In deep stretching, your stretch reflex can kick in - like catching yourself before a fall. It’s triggered by muscle spindles—tiny sensory receptors embedded in your muscles. Stretch too quickly or too far, and these spindles trigger a contraction in the muscle fibers (specifically, the sarcomeres) to protect you from overstretching or tearing. Why does this matter? Because if you push too far stretching, your muscles fight back. That’s why we use long, passive holds with max 7/10 intensity and

Your stretch reflex (myotatic reflex) is governed by your muscle spindles, sensory receptors inside your muscles that are sensing for “too fast” or “too far”. If your spindles sense you’re at risk of injury, they signal to your nervous system to contract. This is why your body fights you in a stretch. It’s worried you’ll hurt yourself. There are a number of tricks to reduce your stretch reflex, but here are the top two: (1) Breathe to relax, into the count of four, out for eight (2) Repetition,