Q: Hi Michelle!
My name is Jonathan and I’m from Ottawa. I saw you at the IDFA/SAF in July and have been following your blog given that I have an interest in nutrition. I have a question for you: is it possible gain enough flexibility to do a split at the age of 26? I’ve never been able to do it, and have never tried. But I figure that with lots and lots of stretching and time it could be possible
A: Hi Jonathan! Oh yes you can! I couldn’t do the splits either, when I started yoga at 30 years old, so you are already 4 years ahead of me. 😉
I put together some “split” preparation exercises with my coach Jean-Jacques Barrett. You should do backbends as they increase over all flexibility, and practice deep, rhythmic breathing to improve blood-flow as you are trying to restructure your body. You will have to improve the actual hip joint as well as stretch the muscles and tendons. Once you have this level of flexibility achieved, you can then move on to a more advanced set of exercises.
Good luck Jonathan!!
