Advanced Stretching LI

09/18/2026

This exercise and variations of it can really help in stabilizing the pelvis. Having worked on thousands of clients over the years, I’d say most of the population have a weak adductor group.

If you’ve followed my content, you’ll know, I love rotation! That’s because most movement requires it! This exercise is not only good for the inner thigh muscles, but also great for shoulder stability as well!

If it’s too hard, you can change some of the vectors and make it easier, such as:
- upper body on a box, leg on the floor

- same setup as video, but up to the knee to shorten the level, taking weight off the demand

- against a wall on a 45 degree angle (easiest)

You have options! Choose what your level is at and add these to one of your workouts or daily routines!

09/17/2026

This athlete was moving her leg into extension like the leg and hip were one piece instead of segments sequencing. This pen to low back pain on the same side. The pelvis ended up anteriorly tilting with no control.

So, adding in the “shakes”, allowing her to isolate some hip rotation in external rotation, and then loading single leg rotation (not shown), allowed her to brain to start to “see” and feel the segments moving. The strength started to allow control. Pain went away.

Shaking and vibration helps the brain with joint centration and clears up smudging (where the brain tends to not see areas in its body mapping), usually after an injury or trauma occurs. Shakes for the win!

09/16/2026

Since I started integrating slings into my rotator cuff work, I haven’t had any shoulder or arm pain at all. Especially, after throwing twice a week. Sometimes I still stick with the traditional internal/external rotation, but these I feel more, are more integrated and I think they carry over more into play and daily life.

The added anti-extension/rotation component with a transition, makes this move even tougher. Making sure to breathe, stabilize and stay stacked throughout ramps up the nervous system as well. Full body is in effect here and it’s brain work as well!!

09/15/2026

Eye Drills for Better Movement!

Your Eyes Do More Than Help You See

When we think about improving movement, reducing tension, or helping the body feel better, most people immediately think about stretching muscles, improving posture, or strengthening weak areas.

But there’s another system that plays a major role in how your body moves through space:

Your eyes.

Your eyes constantly communicate with your brain to help determine where you are, where you’re going, and how your body should respond.

That means eye movement can influence things like:
Balance
Coordination
Spatial awareness
Head and neck control
Visual focus
Reaction time
Your ability to move while keeping your surroundings stable

This is one reason I like incorporating simple eye exercises into my own morning routine.

They only take a few minutes, but each exercise challenges the brain and body in a slightly different way. 30 seconds each:

1. Quick Side-to-Side Eye Movements
I start by choosing two points horizontally and quickly moving my eyes back and forth between them.

Think about how often you do this during the day.

Driving. Walking through a busy room. Playing a sport. Looking from your computer to someone talking to you.

Your brain constantly has to identify a target, move your eyes toward it, and quickly refocus. This exercise challenges that ability.

It can help train visual awareness, coordination, focus, and the ability to quickly shift attention from one place to another.

2. Up-and-Down Eye Movements
Next, I do the same thing vertically.

Although it seems almost identical, your nervous system has to coordinate the eyes slightly differently when looking up and down compared with side to side.
This gives the visual system another direction to work in instead of always staring straight ahead.

And think about modern life. We spend hours looking straight ahead at phones, computers, televisions, and dashboards. Just like the rest of the body, I like exposing the visual system to movement in multiple directions.

3. Random Visual Scanning
Next comes what I call “free play.”

I choose four or five different points around the room and randomly move my eyes from one to another. That randomness forces the brain to continually find a new target, change direction, and reorient itself.

This adds another layer of attention, awareness, reaction, and coordination instead of simply repeating the same movement.

4. Keep Your Eyes Still While Your Head Moves
This one is especially interesting.

Choose one spot and keep your eyes locked onto it while moving your head side to side, up and down, and in different directions. Your eyes and inner-ear balance system work together to keep the world from appearing to bounce every time your head moves.

You use this system constantly when walking, running, turning your head, exercising, or simply moving around your environment.

Training it challenges the connection between your:
Eyes + inner ear + brain + balance system.

For someone interested in improving movement quality, this is a big deal. Good movement isn't just about flexible muscles. Your brain also needs to feel confident about where your body is in space.

5. Following a Moving Target
Lastly, I use my finger as a target and move it around while keeping my head still.
Instead of quickly jumping from one target to another, the eyes now have to smoothly follow a moving object.

I also move my finger closer to and farther away from my face. That forces the eyes to continually adjust focus while also working together as the target changes distance.

Think of it almost like mobility work for your visual system.

So What Does This Have to Do With Stretching?
More than you might think.

Your brain is constantly collecting information before deciding how your body should move. Some of that information comes from your muscles and joints.
Some comes from your feet. Some comes from your inner ear.And a huge amount comes through your eyes.

If your nervous system doesn't feel completely confident about the information it's receiving, the body may sometimes respond by becoming more guarded or rigid.
This is one reason I don't look at the body as simply a collection of tight muscles that need to be stretched.

We want to give the brain better movement options and better information.
Stretching, breathing, joint movement, balance, strength, and visual input can all be pieces of that puzzle.

Try It With Me
I've included short videos demonstrating each of the exercises.
You don't need complicated equipment.
You don't need to spend 30 minutes doing them.
Try each one for roughly 20–30 seconds and simply notice how you feel.
Does one direction feel easier than another?
Do your eyes struggle to stay on the target?
Does moving your head while staring at one point feel surprisingly difficult?
Those differences are information.

And paying attention to those small details is often where better movement begins.
Better movement isn't always about stretching harder. Sometimes it's about giving your brain better information to work with.

