My STRETCHING Routine for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Recovery!

This stretching routine was a vital part of my chronic fatigue syndrome recovery process. When working out with chronic fatigue syndrome, stretching afterward (and again before bed) helped me to reduce pain, speed recovery time, and sleep better. I couldn't have gotten through my ME/CFS recovery without this!
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Remember that I am not a professional - this is what worked for me, and it absolutely will not be suitable for everyone. Please make your own assessment, do your own further research, and consult your trusted healthcare professionals before deciding if anything I talk about here might be right for you.
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[@RaelanAgle]

I'm curious how many others have found that stretching has helped with their ME/CFS recovery? I'd love to hear your experience with this!

[@RaelanAgle]

And your thoughts on anything else related to this as well!

[@anitaphillips4611]

Thanks I like this one see you soon

[@kimwarburton8490]

i have spent hours at a time, simply lying on my back, making the same movements that a baby would. I couldnt touch the floor, i couldnt reach overhead, i couldnt 'angel'. stretching has enabled me to put bones back into place from shortened muscles n reduced the pain i was holding. i probbaly have the best posture ive ever had since i was 6, if only i had the strength n stamina to go along with it already

[@RaelanAgle]

Good for you Kim, although it sounds like this has been a bit of a slow and frustrating process, it also sound like you've been working very hard at this. Sending virtual hugs, I hope you continue to find things to help your recovery 💗

[@DarkoFitCoach]

How u doing now kim?

[@kimwarburton8490]

@@DarkoFitCoach my energy and stamina are fantastic compared to what they once were ( a combo of strategies that work for me) only when i do something 'extraordinary' to my current lifestyle do i notice PEM or brainfog due to things i have done, or due to lack of sleep I have had back to back colds/flu and this has hampered my mood, leading to unproductivity and poor posture, sitting on sofa watching netflix on laptop these last 3 months, so iv returned to old bad posture patterns and some of my physical pains have come back, including tension headaches. Oddly, today was the first day i restarted a physical routine, your comment is well-timed! :D Ive lost flexibility and fitness ( i havent done stretching exercises for a year now, but i was walking every day for 1 hour-ish and i recently went to singapore 3 months ago for 2 weeks and i was frankly AMAZED at how well i coped and the typically 10k steps i was doing! :O) I no longer HAVE to be as 'regimented' about my good habits and frankly they slipped bit-by-bit until i wasnt doing a single one over this last year. I still live in a bubble mind, and this year will be about breaking out of that bubble, hopefully making new healthy friendship in the real world XD But living within this bubble, until 2.5 weeks ago, i was REALLY content with where i was and had lost desire to 'sacrifice for tomorrow' i wasnt losing progress, i was still healthier than my pre mecfs life, but nowhere near to what i need if i am to get out of this last stage of recovery and rejoin the working world. i feel i am on the cusp. Speaking to new people is a novelty and like a child i get ridiculously hyped up and it affects my sleep, so i need to desensitise re socilisation. 2.5 weeks ago, i started realising i was stuck and i felt overwhelmed and that is why i wasnt doing ANYTHING but watch netflix all day everyday XD My therapist a few days later (2 weeks ago 2morro, tues) helped me realise my need to learn to break tasks and goals into manageable bite-sized pieces, something ive been told often previously mind, hehe, but i finally understood it at a deeper level. she also taught me a strategy called a,b,and c lists. so i dont lose sight of the longterm stuff, but i actually get things done n feel productive on the day-2-day stuff. It has worked wonders for me. i have caught-up on all the housework id let lapse with my funk hehe Sorting my posture with exercises at home (poly vagel ones, yin yoga ones and qi gong) has really helped me with the subconscious tension i hold in my body and reduced/got rid of the stress of poor posture which was upsetting my ANS. Im frankly resentful and end up not doing the things i know to do, such that i know i could already be 100% and working with a good social life if only i had been able to maintain consistency without getting stressed/angry, either by going too far into perfection, overwhelm and then giving up XD i cannot seem to find a way to reframe that resentfulness -a good thing to bring up to the therapist tomorrow, thankyou as writing this comment allowed me to highlight that to myself :D

[@PhilOakeysFringe]

I have just found this video after searching for a yoga routine catered to ME/CFS sufferers like myself. My mobility and weight have recently taken a turn for the worse so I realised I needed to try and get back into gentle exercise without overdoing it. This video helped as I seemed to stretch all the right muscles that tend to seize up and hurt. I don't feel ready to attempt yoga just yet but I hope to stick with these stretches. Thank you!

[@RaelanAgle]

Wonderful!!

[@homaha]

This is good, it's a little more developed than my 7 part routine. I try to incorporate very light core strengthening exercises (pilates based) with my morning stretch routine. When I wasn't working a few years back, I was at one stage able to do quite a lot more than I can now. Use it or lose it. Its hard to get back once lost.

