I’m sure we all have stories about how COVID and the resulting lock-down has changed our lives, if not for ever, then at least in the immediate past. For me it was no different. I was already a digital nomad, except that the “nomad” part was removed, and I got pinned down even more behind a desk, with the only variation the increasing number of screens in front of me that started to resemble some sort of Control Room Monitoring Wall. (I am exaggerating – but some days it does feel like that.)
I bumped into Carla and her new practise offering at a Mountain Bike track. Not that I was riding, I was just scouting out the place, and we got talking. Not about fixing any MB pains, but really my upper back and neck was stiff and locked beyond what I could “fix” myself, not from a MB Cockpit, but from the desktop “cockpit”. The Assisted Stretching immediately made sense to me. Afterall, how many stretches do you know for neck and upper back and shoulders – one runs out of stretches quickly – and how far and deep can you stretch yourself, especially in that area of your body. I was soon to discover the added dimension that assisted stretching would bring.
I saw Carla for a first session and immediately was taken by the range and depth that she could take one into. There was no way that I would ever be able to stretch myself to the For me it was immediately apparent, I needed a few more sessions of these, to gain back whatever range and mobility I could.
I am now approaching my 10th session with Carla and every week I could experience the increased range but also the depth of the stretch, reaching deeper lying muscles that would otherwise never get activated. I just love the extra range, mobility, and flexibility I gained. Of course, it needs to be maintained, but it gives me that head start with my own daily stretches.
Is it worth it – absolutely. Probably something I will again do from time to time – perhaps twice a year, work through a few sessions, particularly to recruit some of the deeper lying muscle groups.
Willem Hart