Need help with stretches and flexibility.

i have been extremely inflexible for most of my life. the last few years i started switching my diet to include a lot more raw fruits and veggies. this have greatly lessened the amount of time i need to recover from workouts. also, eating fruit immediately upon cessation of exercise really has helped with recovery.

in these last few years my flexibility is getting better and better, and i really think it has a lot to do with my diet, because i tried before and did not really improve much. like you, i am finally getting close to the splits and straddles, and this is something i have never been able to do in my life...and now getting close (as an adult)...i am just amazed.

here is a video i made a while back of stretches i do before and after workouts...i guess for someone who does yoga these are probably nothing but they really helped me improve bit by bit to where i am now, so maybe they can help someone else.

oh i guess i can't post the link. well it is healthyskinnybeautiful.com and click on "fitness videos".

so glad you were able to get some ideas that might be helpful!
hmmm...some other thoughts to consider:
one thing I have learned recently is that it is so important to rest. the more we exercise, the more rest we require. kenyan marathon runners train for 4 hours a day and then are horizontal for 20 hours in the peak of their training season.

eating fruit right after exercise is really helpful...but also resting enough so the body can re-build what has been torn in the workouts...if we keep tearing down and not allowing the body enough time to re-build, we won't see positive results. do you sleep 12 hours per night? or lie in bed that long?

most people have no idea how much sleep they really need because they use stimulants like coffee and soda, or even sugar, to get through the day.

if you can fall back asleep when you wake up in the morning, your body needs more sleep...
drinking lots of water is important too...and avoiding eating and drinking things that acidify our bodies--which happens with just about everything except raw fruits and veggies.

wow, so funny! someone just mentioned that to me about guanabana and soursop the other day. i am in florida too--south florida. maybe we are neighbors!

i am not sure what else i can tell you...i just try to do the basics...fresh air, enough sleep, rest/relaxation, vitamin D, pure water, etc.

for me, diet has been the biggest factor in my changes. what do you typically eat in a day?

i think also since changing my diet i have been much more in tune with my body and much better able to "listen to it". so if it is tired, i rest. in the past, i trained anyway.

oh here's something...the simpler we eat, the less our body has to spend energy on digesting and the more it can spend energy on healing (and re-building what is torn down). so i often eat mono-meals (one type of fruit, like 5 bananas is my meal). i feel a lot more energetic and like things heal faster the simpler i eat.

i used to have IT band syndrome. i remember how glucosamine helped for it. now i try to do low-impact stuff. i think i burned out my knees playing soccer for many years and then aggravated my knee with tight hamstrings and imbalances in my muscles. i am very conservative with exercise now because i don't want to get knee replacements like so many of my soccer and running friends...some with disastrous results. it is odd since i have had to re-think everything i have believed my whole life...resting instead of overdoing, listening to my body, being conservative and moderate.

i read a book from health101.org called "Avoiding degenerative disease" and it is one of the best books i have ever read. i learned so much in there and it jived so much with my experience yet was contrary to popularly-held teachings on a lot of things...and backed by research that is not popular. one of the results was that i really questioned what i was doing as a personal trainer/group exercise instructor...now studying holistic nutrition and natural healing.

sorry, i am not a yoga or kungfu person so i don't know the answer.

i am learning that what i was taught in sports and fitness pursuits...well, it might not be the best thing for my body...as my injuries and such should indicate to me. overdoing it, etc. definitely i would suggest reading Don's book...though you may not like what he has to say about exercise...it is not popular.

i listen to my body, don't stretch to the point of pain, and ask God when i am sore if i need to just skip that day and let my body recover or if i should do something. God knows best...He created our bodies.