Advice on Stretching

By John Chow  of Tao of Tai Chi Chuan Institute

To obtain the full benefits of stretching,  it must be done safely, seriously, and must be customised or individualized to the person’s needs or specific sports/medical activity.  

Pay special attention to stiff, tight or painful areas of the body.  

Advice and tuition from an exercise specialist,  such as a physiotherapist, personal exercise trainer etc is highly recommended.  Advice from an expert in the field of your activity is also highly recommended.  For example,  if doing Tai Chi,  it is advisable to seek out a highly qualified Tai Chi Chuan master who has practical skills in all areas of Tai Chi Chuan.  

Listen to your body.  Stretching may involve a little pain -  only a little,  but it need not be painful.  Do not over-stretch. 

Slowly stretch your muscles to the end point of movement and hold the stretch for about 10 to 30 seconds. Avoid ballistic stretching which uses bouncing or jerking movements.  This can be dangerous.  

Older adults, pregnant women and people with injuries may need to take special precautions.

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Written 2000

Copyright:-  John Chow,  a practitioner of Chinese medicine, acupuncturist, masseur, healer and teacher of martial arts and spiritual paths.

No part of this article can be used, quoted, copied in any form without the permission from the author. 

The information provided above is for general reference only.  No martial art technique, no heath prescription, no medical treatment, and no spiritual effort is 100%  foolproof.  Effectiveness depends on a lot of variables,  some of which are not known.  

Any how-to instruction is reserved only for students of the author, and at personal instructional sessions. The reader is advised to separately obtain training and instruction from a qualified personnel in the subject area.

For further information on this article, please contact John Chow  at  vajra_master@yahoo.com.