Stretching! I’m sure all kinds of nasty images and painful, frustrating memories come up with the mere mention of the word. The truth is that, as it has been taught and practiced, stretching is painful, frustrating, and an unpleasant experience. As well as all of that, stretching as commonly practiced, is counterproductive to Flexibility.Aggressive stretching is a tease, and actually a threat, to the tissue being addressed. It is painful and frustrating, with very little (if any) reward of change, and unlikely to be pursued with persistence.Release is the vital concept and component capable of transforming your body, your relationship with your body, and your relationship with your movements and all of your activities.What then is this Release? To begin with it is tied inextricably with the Breath. It is through the mechanism of the Breath that Release is able to occur.As you stretch and come to the first level of resistance, pause; take a nice slow, deep Breath, bringing the Breath into the entire body with focus (and imagery), into the very tissue where the pain of restriction is being felt. Aware of the tension present in the whole body, begin your exhale, be it controlled or somewhat forcibly,…