Stretching!!!

Stretching is vital to your growing muscles.  So here is a little stretching 101

The Benefits of Stretching

• Increased flexibility and joint range of motion:
  Flexible muscles can improve your daily performance. Tasks such as lifting packages, bending to tie your shoes or hurrying to catch a bus become easier and less tiring. Flexibility tends to diminish as you get older, but you can regain and maintain it.
• Improved circulation:
  Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles. Blood flowing to your muscles brings nourishment and gets rid of waste byproducts in the muscle tissue. Improved circulation can help shorten your recovery time if you've had any muscle injuries.
• Better posture:
  Frequent stretching can help keep your muscles from getting tight, allowing you to maintain proper posture. Good posture can minimize discomfort and keep aches and pains at a minimum.
• Stress relief:
  Stretching relaxes tight, tense muscles that often accompany stress. 
• Enhanced coordination:
  Maintaining the full range-of-motion through your joints keeps you in better balance. Coordination and balance will help keep you mobile and less prone to injury from falls, especially as you get older.

Proper Stretching Technique

It is essential to practice proper stretching techniques. Doing so will allow you to avoid any unnecessary injury. Tips to proper stretching technique include the following:

• Warm up first
  Stretching muscles when they're cold increases your risk of pulled muscles. Warm up by walking while gently pumping your arms, or do a favorite exercise at low intensity for five minutes.
• Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds It takes time to lengthen tissues safely. Hold your stretches for at least 30 seconds — and up to 60 seconds for a really tight muscle or problem area. That can seem like a long time, so wear a watch or keep an eye on the clock to make sure you're holding your stretches long enough. For most of your muscle groups, if you hold the stretches for at least 30 seconds, you'll need to do each stretch only once.
• Don't bounce
  Bouncing as you stretch can cause small tears (microtears) in the muscle, which leave scar tissue as the muscle heals. The scar tissue tightens the muscle even further, making you even less flexible — and more prone to pain.
• Focus on a pain-free stretch
  If you feel pain as you stretch, you've gone too far. Back off to the point where you don't feel any pain, then hold the stretch. 
• Relax and breathe freely
• Don't hold your breath while you're stretching
• Stretch both sides
  Make sure your joint range of motion is as equal as possible on each side of your body
• Stretch before and after activity
  Light stretching after your warm-up followed by a more thorough stretching regimen after your workout is your best bet

Thankful, Grateful and Praiseful

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I went to St. George for the weekend.  We had a ton of fun rock climbing, going to Tuachan and visiting Zion National Park. (Can I just say how beautiful Zions is!) Well we hiked Angel's landing and the Narrows and loved every bit of it.  Angel's Landing was frightening and I just about puked hiking up there.  But as we were hiking I was overcome with a feeling of gratitude.  How blessed am I to have a healthy body to be able to do this.  How grateful am I to be able to walk and run, to hear and see!

Well this past Sunday, we had a wonderful lesson on gratitude and that just reminding me of the blessing that I and all of us have been given.  We have these wonderful bodies that the Lord has blessed us with.  Our bodies are so intricate and detailed that only our Heavenly parents could have created such a thing.  We should be showing our gratitude to the Lord every opportunity we have.

During the lesson a scripture was shared, Mosiah 2: 20-21

20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and ^cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should ^drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—
 21 I say unto you that if ye should ^aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is ^bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you ^cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own ^dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ^ewhole souls yet ye would be ^funprofitable servants.

The only way we can show God how grateful we are for our bodies is to serve Him and do His work.  Let us, sisters, remember the blessing it is to have a healthy body and use it for good, to serve our creator.