A Little Stretching Goes A Long Way: How My Stretching Transformed My Student’s Life
When I greeted her, I asked her about her feet. She told me, with dismay and frustration, that she had tried everything to find relief, but nothing had helped. She was going to give stretching a try.
Her painful foot condition, combined with her stressful job and having to work at a desk from home because of Covid-19, meant that she was spending most of her days sitting. She wasn’t moving around as much, and had gained some weight as a result.
I could hear the pain in her voice and feel the stress in her energy. She was so distraught!
I bet she never expected Assisted Stretching could transform her life THIS MUCH…
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3 Easy Beginner Level Stretches for a Quick 10 Minute Stretch Routine
You don’t need hours of your day to stretch! And I’m going to show you how with this easy 10 minute beginner-level stretch routine.
You can call on any of these stretches throughout the day if you find yourself feeling tight and stiff. You don’t need any special equipment—only yourself and your home.
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The Power of Posture, Part II: 2 Stretches for Your Quads
Our quads are responsible for every step we take. They stand us up and sit us down.
You don’t have to be a big athlete or work out every day or walk 20 miles a week—everyone’s quads tighten over time from our normal daily routines.
When our quads are overly-contracted, the muscle tissue shortens. These shortened muscles pull the hip flexor down which, in turn, tilts the pelvis down in front and up in the back.
This is a posture problem!
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The Power Of Posture: 5 Stretches to Improve Posture
“If you don’t stand up straight… you are going to grow that way.”
This is what my mom used to tell us if she saw us slouching as we were growing up. At the time, we were made aware of our poor posture mostly for its appearance—not its health benefits.
Little did my mom know that poor posture is the cause of many health issues and she was right—you WILL grow that way!
Thank you, mom!
We can’t escape poor posture unless we are aware of it and take steps to correct it.
Here are 5 stretches to help you improve posture.
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Stretch Me Now… Or Stretch Me Later: Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Start Stretching
In these past few months, I have been given the really high honor to be able to work with several students who are new to stretching.
Working with them has strengthened my belief that “stretch me now or stretch me later” is so very true!
Almost every new student has said to me, “I wish I had met you 10 years ago.”
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Grab A Partner: Try these 2 Hip Opening & Spine Elongating Partner Stretches
The truest form of Assisted Stretching is when someone (a partner) helps stretch your body into a deeper range of motion that you cannot do on your own. I call it “partner stretching.”
I first learned this technique in the late 1980s when I was at The Cooper Clinic doing research for my personal training business’ soon-to-be-launched Step Aerobics Program.
When I came home from Cooper Clinic, I started partner stretching my clients at the end of each workout session. I had many of them tell me that they would pay me to skip the workout and go straight to stretching—no joke!
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3 Stretches Using A Foam Roller + How Rolling Saved My Life
I thought long and hard before I decided to title this blog post on stretching with a foam roller with the tagline “it saved my life.” I thought about saying “changed” instead of “saved,” but that word didn’t seem powerful enough for the true impact it has had on my life.
You see, the life that I love is extremely active and non-stop all day. I rarely sit down until I dive into bed at night. I would have it no other way.
When I suffered a hip injury four years ago, I could barely move for two months. If you’ve been part of The Power to Pause community for a while, you may know this story.
But maybe this is a part that you haven’t heard…
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5 Easy Stretches for Low-Back Pain Relief
A common issue with most of my students is low back pain.
I can usually tell this is an issue they face—before they even tell me!—by the way they walk and hold themselves.
Some of my students say that they are so used to living with the pain day to day—it almost seems normal to them. But the pain restricts the way they move through daily life.
Here are 5 easy stretches for low-back pain relief!
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It Doesn’t Come In A Bottle: How Assisted Stretching Provided Pain Relief for My Student
One of my students spoke up in my Assisted Stretching class last week to tell me a success story she had experienced.
She and her husband are avid bike riders. They had biked 30 - 40 miles the previous weekend.
After the ride, her knee was killing her.
She would have normally taken a Tylenol for pain, but she remembered what I had said about stretching to relieve muscle pain, so she decided to grab a foam roller and give it a try.
It worked! Her pain was relieved—without needing medicine.
She could allow her body to heal itself by stretching her tight muscle tissue.
