Basic Pursuits

Having practiced and taught yoga for over 20 years, I've done a lot of reading and given a lot of thought to stretching.

For some time I have thought that static stretching is a bad way to warm up for vigorous activity. Holding a stretch defeats the nerve connections that cause your muscles to snap back after contraction. You are in effect temporarily reprogramming your nervous system.

To stretch or not to stretch before running (or walking or playing tennis or whatever). Conventional wisdom has athletes doing lots of stretching before events and workouts to prevent injuries. Unfortunately, conventional wisdom is looking worse and worse in the light of scientific investigation.