What's the secret to loose-limbed happiness?

August 20, 2009 11:03 AM

You know that loose-limbed, joints-fully-lubricated feeling you get after a massage or a jacuzzi? I want that feeling all the time. What's your secret?

Yoga? Pilates? Some other wacky stretching technique you learned in a Himalayan monastery?

Is it a drug? A vitamin? A secret herbal supplement stolen from a race of giant, intelligent apes?

posted by Cool Papa Bell to health & fitness (19 comments total)

Yoga. And weed.
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:07 AM on August 20 [4 favorites has favorites]

Drinking a lot of water and never forgetting to stretch after workouts.
posted by ignignokt at 11:11 AM on August 20

Yoga does this for me. It just feels so good I want to do it forever. Until the next morning when the soreness sets in, but I'm not in regular practice right now.
posted by cmgonzalez at 11:25 AM on August 20

+1 to yoga.
I don't practice often because I am lazy, but after a good 45 minute class, I feel as light as a feather, taller, and can literally feel the energy flowing through me like a reed.

Give it a try!
posted by willmize at 11:35 AM on August 20

Stay hydrated, and make sure you consume enough oils and fats to, y'know, keep everything greased up (I am not a nutritionist).

Oh, and nthing yoga and weed.
posted by box at 11:44 AM on August 20

cmgonzalez: "Yoga does this for me. It just feels so good I want to do it forever. Until the next morning when the soreness sets in, but I'm not in regular practice right now."

I agree, except I don't feel sore the next day. I don't know why people do yoga that makes them sore. I like super-gentle, relaxing classes. They're usually called "serenity yoga" or something similar. I feel amazing after.

Also I love lying down with a heating pad under my back or neck.
posted by radioamy at 11:46 AM on August 20

For me, its drinking a lot of water, working out hard (biking, then running, if I can get both in), and yes, remembering to stretch immediately after. I feel that loose-limbed greatness for at least a few hours after. Then its time for a bourbon.
posted by allkindsoftime at 11:47 AM on August 20 [4 favorites has favorites]

FWIW, I probably get a pretty similar feeling to the yoga (not sure as I've never done yoga) because I learned a majority of my stretches from martial arts, growing up. If you don't know proper stretching, its worth looking into learning.
posted by allkindsoftime at 11:49 AM on August 20

Staying hydrated, yoga, hot relaxing baths, getting enough sleep, keeping stress in your life low.

Optional: good sex, swimming, moisturizer.
posted by jessamyn at 11:58 AM on August 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

Along with hydration and yoga, warmth helps. Not heat, like 100 degree weather outside. Rather, I mean warmth like a very hot bath, heating pad, or other warmth that's completely enveloping and direct contact.
posted by Saydur at 12:05 PM on August 20

Qigong, Tai Chi Chuan or Ba Gua Zhang.

Acupuncture. Tui Na.

Hot tubs.
posted by kalessin at 12:05 PM on August 20

Stay under 50.

Fish oil and stretching helps, too.
posted by lpsguy at 12:28 PM on August 20

On a scale of one to ten, my tension drops about three points when my boyfriend cracks my back, bear hug style.

It drops about two points if I crack my own back by standing up, crossing my right leg over my left leg, and twisting at the waist towards the right. Then I switch leg positions and twist to the left, holding my hands up like..um...like I'm doing a push-up standing up. I only mention this because it's how I adjust myself when I'm standing up at work or out in public, when the bear hug isn't always convenient.
posted by redsparkler at 1:57 PM on August 20

Hatha yoga.
posted by sero_venientibus_ossa at 3:01 PM on August 20

Running, for me, even though I'm a lousy runner and don't run very far or very often.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:07 PM on August 20

I get it from Pilates.
posted by not that girl at 7:06 PM on August 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

Eubie Blake, the jazz pianist,advised, jangle when you walk. he lived to be about a hundred.
posted by hortense at 7:48 PM on August 20

cracking my neck and back regularly helps me feel relaxed and loose-limbed.

i had my first session of acupuncture the other day, and i was amazed that a 20-minute session made me feel just as good as a 60-minute massage has in the past.

i've been on fish oil for a few weeks, and that might contribute to how good i feel, so i'll second that.
posted by gursky at 9:49 PM on August 20

Dancing ballet!!!
posted by Spacegirl at 2:44 PM on October 24