[@RaelanAgle]

Your routine sounds amazing!

[@katieemmaw2001]

Thank you RaeIan❤️I find stretching so helpful too. Yoga with Adrienne on KZbin is great for those of you who are able to do it, or something to aim for x

[@RaelanAgle]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@janielightly1644]

Some great stretches Raelan enjoyed doing these, thank you 🙏🏻💜

[@RaelanAgle]

Oh, Yay! So glad you enjoyed this Janie 😀

[@katygettingwell]

love love love this one! The stretches are simple and I enjoyed following it today after my workout. I think this will be a great resource too in case of future crashes, it'll be good to follow when some gentle movement is required but thinking for yourself is a challenge. Brilliant, thanks Raelan!

[@RaelanAgle]

Oh I'm thrilled that you like it Katy!! Yay! I'm so glad that it will be useful. And great job with all of your workouts and stretching!!! 🙌

[@gingerschultz3258]

I actually found this video a month or so ago. I like this routine and did it 2 days and then nothing. I’m finding consistency hard. I can’t seem to focus well. I have now subscribed to your channel and I hope to incorporate this routine in my day after the strength workout. Thanks!!!

[@RaelanAgle]

It's tough Ginger, I know. You are not alone in struggling with consistency! I suspect most of us facing this illness do. Thanks for subscribing and I hope the stretching goes well ⭐️

[@andyhamilton9459]

Hey Raelan, I had seen this video and only now just tried it, on a day where I slept terrible and didn’t t have energy to exercise. I feel better!

[@tompearce6312]

You can get videos on KZbin which have timed beeps for different lengths of time, if that works better for anyone. I'm so impatient I have to have some kind of timer anyway or I try to rush things!

[@Lottie_La]

Thanks I just tried this and was happy that it was manageable for me. 🙂 I won't be working out but going to see benefit from the stretches alone.

[@RaelanAgle]

You got this, Charlotte! ❤️

[@rickabbott3772]

I've robe these in the past and ha e been adding a little bit of these before you uploaded video. Good basics all you need to get started. I'm only starting with ones I can do in bed sitting or laying down.

[@rickabbott3772]

Typos I meant good basics I've been doing already some.

[@RaelanAgle]

@@rickabbott3772 Yeah I figured! I used to do a lot in bed as well and I'm actually working on one like this to post next week. It sounds like you are already on top of this stuff though!

[@gailducrest8851]

Oh god. I love you Raelan. And I could do this when I was forty. But now I’m 80. What’s an old person to do?

[@elealm1375]

Thank you for this. Love it

[@RaelanAgle]

💓💓💓

[@amarak9127]

you say you did this after working out while your cfs. i am not able at all to do any workout, even stretching makes my symptoms worse. im so lost because i can't move at all without having a crash :( how can i deal with this situation?

[@skippysmom]

i’m worried these will cause a crash 😞

[@user-lp3sd8lp7w]

You're awesome ❤️

[@RaelanAgle]

Aw, thanks! Right back at yah ☺️

[@user-lp3sd8lp7w]

@@RaelanAgle I'm going crazy with nutrition, don't know what regime to follow.. I used to eat 100 grams protein a day, but now I've lost 13-14 kg of muscle because of deconditioning.. What do you think? Is it a must to be vegan? What about protein consumption, is it important and if so, how much? Should I go high/low carb or high/low fat? Or just eat a "balanced diet" and if so, how's that looks like, in terms of macros of carbs/protein/fat etc? Are you recommending 3 meals or 5-6 small meals or intermittent fasting (1-2 meals)? Please guide me nutrition wise, like how you went with it (approach and what and how you actually ate). Would be highly grateful for your reply 🙏🏼

[@RaelanAgle]

Diet can be so confusing, can't it?! There's so much conflicting information out there that it's enough to make your head explode! I'm sorry to hear about the muscle loss that you've experienced - that sounds really frustrating. As you know, personally a healthy vegan diet has done WONDERS for my health, but I also know of other people with this illness that have made great progress on a meat-based diet. It's taken me some time, but I've relaxed a bit about protein. My husband (who is also now 95%+ vegan) and I were stressed about this initially. He works out a lot and is pretty muscular and didn't know if the diet would support that. But he's actually made gains since the switch to vegan. He's certainly not wasting away. I plan to have him in some future videos so that people can see how much muscle this diet actually supports (because I am not a great example!) I still take a vegan protein supplement as an insurance policy (and he eats a lot of beans). Even when I was on a meat-based diet I used protein powder in my breakfast smoothies, so now I've just switched it for a plant-based option. I'm not sure if I need it, but just in case I use it. I no longer count daily grams of protein intake so I really have no clue how much I'm getting. Less than 100 grams though I'm sure. I have been doing a higher carb (healthy carbs - no white rice or white bread, etc., only whole grain stuff) and a lower fat diet and it's worked really well for me. So for me - high carb/low fat seems to be the way to go. Again, I'm not counting or measuring anything so I don't have any specific numbers in terms of macros. As for meals/fasting - what seems to work best for me is 3 meals (and often a snack also) spaced evenly throughout my intermittent fasting schedule. I currently have an 8-hour eating window (10am-6pm) and do this 7 days a week. When I was sicker and still recovering sometimes I'd shorten the eating window to as short as 3-4 hours. Not every day, but some days. I'm working on putting some videos together that show what I actually ate during my recovery (and still eat now). So those are coming soon. And if you have more questions before then please just ask. And of course this is all just what worked for me, and what will work for you might look different. Best of luck with all of this! ​ איתמר אברהם

