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How Stretching Became Big Business
It’s not just for athletes and the elderly anymore. Stretching is having a moment — especially among millennials.
“We’re gonna start with a criss-cross position and stretch the hips out,” coaxes Emeline Lotherington from my laptop as I contort my body to mirror hers. I sink into the pigeon pose as she sighs with happiness. “This pose [has] been rocking my world!” she says.
Dance instructor Lotherington’s how-to YouTube video, “Do the SPLITS,” has over 271,215 views and counting, and the comments section is illuminating. Viewers’ reasons for attempting the flexibility milestone range from wanting to improve their dance skills to “just for bragging purposes.” The video comes with instructions to watch the video and practice the moves daily in order to achieve the center and side splits over time.
In Western Australia, 26-year-old Nadine Hoey rarely goes a day without stretching. She sets herself monthly challenges, posting updates on Instagram for accountability. She started small with goals like 30 days to touch her toes, then 30 days of pigeon pose, before leveling up to #30daystosplits. She favors a pastel aesthetic in her posts; the Nashville filter, pink and gray sweats, with her hair loose to her waist. But there’s a serious reason for her stretching.
“I fell off a horse at 15 and broke my back,” she says. It left her with chronic pain and debilitating spasms. She tried everything to make it go away: medical massages, acupuncture, chiropractors, and orthopedic surgeons. “My [orthopedic] specialist said there was nothing I could do to get better.” But through watching YouTube videos and taking classes like Pilates, Hoey says she learned that stretching helps alleviate her pain. The discomfort never completely goes away, but it fades from white heat to a low burn.
New brick-and-mortar businesses are cropping up around stretching, too. Since around 2015, thousands of “stretch studios” — StretchLab, LYMBR, StrechU, Motion Stretch — have opened in cities across America. Stretch studios merge the hands-on aspect of physical therapy with the chicness of boutique fitness classes, with the goal being to optimize the average person’s flexibility. At most studios, each visitor gets a personal…
