Flexibility Is More Than Stretching
For years, I believed that if someone couldn’t touch their toes, the explanation was fairly simple:
Their hamstrings were tight — so they needed to stretch more.
That was certainly the advice I heard repeatedly, and it was an approach I followed myself for years.
Stretch the hamstrings. Hold the stretch. Repeat it regularly. Eventually, flexibility should improve.
But for me, it never really solved the problem.
That experience eventually led me to start looking at movement from a different perspective — one that considers not only muscles and joints, but also the brain and nervous system.
And it has changed the way I think about flexibility.
The Nervous System Matters Too
Our ability to move is not determined by muscle length alone.
Every movement we make involves communication between the brain, nervous system, muscles, joints, sensory receptors, eyes and balance system.
Before and during movement, the brain is continually receiving information about things such as:
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where the body is in space
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what the joints are doing
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balance and stability
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visual information
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pressure and sensation
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previous movement experience
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how comfortable or threatening a movement feels
All of this information contributes to how movement is organised.
That means a person who feels restricted during a toe-touch test may not simply have “short hamstrings”.
Muscle flexibility can certainly be part of the picture, but sensory information, neural mobility, coordination, movement confidence and the nervous system’s response to the movement may also contribute.
This is one of the ideas I have begun exploring more within my Somatix classes.
Test – Change the Input – Retest
One of the simplest ways I demonstrate this is with a toe-touch exercise.
Before doing any stretching, I ask participants to stand comfortably and reach towards their toes.
There is no competition and no pressure to reach the floor.
I simply ask them to notice:
How far can you comfortably reach right now?
That gives us a starting point.
We might then introduce a short, gentle activity involving one or more of the following:
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eye tracking
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eye and head coordination
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proprioceptive or sensory exercises
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balance work
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gentle neurodynamic nerve sliding and gliding
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controlled movement
Then we perform exactly the same toe-touch test again.
Quite often, people notice a difference.
Some reach a little further.
Some describe the movement as feeling easier.
Others feel less resistance or greater confidence moving into the position.
And sometimes the change happens within minutes.
Did the Hamstrings Suddenly Become Longer?
Probably not.
If someone reaches several centimetres further after a brief eye, balance or nerve-gliding exercise, it would be difficult to explain that change simply by saying that the muscle suddenly became physically longer.
Instead, the change may reflect an alteration in factors such as movement tolerance, sensory input, coordination, neural mobility or motor control.
This is why I find the test-and-retest process so interesting.
It encourages us to stop thinking only in terms of:
“Which muscle is tight?”
and begin asking:
“What other factors might be influencing this person's movement?”
Flexibility Is More Than Muscle Length
This does not mean stretching is useless.
Stretching can be extremely valuable, and muscles, tendons and joints obviously influence range of movement.
The important point is that flexibility is more complex than muscle length alone.
Our available range of movement can also be affected by how the nervous system interprets the position and how comfortable the person is moving into it.
This is particularly important when somebody says:
“I've stretched for years, but I still feel tight.”
Perhaps repeatedly stretching the same area is not always the only answer.
Sometimes it may be useful to look more broadly at the entire movement system.
The Eyes Can Influence Movement Too
One area I have become particularly interested in is the relationship between vision and movement.
The eyes provide the brain with an enormous amount of information about our surroundings and our position within them.
Eye movements are also closely coordinated with head movement, posture and balance.
For that reason, Somatix may include very simple exercises such as following a target with the eyes, coordinating eye and head movement, or changing visual focus before repeating a movement.
These exercises are deliberately gentle.
The purpose is not to exercise the eye muscles aggressively.
It is to provide the nervous system with a different sensory input and then observe whether movement changes.
Proprioception: Knowing Where Your Body Is
Another important part of the picture is proprioception.
Proprioception is our ability to sense where different parts of the body are positioned without constantly having to look at them.
Information coming from muscles, joints and other tissues helps the nervous system organise posture, balance and movement.
Simple activities involving the feet, ankles, hands, balance or joint position can therefore provide useful sensory information before we retest a movement.
Again, the principle is straightforward:
Change the input and see whether the movement output changes.
Gentle Nerve Sliding and Gliding
Somatix also uses gentle neurodynamic sliding and gliding techniques, sometimes referred to as nerve flossing.
These movements are different from simply stretching a muscle.
Rather than holding a nerve-related structure at the end of its range, gentle sliders use coordinated movements to alternately increase and decrease load through the neural pathway.
They should feel comfortable and controlled — not aggressive.
For some people, adding gentle neural movement before retesting flexibility can change how the movement feels.
That does not mean that every case of tightness is caused by a nerve.
It simply gives us another part of the movement system to consider.
My Somatix Test-and-Retest Approach
A principle I am increasingly using within Somatix is:
TEST → INPUT → MOVE → RETEST → LEARN
TEST
Perform a simple movement and establish a comfortable starting point.
INPUT
Introduce a gentle sensory, visual, balance, proprioceptive or neurodynamic exercise.
MOVE
Allow the body to experience that new information through controlled movement.
RETEST
Repeat the original movement under the same conditions.
LEARN
Notice what changed — or what did not change.
This last part is important.
We are not trying to force a better result.
Sometimes movement improves.
Sometimes it remains exactly the same.
Both outcomes give us information.
The purpose is to explore how the individual responds rather than assuming that one particular exercise will work for everybody.
Bringing Neurology and Biomechanics Together
Traditional approaches to movement have often concentrated heavily on biomechanics:
muscles, joints, posture, strength and flexibility.
All of those remain extremely important.
But movement is ultimately controlled and coordinated by the nervous system.
That is why I am increasingly interested in bringing the two areas together:
neurology + biomechanics
Within Somatix, that means looking at movement through several interconnected areas:
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mobility
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balance
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proprioception
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visual input
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head and eye coordination
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gentle nerve sliding and gliding
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breathing
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body awareness
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coordination
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motor learning
The aim is not to make exercise harder.
In many cases, the movements are extremely simple.
The aim is to make movement more informative.
Complexity Without Intensity
This has become an important idea behind how I am developing Somatix.
We can make an exercise richer for the nervous system without necessarily making it physically harder.
A simple standing movement might be combined with:
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a change in eye position
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a gentle head turn
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a balance challenge
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a different foot position
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contralateral arm and leg movement
The physical intensity may remain low, but the nervous system is being asked to process more information.
I describe this as:
Complexity without intensity.
For people who dislike fast-paced exercise, have become nervous about movement, feel stiff or unsteady, or simply want to understand their body better, this can provide a very different way of exercising.
A Different Question
Perhaps the biggest change in my own thinking has been the question I ask.
Instead of immediately asking:
“Which muscle needs stretching?”
I now also ask:
“What information might the nervous system need to help this movement feel easier?”
Sometimes the answer may still be stretching.
Sometimes it may be strength.
Sometimes it may be balance, sensory input, eye movement, coordination or gentle neurodynamic work.
And sometimes we simply need to explore.
That is what makes movement so fascinating.
The body is not a collection of separate muscles and joints.
It is an interconnected movement system in constant communication with the brain and nervous system.
And the more we understand that relationship, the more possibilities we have for helping people move with greater ease, awareness and confidence.
Somatix — Gentle movement with a real purpose.
Somatix is a gentle movement and wellbeing programme and is not intended to diagnose or treat medical conditions. Anyone experiencing persistent pain, numbness, weakness, significant mobility problems or other concerning symptoms should seek appropriate medical or physiotherapy advice.