You Don't Have to Live with Pain! The Self-Healing Benefits of Stretching
by Jacques
Gauthier for SixWise.com
I just finished a walking across the United States. It feels
wonderful to have fulfilled my dream of being the first person
to walk around North America (I had already crossed Canada
several years ago).
What feels even better, however, is to hear of all the people
who have started stretching when they learned of me and my
story. That was the purpose of my walk - to let people know
that they don't have to live with pain, that by stretching
they can become healthier and happier. It's so easy and it
works!
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Jacques Gauthier, top stretching expert who recently
completed walking around North America!
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Stretching is one of the most powerful self-healing techniques
there is and best of all is that it's free. I love to tell
people that there is only one side effect to stretching, and
that is flexibility!
I didn't invent stretching, of course. It's as old as mankind.
And yet, when I started to teach stretching, no one had heard
about it. That shows you what unhealthy lives we had been
living.
We are just starting to learn about the most basic things
- and most important things - that we can do for our health.
Now just about everyone knows something about stretching.
They Told Me I Was Going to Be a Quadriplegic!
I found out about stretching the hard way. Sixteen years
ago my doctors told me to buy a wheelchair and prepare for
being a quadriplegic for the rest of my life. I was crippled
by vasculitis, arthritis and osteoporosis.
The pain was so severe that I could barely move. My wife
had to help me get out of bed in the morning, help me shower
and help me with everything I had to do. All I could do on
my own was lie in bed, meditate and pray.
Finally, someone told me about a healer. I traveled many
miles to see him and he told me I had to stretch to get well.
This is not what I wanted to hear! Any movement was extremely
painful and my doctors had told me I could not do exercises.
But the healer told me if I didn't stretch, I would never
get well.
I had to decide what to do and I decided to give it a try.
It was my only hope. It was extremely painful at first, but
within 6 weeks I had regained 50% of my function and in 7
months of intense stretching I was back to normal!
The amazing result that I got from stretching made me want
to learn more, so I bought many books on the subject. My wife
Dorothée also started stretching.
She had been suffering with back pain for many years and when
she saw the improvement in me, she thought she'd try it for
herself. Her back pain began to improve and after one year
she was completely free of pain.
Then we started experimenting with other people because people
were coming and asking me how I could be in such a good shape
after how sick I had been. People were
thinking that I was dying and all of a sudden I seemed to
be in better shape than any of them. They asked me
what was happening. I told them I had learned stretching and
this is how it all started - they wanted to learn too!
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Five More Key Benefits of Stretching
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Increased flexibility
and better range of motion of your joints.
Flexible muscles can improve your daily performance.
Tasks such as lifting packages, bending to tie your
shoes or hurrying to catch a bus become easier and
less tiring. Flexibility tends to diminish as you
get older, but you can regain and maintain it.
-
Improved circulation.
Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles.
Blood flowing to your muscles brings nourishment
and gets rid of waste byproducts in the muscle tissue.
Improved circulation can help shorten your recovery
time if you've had any muscle injuries.
-
Better posture.
Frequent stretching can help keep your muscles from
getting tight, allowing you to maintain proper posture.
Good posture can minimize discomfort and keep aches
and pains at a minimum.
-
Stress relief.
Stretching relaxes tight, tense muscles that often
accompany stress.
-
Enhanced coordination.
Maintaining the full range of motion through your
joints keeps you in better balance. Coordination
and balance will help keep you mobile and less prone
to injury from falls, especially as you get older.
Learn
More About the Top-Recommended Guide to Stretching:
Jacques Gauthier's "Stretching Toward a Healthier
Life"
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The Remarkable Ability of Stretching to ELIMINATE Your
Pain
We started to teach stretching with all kinds of books and
ideas from health specialists. We studied with some people
who knew about breathing, and combined this with the stretches.
By putting together different ideas, we realized that the
stretching exercises become anti-inflammatory. I talked to
many health care providers about this and they said this made
sense. They observed the effects of stretching with their
patients and found it to be true. This explains why stretching
reduces pain. Inflammation causes pain, and when the inflammation
is gone, the pain is gone.
For the anti-inflammatory effect, however, it is extremely
important how you stretch.
Inflammation is the body's reaction to injury. If we don't
exercise properly we can cause injury. Even stretching, if
not done properly, can increase inflammation. It is important
to move slowly in and out of the stretches, paying attention
to your body and letting it tell you when to stop. I have
found that breathing slowly and deeply,
as well as holding the stretches for about 30 seconds, is
the key to stretching being anti-inflammatory.
I love to teach stretching because I learn more by teaching.
Many health care professionals have taken my courses. They
learn from me and I learn from them and we keep improving
the courses.
The Key 15 Stretches that YOU Should be Doing Every Day
Through our studies, Dorothée and I came up with 15
basic stretches that take about 15-20 minutes a day to do.
We made a DVD with these stretches, and when
the health specialists in my country reviewed it they said
that with only those 15 basic, simple stretching exercises
we could stretch 95% of the muscles in our body.
They said this was very important because they felt that
to be healthy we should be doing some kind of exercise that
would be using all of our muscles everyday just to keep them
alive. With the kind of life we are living in the 21st century,
most people are not using all of their muscles!
These same health specialists in the eastern part of Canada
started to recommend our DVD to their patients. It started
with chiropractors and acupuncturists and then a few doctors
got involved. They bought our tape and experimented with it
themselves before they recommended it. By now I would say
that about 80% of the DVDs that we sell through stores in
Eastern Canada are sold due to doctor or health specialist
recommendations.
