massage and stretchinig

�	Stretching when teamed with massage, especially deep tissue, can help ease tension and increase motion in the muscles.

�	It can increase flexibility

�	Help you stay looser for longer in between appointments.

�	Alongside massage, it can help undo some of the effects of poor posture and improve your posture.

�	Provides greater body awareness.

�	Helps with pain relief where pain is due to muscle tension.

�	Improves circulation, especially benefiting tight areas.

How to stretch

�	Hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds

�	Best done bare foot so that you have greater balance and greater range of motion within the foot

�	In a warm environment is ideally suitable

�	On a flat even surface, to maintain balance

�	Little and often, so ideally morning and night.

�	Its good to do a few of each stretch

Stand against a wall and put hands on wall for support. Put toes of one foot again wall and bend leg slightly. Lean into the front knee, keeping back leg straight and flat, so you can feel the calf stretch.

Lie on the floor and raise one leg in the air, slightly bent to support the back, bend other leg. Place your hands around your leg and bring the leg back towards the body to create more of a stretch.

Standing against a wall for support, bend one leg and grab around the other ankle. Using the hand, bend leg back behind you to feel the stretch in the quads. In order to work the hip flexors, pull your leg further behind you, but do so gently.

Best to use a door frame. Place arms either side of the door frame as you walk through the door space and lean forward. This allows a stretch in the chest area.

Lying on a comfy floor, roll yourself up into a ball. Then using your back muscles to support you, begin rolling gently on the floor in the ball shape, to stretch out the back.

Bend one leg and keep the other straight. Use the other hand to pull the bent leg over the other leg. Turn your head to look in the opposite direction to the bent leg. Use your hand to push your bent leg down to the floor in order to feel the stretch.

Have neck in a neutral position, slowly tilt head to the left then to the right, so ear to shoulder to feel a stretch on the side of the neck. Then having neck in a neutral position, slowly turn your head from side to side, turn it far enough that you can feel the stretch, but don�t over do it.

Bend your arm and place behind head as in diagram. Use opposite hand to push down on bent arm pushing it further down the back. Do this gently though!