The Key to S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G

I've always loved to stretch.  Sometimes I think I must have been a cat in another life.  Have you ever noticed that animals stretch regularly throughout the day?  They always energize themselves with a little stretch after they've been lying still.  The monks who named the Yoga postures after animals in nature also noticed:  "downward facing dog" is a good example.

Stretching is really important for people who've recently had breast or ovarian cancer surgery since it helps to combat the tendency of scar tissue to contract.  In the case of breast surgery, we want to restore freedom of movement in the arm and shoulder joints.  Begin each stretch gradually: Stretch slowly until you feel "gentle pulling" without any pain. Hold the stretch for 15-30 seconds, using deep breathing cycles to allow the muscle to relax. Then see if you can go a little deeper into the stretch.  To avoid injury, move gradually and never twist, turn or bounce while in a stretch.  

Stretching can help overcome the tendency to slump as a protective action.  Sometimes after breast surgery, we see a "held" posture, with the arm close to the side of the body and the shoulder rotated inward.  Without the benefits of stretching to open the chest and shoulder areas, this posture can advance into stiffness and limited mobility or a "frozen shoulder," a painful condition which takes a long time to resolve.

My book Strength Training for Women depicts appropriate stretches following each program for the lower body, upper body and core.  The full-body stretch routine at the end of the book (called "Cooling Down Stretches") incorporates a number of Yoga positions and is meant to release tension from the major muscle groups.