Now The #1 Bestselling Book In Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation! You Could Be Feeling A Million Times Better Right Now If You Only Knew How To Stretch Properly! It is a simple answer that is often overlooked, but stretching has the ability to Rid your body of pain Heal past injuries Prevent future injuries Keep you flexible and active And make you look and feel young! As a yoga instructor, author Julie Schoen understands the power of stretching. In fact, she used it herself to heal her body after a serious car accident left her broken and depressed. But you don't have to do yoga in order to benefit from stretches! Schoen has compiled Keep Calm and Stretch as your guide to the 44 best stretches to do on a regular basis, each with photo demonstrations and step-by-step instructions for stretching effectively. Discover the secrets to getting more flexible and you will be amazed at how good your body and mind start to feel. Keep Calm and Stretch has the potential to change your life. Don't wait a moment longer -- get your book today! And don't miss out on the first book in this series, Keep Calm and Breathe by Julie Schoen
Julie Schoen is an author, yoga instructor, former model, teacher, founder of Yoginiology.com, and co-founder of the company Little Pearl Publishing. Over the past six years, Julie Schoen has dedicated her life to pursuing knowledge in both the field of yoga and beyond, sharing it through her writing and teaching.
As an experienced teacher and yoga instructor, Schoen has traveled the world studying and absorbing the wisdom of each person she meets. Her daily yoga and meditation practice helps her to cultivate gratitude and joy for life and all of its beautiful opportunities. A devoted wife and mom, she is thankful for the opportunity to make a living writing, teaching, and traveling, pursuing her constantly evolving passions one day at a time.
If you are similar to me, then stretching is not something I do a lot of. As such most of the exercises in this tiny pamphlet are non starters. There are some good tips in the introduction and a hand full of easier stretches.
There's stretching and there's extreme stretching.
I'm a great believer in stretches. I don't find it increases my energy (I wish) but it IS vital for pain relief, balance, relaxation, and maintaining (or increasing) range of motion and mobility. Possibly because it's seen as boring, stretching is an overlooked form of exercise. I was also impressed with the author's claim that stretching WITH RESISTANCE increases the effectiveness of the stretch. This makes sense and I will incorporate this into my daily routine.
I tried all of these and was able to do most of them. The "fold" is a concept that was introduced to me by my-sister-the-yoga-freak and it has been of great benefit. The author shows several variations. The explanations are simple and easy-to-follow. The pictures would be much more effective if shot in a studio with a plain background and the models wearing contrasting clothing. I found some of the pictures quite confusing.
The only other caveat I have to offer is that some of these stretches are rather extreme. I got a bit carried away with the "Gorilla Stretch" and fell on my face. (Damn, that would have made a GREAT video review.) If you're older, overweight, out of shape, or have physical disabilities, modify the stretch and do what you can do without injuring yourself. Yes, "Treading the Needle" is a good stretch for sciatica sufferers, but even lying on your back with your knees bent is helpful. Take it slowly. You don't have to do it just like those slim, young models in order to get real benefits.
I agree with the author about the importance of breath control during stretching. As she says, yoga instruction is helpful in that regard. Tai chi is a wonderful form of exercise that promotes balance, flexibility, and breath control. Scott Cole's DVDs are inexpensive and easy-to-follow. If you want to try some simple yoga poses, I can recommend YOGA, THE BACK PAIN CURE by Howard Van Es. It has been very helpful to me.
As Ms. Schoen says, you don't have any excuse to avoid stretching. It can be done in your own home while you watch TV. Better yet, turn the set off and enjoy some relaxing music while you stretch. You'll feel better.
"Keep Calm and...." reminds me of the 80's everything Generic series. (And I mean EVERYTHING, including toilet paper.)
But, I digress. This is an OK book, but reading the title didn't really get me too excited about ti, just to think that maybe this would be a very basic read. I got it was free. Which was fortunate for me, because I really didn't find anything new and different here that you can't find online readily.
I suppose it would be OK for people looking for this information all in one place.
Some of the stretches were a little too difficult for me, (I consider myself a moderate exerciser. I bike and water walk almost exclusively for exercise.)
I was looking for something a little bit more easier to do. In all fairness, I mostly skimmed this book.
A really nice book of effective stretches. Many of these stretches are basically yoga poses, others not. But as the author points out, you don't have to use the word "yoga" to enjoy stretches. I know that some people have reached the mistaken conclusion that "yoga" involves some weird "non-Christian" eastern religion. That is, of course, not true at all if you are thinking about the healthful physical poses in this book and taught in yoga classes around the world.
These poses range from very easy to much more challenging. They can be done in sequence just by clicking to the next pages of the Kindle book. Each stretch has explanations of how to do it safely and effectively.
I really like the way this book explains the exercises, showing pictures of the exercise, explaining the benefits and detailing how to do the exercise. It's easy to have the book beside you as you move through the exercises. You can do one or several specific exercises or do them all as a complete routine. The title says it all!
I got this book sometime in the past and have read it again. I am in a place where I really need this information. Some I already do, but I needed a refresher. Pictures and comprehensive narrative are very good.
this book is easy and informative. I enjoyed the quick read but enjoyed more the pictures that should you how to do the stretch but also what it was good for.
To increase the flexibility of the body, stretching exercises with colour photographs are given. It also talks about difference between yoga and stretching exercises.