A few resources if you want to get nerdy about it, like I do.
This just got going, so stay tuned and please drop me any awesome resources you have, if you have.
Stretching
Stretching: the Truth … a pretty rad video going in-depth on the mechanics and physiology of what, exactly, is happening when we stretch. From there, we can extrapolate when and why we’d want to.
Stop Stretching … not sure I buy it all, but some super valid points, in particular under the heading that “flexibility is a reflection of health, not stretching.” Totally.
Pandiculation (click on link and jump to page 27) … the scientific name for the full-body yawn/stretch. The gist: pandiculation, like many if not every one of our bodies’ natural functions, is important! Don’t suppress yawning to look interested.
Running + Foot Care
Posture-Deforming Footwear Features … O, the tangled webs we weave! Worth a look.
Helpful videos on natural foot care: Origin of Natural Footcare, Natural Footcare Wisdom, Plantar Fascitis or Fasciosis?, Thinking Deep with Dr. Ray
Resources for non-restrictive footwear: Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Reviews and the NW Foot and Ankle recommended list
Bodywork + Fascia
Understanding the Process of Fascial Unwinding … a scholarly article on what’s actually happening during the manual spreading or unwinding of fasciae. The gist of it: it’s not my hands that actually lengthen anything; that lengthening and reorganizing is done by the client’s response to my touch (or “physically induced suggestion” as they say in the article, which I rather like).
A theoretical framework for the role of fascia in manual therapy … long and quite boring if you’re not interested in the anatomy of our soft tissue system, and the differences between bodywork-type manipulations versus chiropractic-type manipulations (the gist: two roads to a similar place).
dynamicalignmentbodywork.com 