. There are just too many activities in day-to-day life that have the opposite effect.
Let’s check out a few Thai massage poses and what effect they have. But before we go there I should tell you, a bit more about Thai Massage. Thai massage is done on the floor on a mat. And as the receiver you are dressed in loose, comfortable clothing. That way I can move you around, stretch you, massage you, cradle you. Check it out:
This pose is a hip opener. It increases your ability to pull your knee towards the chest and stretches your back. Hence it is good for lower back pain. Secondarily, it increases the flexibility in the knee and ankle as well.
This pose stretches your hamstrings. Good ol’ hamstrings. Tight hamstrings can cause lower back pain. Not good folks, not good. Single leg raises like this help out a ton.
Here is some more hamstring love. Here I am using the power of my legs to massage the muscles with my feet. Extremely effective on small and big people. One of my client’s favorites.
Thai massage allows me to use my entire body—feet, legs, arms, elbows, hands, bodyweight for your benefit. Here I am using my feet again. This time to get to the ever-so-tight IT band.
This is a Thai massage classic. Highly effective in opening the chest and shoulders. It also stretches the psoas, one of the major culprits for back pain.
TThis is wild looking one but so good for the back and psoas. And it’s a full front body extension. You may think you could never do this. Maybe. But don’t be fooled. I can do this pose with 70% of my clients, even 180 lb guys. Of course, I would be cautious if you had an injury.
