Luckily for me, I don’t find physical activity to be a chore. I genuinely enjoy biking, running and playing soccer, and do all of those things on the regular. But when it comes to stretching—well, I just hate it! My mantra is basically, “I’ll stretch when I’m dead.” The appealing part of playing sports and working out is the movement, and so, when I’m presented with the concept of getting down on a mat and holding my body in a stagnant position, I just... don’t do it.

In the same way that I only drink kombucha or take vitamins when I’m already sick, I will only deign to do my physical therapy exercises when my low-key chronic injuries begin to flare up and interfere with my ability to move my body with ease. Otherwise, I treat my aches and pains as minor irritants that I can ignore. (I’m not alone in this—anyone who’s ever been to a group exercise class can probably attest to the mass exodus that tends to happen during the last few minutes, when all the “real” work is done and it’s time to stretch.)

I recognize that this is not sustainable, and I want to take better care of myself, so I talked to physical therapists, personal trainers and yogis for tips on how to trick myself into embracing this less exciting, but still very necessary, component of physical fitness.