I always say to my students at the end of every stretch session that I teach... You are now: Longer Taller Younger Smarter Leaner Sweeter Happier Healthier Everyone laughs, but I am telling them the truth! All of these amazing things happen when you stretch — I call them the 8 “-er”s of Stretch Therapy. Let me break it down for you. LONGER: When you stretch, it lengthens your tight muscle tissue, which relieves joints so they move with more range of motion and less pain. It also reduces the risk of injury. A “long” muscle is a strong muscle. A tight muscle, on the other hand, is a weak one ..read more

Many people have the misconception that you have to be flexible to be able to stretch. They think that an Assisted Stretching class means trying to touch your toes or strain your muscles. This is not true at all. Assisted Stretching is NOT about trying to touch your toes or straining to stretch. Assisted Stretching focuses on stretching WITHOUT straining. This method of stretching uses everyday items (like a chair or wall) and specialized stretching tools (like rings, rollers, and bolsters) to open tight muscle tissue & relieve joint pain. During an Assisted Stretching class or private ses ..read more

This is how it goes... Muscles tighten as we do daily life and climb in age... When muscles tighten, they shorten… When muscles shorten, they restrict range of motion and cause pain in our joints… When joints become painful, we move less… When we move less, joints stiffen and body functions slow down… When body functions slow down, circulation of blood and oxygen is reduced… When circulation is reduced, other health issues occur… Now we are so tight that we can’t move without pain, so we restrict our mobility even more to avoid it. And then we are set up for even more health issues. You know w ..read more

I’ve seen lives changed from Stretch Therapy. My own life — and the lives of my students. Here are a 3 success stories from my students: She had to sell her sports car — and ended up regretting it One of my students sold her little red sports car because it was too painful to get in and out of it, so she wasn’t driving it.  But now she regrets selling it — you see, she has no pain in her pelvis anymore and can stand up and sit down with ease! She could’ve kept driving her sports car after all. She didn’t have to quit her job One of my students was about to have to quit the job she loved b ..read more

Most everyone that I work with, privately or in a group class, has a story about how they wound up seeking Stretch Therapy to relieve some form of pain in their body. For some, stretching is a last resort effort to avoid surgery.  Some want to avoid injuries so they can stay active.  Some just want to feel good in their body all the time.  Some of my students have become so tight that they can hardly move — so they move less and less. I always know my private student’s stories because we spend a lot of time together. I don’t always know the stories of the many students who atten ..read more

Holidays are here… and too often, in all the busyness, we can forget to take care of our bodies! Here are 4 easy ways to keep your body happy this holiday season. 1.  House Hike: If the weather is too cold to go outside for your normal walk and you feel stuck in your house, take a “house hike!” Here’s how: Walk the inside perimeter of every room in your house, including stairs to upper floors and basements. Complete a full route 5-10 times. Put on some good tunes or a podcast and take off! You can even stay in your PJs. 2.  Hydrate: Be conscious of your water intake, especially in th ..read more

What if I told you that the quality of your life could greatly improve with just 5 - 10 minutes of stretching each day? Would you believe me? And most importantly... Would you find time to do it? Most people feel the need to stretch their bodies. But time seems to be the biggest obstacle that keeps them from getting started and staying with it! Let me encourage you...  You don’t have to find an hour in your day to stretch to make a big difference in your flexibility, mobility and range of motion and a decrease in painful joints. A little bit of stretching goes a long way! Research shows t ..read more

This is a really hard question to ask, but… Are you addicted to Ibuprofen? If the answer is “yes,” then you are in good company because so many people are. I have decided to write about it in hopes that this will give people hope that they can find alternative ways to deal with pain and feel better in their mind and body! I have students that tell me that they have to take Ibuprofen before they work out in order to go through movements without pain. Some of my students confess that they take it before they stretch with me because they worry that it will be painful. Some people tell me that the ..read more

Hydration is essential to life! Think about it… Every human, every animal, every plant, every tree, every blade of grass needs water to survive. If it doesn’t get enough, it shrivels, dries up, and dies. What does hydration have to do with stretching, you ask? That is what I am here to tell you! It is an extremely important topic, so I hope you will stay with me here and read all the way to the end to find out. Hydration determines the quality of our muscle tissue and its ability to stretch and lengthen. When a new student comes to my studio for their first stretch session, we have an orientat ..read more

“The point of pain is usually never the source.”   On my first journey to California searching for stretching guidance, research, and knowledge, my stretch workshop instructor said this to us as he began his session.  “That is crazy,” I thought. So, if your back hurts, it’s not your back? How could that be? He began to explain how everything in our body is connected. Right side to left and front side to back, etc. “Until we find the source of pain, we can’t relieve the point of pain,” he said. At the time, it made no sense to me. But now that I have been working in the stretchin ..read more