Yup, that’s what I used to do and that’s literally what 95% of my patients tell me when I ask that question!
Occasionally a few patients will show me some contortionistic stretching maneuvers they do to stretch.
Let me ask you….. What do you see athletes doing to warm up their bodies before they play? They do a DYNAMIC stretching warm up routine and then you will see them stretching!
Dynamic stretching is key before you do an activity like sitting/standing to play your instrument for hours! You NEED to warm your body up! You need to get the blood flowing to ALL the muscles and joints that you are asking to work for you to play!
This form of active stretching prevents excessive forces, stimulates and prepares the body to play your instrument.
“Using Heather’s dynamic stretching warm up before performances of any kind, including any type of repetitive movement work (I’m looking at you, desk job folks!) has proven to be excellent at preventing further uncomfortable ailments. It’s short, feels great to do, and my future self always appreciates the extra work I put into making sure my body stays healthy and ready to play my instruments!”
In this video you will find a routine that I developed with a personal trainer specifically for musicians and warming up the tissues that you use most. This will help you get focused and prevent injuries. The actual exercise video is less than 10 minutes long!
I have been giving this to all of my musician’s clients and the feedback has been great! Now I’m offering it to the general public!