[@user-lp3sd8lp7w]

@@RaelanAgle thanks a lot for your reply 🙏🏼 I have some more questions and would highly appreciate your answer: 1. As you ate and still eat vegan, did you eat something with protein every meal (like beans, sprouts, tahini, nuts etc) or just ate whole grains with little fat (tahini/olives/avocado etc) and the protein you only thought about it in the morning when you took that vegan Shake? 2. Regarding meditation, I do mostly listening to the parts of my body that feels irritated, usually the head and neck area and sometimes the stomach. I also do " scanning downs" and "breath focus" meditations but it's not the main (the main is "feeling the irritated parts of my body meditation", if you can consider it meditation). How you were meditating? Can you relate to what i wrote? What meditation did you find helping you the most? 3. How you've dealt with anxiety and stress? From showers to meditation to maybe supplements and maybe "acceptance and surrendering"? 4. Did you had Irritable Bowel Syndrome? If so, what helped you with digestion/to ease the symptoms? Again I would thank you a lot, I'm kinda struggling

[@RaelanAgle]

1. Of my three meals per day I typically make a conscious effort to include something higher in protein (such as hummus, lentils, beans, protein powder, etc.) in two of the three meals. 2. Those sound like some great meditations! Personally I rotate through a few options. Sometimes I use guided meditations, sometimes I set a timer and simply work to quieten my mind, sometimes I do body scan relaxations. All seem to help and I don't particularly have a preference. 3. I've found professional counseling to be invaluable for helping with anxiety and stress. I've shared a few other strategies that I've found helpful in some videos in my "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Mental Health" playlist, if you'd like to check them out. 4. I did not have IBS, but I did have to do some work to heal my gut. For me - I found that consuming food-based probiotics from fermented foods helped a lot. As did cutting out sugar, alcohol, and animal-based foods. Of course, as always, this is just my experience and I don't know if it will be appropriate for anyone else. I'm so sorry that you're struggling with all of this - I hope you find some things that help soon!

[@jackiegroden416]

Raelan did u start these before your exercise program? I’m so impatient and miss my runs snd gym time.. 9 months!

[@RaelanAgle]

I feel you!!! I missed my workouts so much too. I did start with stretching and then gentle (1 minute) body weight only strength training. Then eventually running. It took some time but I eventually got there - I hope you do too 🧡

[@privateperson5769]

I do THE most bqsic gentle lying on my back yoga ...gentler than this and next day i am fatigued. So tough.

[@nickm5760]

I feel like any kind of leg stretches weakens my legs even more very fast, is that something you experience aswell? THank you!

[@RaelanAgle]

I didn't have that specifically, no. Sorry to hear that, Nick. 😐

[@molbar09]

I experience this most of the time

[@nickm5760]

@@molbar09 Found any reason for it yet?

[@molbar09]

@@nickm5760 nope 👎🏼 maybe because even stretching is using up energy but I really don’t know

[@nickm5760]

@@molbar09 Sucks to hear that, is it some kind of hypoglycemic feeling you get?

[@jennycarter9442]

Thank you :)))

[@RaelanAgle]

💓💓💓

[@kathleenfroggatt1490]

Should I expect my muscles/joints to hurt while doing/after doing these stretches or is that a sign I’m overdoing things?

[@RaelanAgle]

I'm sorry to hear that's happening, Kathleen. For me, my muscles and joints didn't hurt while stretching. This is such a tough one .... I think you have to listen to your body and only you will know what's best.

[@dirkkatz172]

now the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is found: radiation of microwaveoven.(magnetron) To stop you have to eliminate the oven out of the house. The plug out of electricity net because the oven has also radiation when it is not in use.And out of the house because the oven has a high voltage capacitor. The distance between an oven and a person is very important.After a 2 weeks without microwaves health becomes better.

[@RaelanAgle]

That's very interesting Dirk, thanks for sharing 😊

[@halburke9115]

Dirk Katz what evidence do you have of this being the cause, Dirk

[@noelp8389]

that's literally bullshit with no scientific evidence

[@noelp8389]

Hal Burke probably none

[@mundomagico7787]

How did it turn out?