One Last Thought

Your eyes, brain, joints, muscles, breathing, and balance systems are constantly communicating with one another. Sometimes improving how the body feels isn’t simply about stretching the area that feels tight. It’s about looking at the bigger picture and giving your nervous system better information to work with.

That’s a big part of what I do at Advanced Stretching LI.

If you’ve been dealing with recurring tightness, limited mobility, poor posture, or an area that just never seems to loosen up no matter how much you stretch, it may be time to take a different approach.

Book a session and let’s figure out what your body actually needs to move and feel better.

Click here for an update from Advanced Stretching LI!

09/15/2026

Hip pain usually comes with something being unstable around it. Here, we had an inhibited glute, lateral hamstring and psoas, just not firing as they should. Post stretch and activation got the pain to go away.

This protocol should help it stay that way! We also worked on some tweaks to her warm ups and add ons that would be great before games.

Don’t guess when it comes to your pain, come and get an assessment and see what stretch therapy can do for you.

09/14/2026

09/10/2026

sometimes activation, breathwork and strength are needed to area for the body to let go. I’ve seen stiffness, achiness and pain go away once stability and strength were introduced.

The nervous system needs a sense of safety to access new ranges of motion or to let go of the pain/discomfort it’s been holding onto. Once given( it may be a multitude of things…strength, stretch, mfr, breath…etc), things can change for the better.

It’s my job to help you figure that out. Schedule an intro today and let’s work together on it.

09/09/2026

Multiple Variation For Better

Feeling Hamstrings

When your hamstrings feel tight, what's the first thing most people do?

Stretch them.

But what if your hamstrings aren't actually asking for another stretch?

Something I see all the time is a person who stretches their hamstrings over and over again, only to have them feel tight again later that day. That's because flexibility isn't determined by the hamstrings alone.

Your pelvis, core, nervous system, breathing, and the body's perception of stability can all influence how much range of motion your hamstrings are willing to give you.

Sometimes, creating more flexibility means giving the body more stability first.

Use Your Core to Change Your Hamstrings

In the video below, I'm using a band to create tension while moving into a hamstring stretch.

The band isn't there simply to make the exercise harder.

I'm actively engaging my core and creating tension through the rest of my body while asking my hamstrings to move into a greater range.

Why?

Because your nervous system is constantly determining how much movement it feels comfortable allowing.

If the pelvis doesn't feel well controlled, the body may use tension elsewhere, including the hamstrings to help create stability.

By giving the body another source of stability through the trunk, we can sometimes decrease that protective tension and immediately gain access to more range.
In other words:

Sometimes you don't need to convince the hamstring to relax. You need to convince the body that it can control the position.

Strength Can Create Mobility

There's another technique I use called irradiation.

Irradiation refers to the way a strong muscular contraction can increase activation throughout other areas of the body.

For example, near the end of an available hamstring range, I might have someone create a strong contraction by gripping, bracing, pushing, or pulling against resistance.

Instead of completely relaxing into the stretch, we're intentionally creating tension.
That might sound backwards

Why would I create more tension when I'm trying to become more flexible?

Because we're teaching the nervous system that we can produce force and maintain control in that position.

After the contraction is released, we may find that the body is comfortable allowing us to move slightly farther into the range.

Now we're not simply borrowing flexibility.

We're beginning to own the new range.

Passive Flexibility vs. Usable Mobility

This is an important distinction.

If I can move your leg farther than you can move it yourself, you technically have access to that range, but you may not have the strength and control to use all of it.
That's why I'm not interested only in how far someone can stretch.

I want to know:
Can you control that position?
Can you produce force there?
Can you breathe there?
Can you move into and out of it without compensating somewhere else?

Those questions tell me much more about someone's mobility than simply seeing how far I can push their leg.

Don't Always Fight Tightness

Tightness isn't necessarily the enemy.

Sometimes it's information.

Your body may be creating tension because it doesn't feel strong, stable, or controlled somewhere else.

That's why continually pulling harder on a tight muscle isn't always the solution.

Sometimes the fastest way to gain mobility is to stop fighting the tightness and instead give the body what it has been asking for:

Stability. Strength. Control. And a reason to trust the new range.

So the next time your hamstrings feel tight, don't automatically assume they need to be stretched harder.

Sometimes the better question is:
What does my body need in order to let them go?

If you’re constantly stretching but the same tightness keeps coming back, there may be more to the story. **Book an Intro Session** and let’s figure out what your body actually needs to move better, feel stronger, and stay that way.

Click here for an update from Advanced Stretching LI!

09/09/2026

Dancers tend to rotate quite a bit! And when you rotate one direction more so than the other, things can get twisted up!

The external rotation of the femur and pelvis, will trickle its way up the back and cause the ribcage to extend, building even more compression in the low back. Starting from the pelvis, working my way up to the erectors and ribcage (not shown). We are able to “pull” some of the musculature and fascial tissue away from the spine, creating more space to rotate and taking pressure off the low back.

Sometimes the low back isn’t the problem, it’s just where the compensation ends up. Restore rotation, create space, and let the body move freely again.

09/08/2026

Who says you always have to move weight slow? The majority of what I see in the gym is 3 sets of 8-10 reps, done in a slow manner. What do you think that teaches the system? Engage musculature, brace/tense up and move slowly. Not great for movement and performance.

Mixing in movements that are still light enough to move into ranges of motion, changes tempo, challenges the nervous system and also flows with weight instead of always fighting against it, will allow for deeper adaptations and overall, better movement proficiency and performance.

Great for a finisher, or a deload exercise, and even a lightly rest day loosener. Give it a try and start slow before moving quicker to see if you can actually access these ranges. Prepare to be sore too!! 🔥💪🏼