By now we have taught stretching to thousands of people in
Canada and Europe, and many more have learned stretching from
the DVD. We continue to receive thank you letters and reports
about the wonderful results that people are getting.
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Stretching is a "Golden Key"
to Prevent Premature Aging: Learn How to Properly Stretch
in this Highly Acclaimed DVD by Jacques Gauthier!
 "Without
a doubt, the simple stretching exercises on this DVD
will add life to your years ... and years to your
life!"
-- Dr. Jean Chevrefils
- The Most Effective 15 Stretching Exercises
- Works Almost 100% of ALL Muscles in Your Body
- Full Program Takes Just 15-20 Minutes Per Day
- Eliminate Pain
- Feel Much Younger & Energetic
- Increase Your Mental Clarity and Focus
- Improve Your Blood & Oxygen Circulation
- Improve Your Body's Absorption of Nutrients
- Slow Degeneration of Your Joints
- Dramatically Improve the Way Your Body Looks!
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Read
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When Can You Expect to Achieve the Immense Benefits of
Stretching
Most people notice some results within the first week and
the benefits grow with time. With a serious condition it can
take months and years for the problem to resolve, but even
very serious problems can be healed through stretching. I
know this because I've seen people do it. It's not that they
go to a healer and the healer heals them; it's because they
started the stretching and kept on doing it.
The more you stretch a day, the faster the results come,
but for most people 15 to 20 minutes is enough to make a big
difference. In the case of a woman who healed herself from
multiple sclerosis, it took her a total of two years and she
was stretching an hour a day. She is still well 10 years later.
Now she does yoga, she plays golf all summer, she goes downhill
skiing all winter -- she is in better shape than everybody
in her family and surroundings!
There has been a lot of research on stretching with regard
to sports, but not enough on its general benefits. It is difficult
to measure the results of stretching, and much of the research
is contradictory. It has shown, however, that stretching increases
flexibility and range of motion in the joints. The
anti-inflammatory effect has been demonstrated in a study
showing that stretching reduced heel pain in a condition known
as plantar fasciitis.
The best proof that stretching works is to try it for yourself!
I have seen from my own experience and the reports of so many
people that I've taught, that stretching is extremely beneficial.
People tell me their pain goes away, they have more energy
and they are able to start doing all kinds of things they
had stopped doing due to stiffness and pain.
Beyond that, people have even reported recovery from many
problems that are not considered curable:
In addition to the woman mentioned above who recovered from
multiple sclerosis, people have reported
results in healing arthritis, headaches, back/neck/shoulder
pain, bursitis, depression, fatigue and even conditions like
fibromyalgia.
The body has a tremendous capacity to heal, but we have to
help it along by taking proper care of it. Stretching is one
of the easiest and most effective self-healing tools that
I know of. That, along with good food and relaxation is what
I like to call the "immune triangle." Take care
of those things and you will take care of your health!
Overview
of Some Key Research on the Benefits of Stretching
http://sportsmedicine.about.com
When looking at the effect of stretching alone on range of
motion, a review of MEDLINE finds that for both the immediate
(an hour) and long-term (several weeks) improvements in range
of motion one fifteen to thirty second stretch per muscle
group is sufficient for most people. Some people require longer
duration or more repetitions. Research also supports the idea
that the optimal duration and frequency for stretching may
vary by muscle group.
The long-term
effects of stretching on range of motion show that after six
weeks, those who stretch for 30 seconds per muscle each day
increased their range of motion much more than those who stretched
15 seconds per muscle each day. No additional increase was
seen in the group that stretched for 60 seconds. Another 6-week
study conducted found that one hamstring stretch of 30 seconds
each day produced the same results as three stretches of 30
seconds.
These
studies support the use of thirty second stretches as part
of general conditioning to improve range of motion.
http://www.pponline.co.uk
Does stretching affect flexibility?
Yes. There
is conclusive evidence regarding stretching and flexibility.
Loss of flexibility can be prevented and at least partially
restored by stretching. However, that evidence is more compelling
for a long-term stretching programm than for shorter periods
of time. Stretching to increase flexibility minutes prior
to an event may be possible, but a stretching programme over
a period of months can lead to a sustained increase in range
of motion.
Can stretching
improve performance?
Yes, if
the stretches are designed to be sport-specific. One study
showed that an increase in the temperature of the vastus lateralis
(a muscle in the upper leg) achieved by stretching resulted
in an increase in vertical jump and an increase in maximal
cycling power. However, the study did not investigate whether
or not the increase in temperature could have been achieved
by other warm-up methods. Another study showed that a 10-week
static stretching programm resulted in improved performance
in tests involving speed, strength, power, or muscle endurance.
Additional research has shown benefits in throwing a baseball
and serving a tennis ball following a stretching programm
that improved shoulder flexibility.
http://www.readysetgofitness.com
Stretching can aid in reversing hardening of the arteries
Researchers
show that prolonged stretching with moderate aerobic exercise
and diet control will reduce cholesterol and significantly
reverse hardening of the arteries (20 percent regression)
in adults with proven coronary atherosclerotic disease.
After
one year in a yoga program, participants lost weight, reduced
cholesterol, and improved their exercise capacity, (Retardation
of coronary atherosclerosis with yoga lifestyle intervention,
2000, Manchanda).