Stretching is the Future

I love yoga. Like a lot. I’ve been a teacher for 12 years, practicing for 20. Please don’t do the math, women like to remain mysterious. Yoga is basically moving meditation. For people like me who have 1000 tabs open on their screen and 1000 more in their mind, it’s one of the only ways I’ve found to just breathe, to just be.

Yoga is beneficial for everyone. No matter who you are, there is a modification out there that can make this practice work for you. But, as teachers and practitioners we’ve lost our way. Instead of making Yoga more accessible and training teachers to be better equipped to help more people, we’ve fallen into what I call, Yoga Porn.

Yoga Porn is exactly what it sounds like. It’s sexualised poses and practitioners in expensive but skimpy outfits (or naked) on Instagram. I have a lot of theories on how we got here but that’s another post. This post is about my personal crusade to bring some of the benefits of Yoga to people who really need it (everyone), without the show. No fancy clothes or fancy equipment. No requirement of knowledge or understanding or experience or expertise. I want to help you ease tension breathe deeper, and move better. All you have to do is show up. For real.

Stretch Inc. was born out of my love for Yoga but my understanding that in its current form, it was alienating pretty much any demographic that wasn’t thin and female. Don’t get me wrong, there are amazing practitioners pushing back against yoga stereotypes but reclamation is still a ways off. So what’s the answer?

Assisted stretching studios. Seriously, it’s the future.

The number one question I get asked by studio passerbys, "Is it yoga?" And number two, "Are you going to crack my bones?" The answers are "no" and "no." But I am going to use yoga theory along with ideas from massage, pilates, physio, sports therapy, and physical training to help you ease pain and tension, gain flexibility, and increase mobility. All you have to do is show up and answer some questions along the way. It’s really that simple.

Who is the ideal assisted stretching client? Literally anyone aged 18-80. Stretching is for EVERY BODY. Runner, cyclist, fitness enthusiast? We got you. Not very flexible, sedentary lifestyle, long days driving, commuting, or sitting? We got you too. Hit 40 (or more) and you don’t even recognise your body? Tired of random injury from things like walking, sitting standing, or reaching for the remote? (This was me. I tore my calf while walking on a flat unobstructed surface, on a date.🤦‍♀️) Want to improve your mobility and increase range of motion? There is a plan for that.

Are you an employer looking to promote wellness to employees? We have solutions.

Join me in the studio and get your stretch on. Your body will thank you.

If you want to try a one-on-one assisted stretch or just say hi, you can catch me in London at the stretch inc. studios in Brixton (Pop Brixton) and Seven Dials (9–11 Short’s Gardens).

I also stretch live on Instagram @stretchinc_uk. Join me on Saturdays at 10:00 GMT/05:00 EST