Stretching for Mental Health — How It Changed My Life

Has anyone ever told you stretching for mental health? Nah, probably not.

Maybe you’ve heard of Prozac, running, or therapy for nourishing your aching mind. However, I think there’s practice that most people are massively missing out on.

As a mental health advocate and health enthusiast, near-daily stretching has made a massive difference in my life.

It All Started With David Goggins

That’s right, the dude that runs and yells all over social media. “Stay hard!”. David Goggins is a very intense athlete and and went through B.U.D.S. Navy Seal Training multiple times — a very intense military training camp.

Goggins also became an ultramarathoner and has put a lot of mileage on his body.

When Goggins reached middle age, he suddenly had a bizarre medical problem where his entire body locked up and lost circulation.

He went to doctors and could never find an issue with his body. However, he was dieing.

While laying on his deathbed, Goggins had a strange thought… what if his body had become so tight over the years that his body was choking himself to death. Turns out that his theory was valid.

Goggins spent many hours of his day stretching and to this day, he still stretches out every day for several hours. The dudes’ been stretching out for years!

While I don’t do several hours of stretching every day, I do have a stretching routine that I do nearly every day. It’s quite addicting, but in a good way!

Society Has Tightened Us Up

The human body was not made for the environment that we live in today. We sit in office desks all day, sit around looking at social media, and watch T.V. Some of us are the opposite and are extremely physically active.

Our tight, tense bodies are negatively affecting our mental health.

Not only do we tense up physically, but it also affects our minds. Research has shown that stress and negative thinking patterns tense up our bodies. Stretching, yoga, and pilates open both your mind and body back up.

It’s the mind-body connection!

When your mind gets tense, you tense up your whole body. When you have a tense body, you tighten up your mind. Do you see the connection?

Low self-esteem? Tense.

High self-esteem? Loose and relaxed.

Loosen Up Both Mentally and Physically

Stretching for mental health is a must because tension affects the human personality.

Think about it: when you’re depressed, are you relaxed or tense? Tense. When you’re happy, do you feel tense or loose and relaxed? That’s right, loose and relaxed.

One thing that I learned in the book Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz is that it’s impossible to feel unhappy or stressed when your body is 100% relaxed.

Integrate It Into Your Daily Routine

Ready to reap the benefits of stretching for mental health? Great. Now it’s time to add it into your daily routine. The great news is that if you’re super busy, just a few minutes of stretching every day can make a big difference.

I recommend full body stretches on YouTube. If you’re very limited on time, focus on very simple movements that stretch multiple body parts.

Here’s a sample routine:

Back bridge — 30 seconds

Side-to-side neck stretches — 30 seconds per side.

Touch your toes (as close as possible) — 1 Minute

Runner’s stretch — One minute on both sides.

… super easy! I personally do about 15 minutes per day of stretching and you can to if you’d like. However, even just a few minutes per day can make a huge difference.

Over to You!

Ready to experience an improvement in mental health and overall well being? Get started on stretching today!

I challenge you to find a full body stretch on YouTube or even come up with your own if you’d like and do it for 30 days. You’ll find yourself more loose, relaxed, and be able to conquer the world.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please give me a nice loud clap. Please share with whoever could use a mental health boost.