No Stretch Required
I must admit, I can go down the rabbit hole of social media — particularly when gobsmacked at fitness trends. I'm not talking about anything out of left field, but I’m honestly surprised by practitioners still spotlighting intense stretching as fixes to muscle tension.
There. I said it — the "stretch" word.
As someone who's been teaching yoga and movement since 1999, I've made my living in a stretchy world. But from what I see, it's a world that still leans into the idea that strong sensation means we're creating change. Not necessarily the old "no pain, no gain" mentality, but also not in line with my "more brain, more gain" approach of the past 15 years.
I'm in my 60s now, and my muscles release more easily through a no-stretch-required approach than any yank, pull and overstretch ever did. Though to be honest, it's not my muscles that have shifted perspective — it's my brain.
Have you ever considered that tightness might not be a muscle problem at all, but something higher up the chain, the brain?
Early in my yoga teaching years, I attended a workshop that gave me a glimpse into movement with a somatic approach, in part inspired by Thomas Hanna’s work. It felt right. That curiosity led me to study Hanna's work in depth, training as a Clinical Somatic Educator and Movement Teacher with Martha Peterson [Essential Somatics].
On my website, I have a quote by Hanna: "The muscles are the servants of the brain and have no will of their own."
It's thought-provoking and brilliant.
Wait, what? … the muscles are the servants to the brain?
Yes and yes.
What I have learned is that muscles don't hold tension on their own. Tightness is often the outward sign that something has gotten stuck in the nervous system. All the living we've done — daily routines, sports, activities, injuries, surgeries, and stress — makes its way inward, and yet we keep trying to fix this tension from the outside.
What does that mean in practical terms?
Yanking on a tight muscle isn't going to change the underlying pattern in any lasting way.
It might feel good for a bit, but if the brain isn’t invited to the party, you're swimming around the same issue again and again.
The “no-stretch-required” approach works differently. Instead of running in the opposite direction of tightness (by stretching it out), we embrace the tension. In fact, we deliberately recreate or deepen it. By doing that, we start a conversation with the motor cortex of the brain, which then gets a reset of information. Think of it like hitting “refresh” on your computer when it's not showing current data.
This is what sets Hanna's work apart from stretching methods. His technique to re-engage control where it needs to be is called pandiculation. It has three distinct parts to the process. First, we find the intentional contraction, followed by a slow-motion release that highlights our quality and control of releasing. Lastly, we allow the muscles to relax as best we can and create a new place to land. It's almost as easy as 1, 2, 3 … but not if we can't focus our attention or keep pushing more.
For my seasoned body friends, we need to put out the welcome mat for this gentle approach. This is our shift away from “go for the burn”, pushing or stretching harder. Think of it like that gust of fresh air into a musty, stale room. Pandiculation is our permission slip to move with more attention, intention, and kindness so that we can find a sweet spot of release, by doing less. It’s the next step towards tangible shifts that last.
This is what my “No Stretch Required” social media reels are offering. Each one is a choice to offer your nervous system a gentler path. No forcing, no effort, just movements that feel like a good friend who listens to where you are and earns your trust.
Have a peek and see what resonates. If you're curious to explore, you know where to find me.