What is the Stretch Reflex (Myotatic Reflex)? Why Doesn't Static Stretching Work?

Learn how the stretch reflex (myotatic reflex) automatically contracts our muscles to prevent injury and overstretching.
You can learn more in The Pain Relief Secret:
www.amazon.com/Pain-Relief-Secret-Retrain-Overcome/dp/1631611038
And at somaticmovementcenter.com

[@elliedawood8417]

this video was so amazing, phenomenal explanation. you have helped my learning so much!!! Thank You!!!

[@nadinaliberatore5531]

I love your videos 🙏🏽 such valuable information!

[@fullercrowley]

Sarah, thanks for this (as a yoga instructor, mind blown!!), and I have to report also that the first night I tried your first SMC pandiculation exercise (Arch & Curl?) my painful, bilateral trochanteric bursitis went away and has not returned. Your program is completely transforming my longtime-athlete 57 yo body and how I feel and move.

[@somaticmovementcenter]

That is so fantastic to hear!! Thanks for letting me know!!

[@blackout2430]

Cannot wait for the pen dilation video. I’ve been a yoga addict over the years prior found that cutting back severely on yoga and only doing it here in there while doing Qi gong has been the most beneficial. I don’t understand pendiculstion fully so I cannot wait to see this

[@somaticmovementcenter]

Hi, Thanks for your interest! You can learn more about pandiculation and Clinical Somatics exercises in my book: www.amazon.com/Pain-Relief-Secret-Retrain-Overcome/dp/1631611038 and on my website: somaticmovementcenter.com. Feel free to email me with questions at [e-mail]. -Sarah

[@suzannemuroyogamovement]

This is such a. fascinating topic - -- so do we stretch at all??? It almost feels like "stretching" should be left out of the vocabulary of yoga teachers because there is so much misinformation about it. Or does even that temporary sensation of feeling "stretched" offer benefits to our body?

[@somaticmovementcenter]

Hi Suzanne,
Lengthening muscles actively - like as we move through a range of motion, while our muscles are engaged - is very different than static stretching, when we pull on a passive muscle and expect it to get longer. Lengthening our muscles while moving is fine, and can be very beneficial. It's the passive, static stretching that is pointless, and can be damaging. I hope that helps!
-Sarah

[@z3lotalm3lot]

Is your program gonna help with bad posture forward head / anterior pelvic tilt?

[@somaticmovementcenter]

Yes, Clinical Somatics exercises release the tight muscles that pull your spine out of alignment causing forward head posture and anterior pelvic tilt. You can learn more on my website and in my book, The Pain Relief Secret. And here is an article about forward head posture: somaticmovementcenter.com/forward-head-posture/
I hope that helps to get you started!
-Sarah

[@Flux_40]

if our muscles automatically try to prevent injury, then why do we pull a hamstring when sprinting ?
the muscle seems to willfully injure itself !

[@somaticmovementcenter]

When we pull a muscle, it has a lot to do with the baseline level of tension in that muscle. So, we're most likely to pull muscles that are tighter than normal to start with. The most effective way to reduce the baseline/resting level of tension in our muscles is with pandiculation. This article may interest you, even though it's about muscle cramping (not muscle pulls), because it discusses this topic:
somaticmovementcenter.com/what-really-causes-muscle-cramps/