Podbit · Huberman Lab

Essentials: Improve Flexibility with Research-Supported Stretching Protocols

Explore episode Jun 18, 2026

Health & Fitness

The Full Protocol Summary: How to Stretch for Lasting Flexibility

Essentials: Improve Flexibility with Research-Supported Str… · Jun 18, 2026 Health & Fitness

The evidence converges on a clear protocol: static stretching wins, 30-second holds (or up to 60 seconds at low intensity), at least 5 minutes per muscle group per week, done 5–7 days a week. Go easy — 30–40% of pain threshold. Always warm up first or stretch after training. Consistent short sessions beat infrequent long ones for lasting range-of-motion gains.

Where this was said

Insula, Pain Tolerance & Yoga

At 34:55 · chapter starts 30:20

The episode's final major scientific chapter returns to the insula and delivers one of its most compelling findings. A study published in Cerebral Cortex — 'Insular Cortex Mediates Increased Pain Tolerance in Yoga Practitioners' — examined yoga practitioners spanning multiple traditions (vinyasa, ashtanga, Iyengar, sivananda) and compared them to non-practitioners on pain tolerance using thermal stimulation.^{[1]

— Andrew Huberman

"A study in Cerebral Cortex found yoga practitioners had more than double the pain tolerance of non-practitioners under thermal stimulation,…"

30:00} The result was striking: yoga practitioners had more than double the pain tolerance of controls. Brain imaging revealed the structural reason — significantly increased gray matter volume in the insular cortex. Huberman emphasises that gray matter volume increase indicates more neuronal cell bodies in those regions, implying genuine structural adaptation, not just skill acquisition. Crucially, he argues that the brain changes come not from the movements themselves but from the repeated experience of choosing to stay in discomfort at the end ranges of motion — a form of intentional, controlled overriding of the pain-avoidance instinct. This positions yoga not just as a flexibility tool but as a nervous system training protocol that reshapes pain processing in ways that generalise beyond the mat. He closes by noting the pleasing alignment between this finding and the microstretching data: you don't push to pain to get flexible, but a practice that teaches you to intelligently manage your relationship to discomfort builds a structurally different brain.

The pain tolerance of yoga practitioners was double or more to that of non-yoga practitioners. They also found significant increases in insular gray matter volume.

Andrew Huberman

Essentials: Improve Flexibility with Re…

Health & Fitness

Yoga doubles pain tolerance

Essentials: Improve Flexibility with Research-Supported Str… · Jun 18, 2026

A study in Cerebral Cortex found that yoga practitioners had double or more the pain tolerance of non-yoga practitioners when measured with thermal stimulation.

Health & Fitness

Yoga increases insular gray matter

Essentials: Improve Flexibility with Research-Supported Str… · Jun 18, 2026

Yoga practitioners show significantly increased gray matter volume in the insular cortex, the brain region associated with interoception and pain interpretation.

It appears that it's not just the performance of the yogic movements, but the overcoming or the kind of pushing into the end ranges of motion and to push through discomfort to some extent that allows yoga practitioners to build up the structure and function of these brain areas.

Andrew Huberman

Essentials: Improve Flexibility with Re…

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