Flexibility & The Fountain of Youth
My dad used to say that I "moved good for a fat girl." (This was back when I was a size 8, but whatever.) My point is that I have always been pretty flexible, but if I don't keep that movement, if I don't work on keeping my flexibility, I start to lose it. And that stiffness plays into other problems, especially for anyone like me, who sits on their bum for a living and has a jack-knifed neck.
There is such a huge benefit to regular stretching; it's one of the things I love about yoga. It seems my mind is more flexible when my body is more flexible. And lately, this pose has been saving my sanity:
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/785.
This is a fantabulous pose for stretching those rubber band, vise grips we have for teres and facia between the shoulder blades, spine, and trapezius. When I stretch those suckers, I give my neck a break, and things get a lot more comfy.
Give it a try; you'll like it. (Go slow, though! You might tear something if you get all jiggy with it and pull too hard!)
This pose image and link comes from Yoga Journal, which is a top-notch resource for all levels of yoga practice. And they are generous with their on-line reference info. It's one of my favourite magazines, as well as an inspiration to move myself, body and mind.