Stretching and Yoga Improve Performance
Flexing the body through yoga or a stretching routine is essential for total wellness. It helps muscles to move properly, nerves to glide smoothly, the body to flow freely and pain to subside. Now, here are a few elements that further enhance the already proven benefits of stretch and yoga.
First, always warm up before stretching. Never try to stretch cold muscles. "To improve range of motion and avoid injury, you do need to stretch, but don't ever do it when muscles are cold," warns orthopedic surgeon William Levine, MD, director of sports medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. "Always start with some mild aerobic warm-ups to get blood to the tissue before doing any stretching."
See ► New Ideas on Proper Stretching Techniques
Drink plenty of healthy fluids before and after yoga or stretching. The body is almost 2/3 water. We get about 1/3 of our daily hydration from food, but the rest comes from drinking water. In addition to lubricating joints, proper hydration enhances nutrient absorption, positively effects body temperature, and reduces stress on the heart. To make your water intake even more beneficial for joints, muscles, tissues and body organs, try herbal drinks like Fortune Delight and ►find out why it was added to a list of The World's Top 100 Health Products.
Get liquid nutrition before or after stretch and yoga routines. Let’s say you finish a workout and need something to eat in a hurry, so before taking the time to stretch or cool down you gobble up a protein bar. Then, your body has to focus on digesting that snack instead of cooling and stretching. That means your digestive system requires more energy while you attempt to relax the nervous system. That’s sort of like swimming upstream or pulling the body in opposite directions. Instead, try liquid nutrition in a whole food concentrate. This offers an easy way to satisfy hunger in a hurry and is much easier on the digestive system, which can translate to a healthier nervous system. Keeping those nerves moving smoothly is a benefit of yoga or stretching that can enhance total body wellness.
Use essential oils to improve circulation before exercise, and to cool down afterwards, especially when stretching or doing yoga. The right essential oils can warm up some of those stiff body parts when you first start moving by increasing circulation. They can also help relax the muscles and joints. Sunbreeze Essential Oil provides the perfect combination of cold (yin) and hot (yang), so this totally herbal formula is ideal for post-exercise cool-downs or energizing warm ups. 
►See my favorite low back exercise warm-ups in this video…
