Split Magic

I will never forget the happiness I felt as a child when I achieved my splits on both the right and left sides! I felt as if I did the impossible! And told myself that because I can do the splits, from now on I can accomplish anything! It was a magical moment for me because it transcended my world view.

More than two decades later, I still have my splits. And it became my measurement of physical success as a dancer. On days when I feel stiff, I return to this 180 degree pose and ease my tightness by sinking into it while breathing with it. And on days when I feel more open, I practice this pose too, in order to get that feel good feeling afterwards as an ego boost. :)

On the other hand, there are many people out there who feels that achieving the splits is just a dream. However, I want to encourage you to please reconsider. Practicing the splits is beneficial in many ways. Even if you don’t have the flat 180 yet, you can still melt with it into the following benefits:

-Increase pain tolerance.

-Train to persist.

-Open up the hip flexors, which is one of the tightest areas of your body. People often sit, walk or run more than they stretch out the hip flexors, thus, doing the intensive stretch such as the split may be the antidote of some physical ailments from sitting too long.

-Stretch out the kinks in your lower body (your thighs, hamstrings, tendons, muscles and nerves).

-Helps develop patience.

-Eases back pain.

-Develop better posture.

-Make you stronger physically and mentally.

So are you ready to challenge yourself to sit through a minute of the split? It's free of charge! You have nothing to loose, but a lot more to gain! And maybe you will experience the magic side of the splits too.