She was amazed and couldn’t wait to tell me her story!
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Sitting Is The New Smoking: 3 Ways to Get Moving in Your Daily Life
Sitting Disease is a real thing.
Studies have shown that “sitting is the new smoking.”
As an article from the University of Washington explains, a 2011 study “found that prolonged sitting was associated with an increased risk of 34 chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.”
Yuck!
Here are 3 ways to get moving in your daily life.
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Could Assisted Stretching be the Secret Weapon?
I saw a friend recently that I haven’t seen in many months. We both were attending a birthday party for a mutual friend. She has taken classes at my studio in the past.
She shocked us as she told us how much better she feels now that she stretches at home every day.
She put on a display showing us all the stretches she was doing. She encouraged everyone to start stretching and told them that I would show them how!
Whoa, hold the phone!
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Can Assisted Stretching Affect Bone Density? A Personal Account
Okay… I am 61 years old. There it is, right out there.
Make no mistake, I love being 61. I love having birthdays and becoming older. (It is better than the alternative of not having them...)
Eight years ago, I began to look at age very differently after one of my good friends passed away with cancer at the age of 48. Now, every year is a gift.
But as we age, life can present us with certain health issues.
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It Happened to Me: How Injuries Drastically Alter Our Way of Life
My favorite place on earth is a little cottage I rent in Rosemary Beach, FL. I have been going there by myself for writing sessions for years!
During a recent trip, I had to climb 2 sets of stairs to unload my car into the cottage. My car was overloaded with you-name-it, I-brought-it. I made many, many trips up and down those steps with way more in my hands than I probably should be carrying.
On one of my last trips, I felt a little pain in the side of my ankle and foot.
“Oh darn, it will go away by morning, ” I told myself. But NO… it was worse! I could barely put weight on that foot.
Talk about being “stuck”: I was going to be stuck in that cottage for sure. Great for writing, but awful for this active girl.
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Stretching to Relieve Stressing: 3 Stretches for Stress Relief
Stretching opens up tight muscle tissue and allows pathways for blood and oxygen to flow through our bodies more efficiently.
And oxygen is energy! When we stretch, we bring new life to our bodies. I truly believe it does reduce stress because I have experienced it myself.
When we feel better in our body, we feel better about daily life, our spirit is lifted, and then BAM—stress relief!
Give these 3 easy stress-relief stretches a try!
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What This Pandemic is Teaching Me: The True Power in Pausing
I received an email from my bookkeeper this week. She emailed me to say that she had been thinking of me and the name of my company. She said “how profound The Power To Pause seemed to her during these stressful times.”
Since everyone in the world is “Pausing,” the word “Power” made her feel positive about it.
She was gaining strength and inspiration from looking at the powerful positive side of this pandemic rather than the anxious negative side.
Her statement has not left my brain since I read it.
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5 Easy Stretches, 10 Minutes A Day: That’s All You Need
What if we all just took 10 minutes a day to do 5 easy stretches that could change our lives in a BIG way?
What if Assisted Stretching became an important part of our lifestyle and even helped to increase our life span?
I believe it can!
Let’s invest time back into our bodies with self-care and stretching. We have nothing to lose unless we DON’T!
Here are 5 easy stretches that you can do right in your own kitchen.
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The Research Findings That Will Surprise You: Stretching May Help Fight Tumor Growth
As many of you know, I am on a constant quest to learn all I can about the life-changing benefits of stretching. The research keeps growing and growing in a very positive way.
I received an email from a student last week with a link to an article in The Washington Post discussing the latest research on fascia.
In the article, doctors and researchers discuss how fascia could play a major role in conditions like gastrointestinal disorders and even cancer.
Here are some of those surprising research findings.
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No One Wants To Be Stuck Inside Their Body: 4 Important Benefits of a Regular Stretching Routine
“No one wants to be stuck inside their body.”
This was one of the first things that the instructor of my recent workshop in Los Angeles said to us.
This statement was so profound, it stopped me in my tracks! I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds; it was a huge “Pause” moment for me.
I have always believed this, but I had never heard it said that way. I knew immediately that I had come to the right place to find the continued stretching education I have been searching for.
I’m sharing with you 4 valuable points I learned from my workshop about the benefits of Assisted Stretching.
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