For the purpose of this column, I’m going to focus on the two primary categories of stretching: active and passive. These are more or less what they sound like. When we think of passive stretching, we typically imagine what is called static stretching. This is holding muscles in a stretch position for around 20-30 seconds. Think of reaching down to touch your toes and holding it. Active stretching is more well, active, and includes moving the limbs in a way to increase the range of motion (ROM). Leg swings in a warm up and some styles of yoga are good examples.