Since the past year, I have noticed that my flexibility is not where I would have liked it to be by now. From doing research and asking my teachers and friends, they said that they found stretching everyday helped their flexibility. They also noticed an improvement in their dancing performance on stage, as well as in class. Normally during dance class, we always stretch before we start choreography, but maybe that amount of stretching is not enough for me. Even though I am doing the exercises, I don't feel that my body is getting anything extra out of them. It is not that I don't feel the stretch, it is just that I don't feel like it is helping me beyond the point of just a common, tradition and an obligate stretch. Therefore, my goal is to add stretching to my dance and home routine. I am going to stretch ten minutes before dance class, fifteen minutes after class and half an hour at home during the weekdays. On weekends, I will stretch for an hour at home. In order for me to make something more out of a stretch, I have decided to take time out of my normal routine, to make an independent stretching plan to get me those extra benefits I need. To make time for that stretch routine, I am going to get my dance class earlier to change and will not talk to my friends before class. After class, instead of changing right after, I will stretch for fifteen minutes and take the later bus if I will not make it to the earlier one. At home, instead of spending half an hour to watch an episode on television, I will stretch for that half an hour. This will help me be organized with my stretching routine. The routine will consist of spending four minutes isolating my body. I will start with my head, then my shoulders, my arms, my stomach, my hips, my legs and my feet to warm up my whole body. Then, I will take thirty seconds to do the butterfly pose. I will then stretch out my calves and quadriceps by lunging with both bent and straight legs for two minutes. Then, a minute for each of the splits- right, left and middle. Finally, I will raise my legs with a both a flexed and pointed foot up to my ear to the front, side and back. For the times I stretch for fifteen minutes, I will spend five minutes at the beginning to do plies in first, second, fourth and fifth position. On the weekends, I repeat the fifteen minute routine four times to equal an hour. This is going to help me be diligent and on-task with my exercises. My last
