Assisted Stretch Therapy studios are popping up all over the country. This means it is effective. I have used stretching techniques in my massage business for 12 years. This mean I know how to implement it’s effectiveness.

Many of us have adopted the modern lifestyle without question. We don’t have a choice but to sit at desks and be inactive. Modern food choices so readily available don’t help either. Fortunately, there is an army of holistic healers ready to keep you functionally sound and armed with a plethora of techniques and modalities at the ready.

I would not have been successful as a therapist without including stretch therapies. Now I want to focus on bringing this therapy to you. If you feel even slightly dysfunctional physically, stretching will help your body balance out the working relationship between your muscles and joints.

What is an Assisted Stretch Therapy Session Like?

In a stretch therapy session, you will lay on a massage or physical therapy table or a padded mat on the floor.

The therapist will hold one or more limbs or your head and neck. You may be asked to relax or the therapist may have specific instructions on how you should participate in that particular stretch. A therapist will understand how the nervous system works and will use this knowledge to their advantage to gain the best results for your stretching session.

Depending on the therapist’s qualifications, they will likely incorporate other therapies that will enhance your stretch session.

Sessions can vary depending on the therapists qualifications, background, and preferred healing methods.

Stretch Therapy’s Long Term Benefits

Assisted stretch therapy would not likely gain traction if the outcome did not out weight the financial cost of receiving this service from an experienced professional.  Each session is going to provide the benefit of you feeling looser, more relaxed, and having increased wellness.

To get your money’s worth from each session, go into it with a few things in mind.

1. First, take note of the stretches that you feel provide the most effect. You can do these for yourself later putting the power of health into your own hands.
2. Second, if you have been to a Chiropractor, you have encountered the explanation they all give on how it works to benefit your overall health. It’s all about getting pressure off the nerves so the organs can communicate with the brain and function optimally. Same thing here. Keeping your body limber over time improves optimal performance of your body’s systems.
3. Lastly, you might feel more achy and sore later that night and the next day. The reason for this is, if you already hurt because of bad posture and the techniques used in the session require you to expend some energy, the already stressed muscle is going to have even less energy stored to keep up with physical demands of keeping you upright. This will increase soreness at that muscle, BUT the session has relaxed other muscles overpowering the sore muscle AND sent signals to that sore muscle to begin a healing process. While this is an overly simplified explanation, it is extremely important to keep in mind as to not get discouraged from pursuing more sessions with the same therapist. Please, please please! Understand, there is a difference in feeling a little more sore on an already sore muscle, or a little more uncomfortable because posture is harder to maintain and actually being more injured! Pay attention to your body!!! If you aren’t sure about a stretch session, consult with your physician!

What to Expect After a Stretch Session

If you don’t stretch or exercise much, you should expect a little soreness. Not much though. If you feel like you can’t move or sit on the potty the next day, it’s likely the session was a bit too much.

A little extra soreness is generally nothing to worry about, however. Just make sure to tell your therapist for the next session that you’d like to go a little lighter on the stretches. They should be happy to oblige. If you get too much disagreement from the therapist though, maybe run for the hills!

Other Options?

There are a few holistic therapies and practices that I have advocated for over massage and assisted stretching modalities.

Yoga, Pilates, and/or Tai Chi.

Allow me to repeat this…

Yoga, Pilates, and/or Tai Chi.

I have needed functional training, stretching, and physical healing practices as much as anyone I know and I’ve been meeting new clients consistently for 12 years.

I have also been coaching clients and others outside of my practice on how to not need my services or any other services for that matter. I teach stretching techniques for specific issues and offer functional exercise solutions to fix weak areas of the body. When it comes right to it, busy people don’t have time or are distracted when they finally get home to relax. My ultimate solution for these issues AND to save cash is to sign up and participate in regular group exercises like yoga, pilates or tai chi.

I believe wholeheartedly in what I do to help others, but nothing can replace the power of these three practices.

Remember

You have the power to heal your body. I’ll teach you how to balance your joints, feel more limber, and feel free in your body.

Stretching on your own is great and you should do it! Getting stretch therapies from an experienced practitioner will teach you new ways to stretch on your own. Hiring a stretch therapist is a long term investment that will pay dividends.