Intuitive Stretching: The Science Behind Listening to Your Body
(As featured in Fit & Well – https://www.fitandwell.com/exercise/flexibility/intuitive-stretching)
Stretching is like the body taking a big yawn. Stretching is intuitive. It means listening and not judging your body — not deciding whether it should feel one way or another because of what you did yesterday or plan to do tomorrow. When I’m teaching class, I can see tightness in the shoulders, pain in the back, and overworked quads and legs. We always take a beat to stretch — not just to lengthen and strengthen, but to recalibrate. I tell clients to blow out the cobwebs and do whatever stretch is their favorite, or do the stretch their body is telling them it needs. Your body will talk to you; you just have to listen. And usually, it whispers when you exhale. When Fit & Well reached out about intuitive stretching, I shared what I see every day in my Pilates studios: the moment a person exhales fully, the body finds its own rhythm again.
The Science of the Twist
Intuitively, clients want to twist — it’s everyone’s favorite and go-to stretch. It wrings you out in the best way. Stretching is unwinding. Fascia is like a coil — it winds up tight in knots from stress, sitting, over-exertion, injury, childbirth, and trauma. Stretching and breathing go hand in hand, like two sides of the same coin: horse and carriage, love and marriage. I have clients take their abdominals and squeeze every atom of air out of their lungs, like wringing out a wet rag.
The Science Behind It
When you fully engage the transverse abdominis (TA) on the exhale, you’re not just emptying the lungs. That deep abdominal contraction actually massages the enteric nervous system in the gut and stimulates the vagus nerve. This is what shifts the body into parasympathetic mode — the rest, digest, and safety mode. Add twisting, stretching, and breath together, and you’re literally calming the nervous system while you’re moving.
Science Facts Behind Intuitive Stretching
• The transverse abdominis acts like a corset. When you contract it on the exhale, it stimulates the vagus nerve and signals the parasympathetic nervous system to relax.
• Over 90% of serotonin and about half of dopamine — neurotransmitters linked to mood, motivation, and well-being — are produced in the gut’s enteric nervous system. Stretching combined with abdominal compression (like knees-to-chest) stimulates this system.
• Fascia, the body’s connective tissue web, has memory. It holds tension from stress, trauma, and repetitive movement patterns. Stretching and breath help “unwind the coil,” releasing stored tension and restoring fluid movement.
• Deep exhalation wrings out stale air from the lungs, making room for fresh oxygen — which boosts circulation, clears brain fog, and resets energy.
Nature Knows Best
Pets and animals all stretch. It resets, calibrates, and releases tension. Animals do it intuitively — their nervous systems don’t need a reminder to move. The body never lies, but it whispers the truth. Help it heal by moving.
About Melody Morton-Buckleair
Melody Morton-Buckleair is a Master Instructor and founder of The Pilates Cowgirl®. She operates two Peak Pilates® Education Centers — The Good Space Pilates in Houston and Elmwood Place Pilates & Retreats in East Texas — where she leads fascia-based programs that combine science, faith, and somatic healing. Her expertise has been featured in Fit & Well, Men’s Journal, Eat This Not That, NerdWallet, Best Life Online, and more.
Read More & Connect
👉 Read the full feature: Intuitive Stretching – Fit & Well (https://www.fitandwell.com/exercise/flexibility/intuitive-stretching)
👉 Explore more media features: ElmwoodPlaceTX.com/Media (https://www.elmwoodplacetx.com/media)
👉 Experience fascia-focused Pilates: ElmwoodPlaceTX.com (https://www.elmwoodplacetx.com) | ThePilatesCowgirl.com (https://www.thepilatescowgirl.com)
👉 Follow Melody on Instagram: @thepilatescowgirl (https://www.instagram.com/thepilatescowgirl)
