Every morning, before anything else, I roll out my mat. Coffee isn’t first. Phone isn’t first. Stretching is. I’m Judith — aerial hoop artist in Da Nang — and for the past few years, a daily deep stretching routine has been the one thing I protect no matter what. Not because I’m disciplined by nature (honestly, I’m a perfectionist with a loud inner critic), but because my body taught me something I can’t ignore anymore: the way I treat my body in the first hour shapes how the whole day feels.
Why I Stretch Every Single Morning
I didn’t grow up doing this. I grew up in ballet, where stretching was something you rushed through before class. Then I got sick in my late teens and lost my body for years — walking felt like hauling around a handbag that didn’t belong to me. When I came back to movement through hoop dance and later aerial hoop, I realised stretching wasn’t a warm-up. It was a conversation.
These days, stretching is my anchor. It’s also the prep work behind every flexibility-focused photo shoot I do. It wakes my hips up after sleep. It tells me which shoulder is cranky today and which hamstring is lying to me. It gets my blood moving, yes, but more importantly, it gets me moving — back into my body, before the world starts asking things of me.
If you’re still figuring out whether aerial is for you, I wrote about that in starting aerial hoop as an adult. The stretching came before the aerial, always. It’s the foundation.
What My Routine Actually Looks Like
I’ll tell you straight: my routine runs about 60 to 90 minutes. You don’t need that much. Most people feel a real difference with 15 to 20 minutes. But this is what my aerial body asks for, and I’ve learned to listen.
I start slow. Always. A few minutes of breathing and moving — cat-cows, gentle spinal twists, rolling ankles and wrists. Nothing deep yet. I think of it as asking my body permission.
Then hips. Pigeon on both sides, frog, butterfly. I hold each for at least two minutes. The first minute is where your body says “absolutely not.” The second minute is where it gives in a little. That’s where the magic happens.
After hips come splits. I’m still working toward a clean oversplit — I got my front splits at 30 and my side splits at 33, so this is slow territory, and I’m fine with it. Then backbends, because aerial hoop demands a mobile spine. And finally shoulders, because without shoulder mobility, half the choreography on the hoop is off-limits — including the first time you go upside down.
If you want to see the aerial side of what I do, have a look at the how we can work together.
The Honest Part — Mornings, Motivation, and the Inner Critic
Here’s what most flexibility articles skip: I don’t love stretching every morning. Some days my body feels like concrete. Some days I compare myself to dancers on Instagram who fold in half like it’s nothing, and I get that tight feeling in my chest — that “why am I not further” voice. I’ve been journaling since I was eleven, and a lot of what I write in the morning is basically that voice talking.
What keeps me on the hoop isn’t motivation. It’s that I know the alternative. I know what it feels like to lose connection with my body, and I’m never going back. On my Instagram I share a lot of this — not just the pretty poses but the behind the scenes, the stiff mornings, the slow progress. You can find more of the story on my about page.
If You’re Just Starting, Here’s What I Wish I Knew
Start with 10 minutes. Not 60. Ten.
Pick one area — hips, shoulders, or hamstrings — and stay there for the first week. Don’t chase the split. Hold each stretch long enough that you get bored, then stay another 30 seconds.
Breathe. If you’re holding your breath, you’re forcing. Forcing doesn’t make you more flexible — it just makes you tight somewhere else.
And please, stop comparing your day-one body to someone else’s day-2000 body.
FAQ
How long should a daily stretching routine be for a beginner?
Start with 10 to 15 minutes. That’s enough to feel a real difference after a few weeks. Go longer only when it actually feels good.
Can I become flexible as an adult?
Yes. I did my first front splits at 30 and my side splits at 33. There are pole dancers in their 70s winning competitions. “Too late” is a story, not a fact. I wrote out the full honest version in flexibility at any age.
Should I stretch before or after training?
Both — differently. Before: dynamic movements to wake the body up. After: longer, deeper holds when your muscles are warm. Morning stretching is its own category: more about checking in than performance.
How often should I stretch to see progress?
Daily if you want real change. Three to four times a week for slow but steady progress. Once a week doesn’t do much.
Do I need to be flexible to start aerial hoop?
No. You build flexibility through the training itself. Strength and trust matter more. If you’re thinking about your first aerial hoop class as an adult, flexibility is not the barrier. Show up and the rest follows.
Want to Work Together?
If any of this resonates and you’re in Da Nang, I’d love to hear from you. I offer 1-on-1 aerial hoop coaching in a safe space — no performance, no comparison, just you and your body learning each other again. Reach out through my contact page and let’s talk. And if you just want to follow along, find me on Instagram @judithesmee — I share my mornings there more often than I’d like to admit.
