Yoga & Stretching
Move · Flexibility & Mobility · Movement, Typed Supps
Improves flexibility and switches on your body’s calming response.
Stage by stage
- Warm-up (Blood flow to muscles/joints): Gentle movement gradually increases blood flow to the muscles and joints being stretched.
- During (Parasympathetic activation): Sustained stretching lengthens muscle and connective tissue, while slow breathing activates the calming ("rest and digest") nervous system.
- Immediately after (Reduced tension): Muscles feel looser as tension decreases; heart rate and stress hormones typically drop below pre-session levels.
- Days later (Flexibility & stress reduction): Consistent practice gradually improves flexibility and range of motion, and is linked to modest reductions in perceived stress.
Muscles trained
- Primary: abs, lower back
- Secondary: shoulders, hamstrings
Intensity
2.5 METs (Yoga, Hatha).
Time to effect
- Weeks: Flexibility and stress-related improvements typically build with consistent practice.
Related supplements
Common myth
“Stretching before a workout prevents injury.” In reality: Static stretching pre-exercise doesn’t reliably reduce injury risk and may modestly reduce power output — a dynamic warm-up is generally more useful beforehand, with static stretching more valuable afterward.
More in Flexibility & Mobility
In the glossary
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