Limber Up This Winter in Wellesley’s Trendy New Stretching Studio
Visit StretchLab in Linden Square and feel all the tension in your muscles melt away.
Photo provided
Even the ’burbs are jumping on the performance recovery trend. StretchLab, a studio with 75 locations across the country, recently announced its most recent addition in Wellesley at the shopping mall in Linden Square.
StretchLab is an assisted stretching studio where patrons can participate in one-on-one assisted stretching sessions with a “flexologist.” A flexologist is what StretchLab calls their stretch therapists. Each stretch session is tailor-made to your individual needs and can be adjusted appropriately to your pain tolerance and what you’re looking to get out of the session.
You can expect the session to feel somewhat like a massage, but you’ll be expected to be a little more active than during a traditional massage. Using what’s called proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, or PNF, your flexologist will ask you to contract and relax your muscles while they hold your body in certain positions. It has been shown to increase range of motion and flexibility.
StretchLab co-owner and former Sports Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Soosie Lazenby, has even seen improvements in her own body from stretching. “I’ve always been physically active, but my health impacted my ability to do everything I wanted to,” she said in a release. “I now play USTA tennis 3-4 times a week. The real reward is hearing about how things like this impact so many of our clients’ lives.”
Once in the studio, you can sign up for either 25 or 50 minute sessions covering all the major muscle groups, like the back, shoulders, and hips. In the 50 minute session you can expect a little deeper stretch and more parts of the body to be worked on like ankles and wrists.
StretchLab also offers group stretches where you’ll learn proper stretching techniques with modalities including straps, foam rollers, and massage balls. The experience sounds much like what Bdy Sqd is doing right here in the city, as well as TB12, and countless other recovery rooms popping up here and there.
While studios like these are great for weekend warriors or those just looking to recover a little faster between workouts, they should not replace the advice from a medical doctor or physical therapist if you are recovering from an injury.
200B Linden St., Wellesley, 339-217-0217, stretchlab.com.
