As dancers, majority of us would stretch for flexibility, but did you know stretching is good in a variety of other ways?

Stretching helps:

Improve Circulation

Relieve stress

Your Posture

Increase Flexibility

Enhance your Coordination and Balance

We all have heard about the stretching essentials but some of us never really understand what they involve. So I've compiled all the steps I believe are "stretching essentials"

~Stretching Essentials~

Warm up first - The warm up should last for about 4-8 minutes depending on the state your body is in. The body must warm up to loosen the muscles because the colder your muscles are the harder it'll be to stretch them. Cold muscles are contracted and if forced to stretch you could tear or pull a muscle which isn't only painful but frustrating too.
A warm up consists of working the major muscle groups, ie. Biceps, Quadriceps, Calf muscles, depending on whichever area you are willing to stretch. By walking around, lightly jogging on the spot or even doing a few star-jumps you are increasing the flow of blood to the working muscles therefore making them warmer, bringing them nourishment and getting rid of waste byproducts in the muscle tissue. If you don't like star-jumps and aren't keen on jogging then any desired activity will do at low intensity for about 5 minutes.
Also, do some exercises that have a steady rhythmical nature involving other joints of the body, such as gentle knee bends, arm and shoulder swings, neck and trunk rotations, etc.
A proper warm-up should raise your body temperature by one or two degrees Celsius (1.4 to 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit), but if you don't wish to get the thermometer out you should be able to feel the difference if your blood is circulating around your body or if you feel a light sweat. The aim of a warm up is simply to elevate the heart rate and respiratory rate to transport oxygen and nutrients to your working muscles.

Light Stretching - Light stretching is what I like to do next. Let's say that I want to stretch my Hamstring. So I might raise my leg at a 90degree angle so it's resting on a bench top. Then I will maneuver either my body or my leg in order to feel the slightest stretch and then I stop and hold. Hold for 15 seconds, move again to add to the slight tension in the muscle and hold again for 15 seconds.
Repeat this for the other limb when stretching to even out your flexibility. Don't force your muscle, this is a light stretch. Repeat light stretching after each major stretch.
Light stretching prepares the muscle for an upcoming stretch, rests the muscle after a major stretch and helps remove any lactic acid after major stretches which give you cramps the next day.

Major Stretching - This is the more intense version of stretching. This is what many of you jump straight to after a quick warm-up. Major Stretching can be efficient if done correctly. We've all heard the rules, "don't stretch a cold muscle, don't bounce a muscle.." but for some reason, maybe out of habit, we still end of doing it. We make excuses for ourselves.
"I don't have time for a proper warm-up" - In my opinion, if you don't have time for a proper warm up then you don't have time for proper stretching. Work out a timetable and organize a time for a stretching routine. Make several routines if you must, maybe a 30 minute stretch for Monday, Wednesday & Thursday after school and 1 hour for weekends?
So remember, when doing your Major Stretching you don't exceed your pain limits. You know how far you can go, in some cases a trained professional may push you down but you know your limits! The last thing anyone, anywhere, would like to do is have a torn muscle. A torn muscles means days and weeks of healing and time wasted.

After Major Stretching remember to follow up with some Light Stretching afterwards. Also, during stretching drink lots of water. Water not only keeps us cool and hydrated but lubricates our joints and flushes toxins from our bodies. If you're not keen on water then try adding a squeeze of lemon juice or a tiny bit of concentrated cordial. After all, water is good for you for a million reasons.

The Cool Down - Another of the most important aspects of stretching. The Cool Down is beneficial because it allows the body to gradually wind down towards a resting state rather than just suddenly stopping. Another way to look at a cool down in an optimistic way is to see it as something to do instead of sitting there catching your breath and feeling your muscles tighten and your heart pound. You only need to perform light exercise during the recovery period, i.e. walking, and you should be able to relax physically and mentally. The cool down will guarantee you no sore muscles or injuries for the next day. If you really want you can just repeat your warm up, but towards the end slow down, after all you don't want to work yourself up again!