An important component of a balanced body is for every part of the body to lay flat to the floor. We tend to be short in the back and long in the front, which will leave a lot of the body up off of the floor when we lay down. If you lay down to check it out focus first on the backs of the thighs. How much space is there between the back of the thigh and the floor?
The muscles in the back of our body tend to be tight. In the legs- tight Achilles tendons, tight calves, and tight hamstrings plague people. Tight lower and upper backs as well as tight neck muscles fill our beings with tension and make movement and dexterity more difficult. Without stretching the body open there is no reason for a body to work well.
We have to work to create the body we want. I often refer to the building the body it as a science project. When I first learned of the idea that the body should lie flat to the floor my own body wasn’t close. Block lunges, one of my favorite exercises, really helped to get the backs of my legs to release to the floor. If you are interested, It is important to figure out what your body needs in order to do the same.
I happen to be someone who is naturally loose and I am stretching within minutes of getting out of bed. Not necessarily doing yoga but stretching to get my blood and body moving. I ask all of my clients if they stretch and I am amazed at how many of them don’t at all. And it should be obvious but the tighter you are the more you should be stretching.
Anything will do—basic standing forward bends; putting your heel up on a table to stretch the hamstring; twist; stretch the upper chest. We need to do something if our bodies are stiff.