This morning I rediscovered a book I’d bought about twenty years ago. Titled simply Stretching, it came out at the beginning of the fitness craze. I was younger then, but no more or less fit than I am now; and I remember buying the book in the hope that I would enjoy stretching where I didn’t enjoy actual exercise. It was a salve-for-the-conscience sort of thing.
Years passed. I still dislike exercise, but now I’m at the age where what I don’t use today will not work so well tomorrow. I am on the slippery side of the growing older slope, and salve doesn’t soothe my conscience any longer.
So when rain kept me from walking outdoors this morning, I decided to spend half an hour stretching instead. It seemed like an easier alternative to the stationary bike or the jump rope that both live in our basement. I set the kitchen timer, and began to read. And, yes, I counted the reading time as part of the thirty minutes.
I learned that stretching should be relaxing and that it should feel good. Not like the instructions from a gym teacher to stretch, stretch, stretch until you can reach your toes. Now raise your hands high over your head and do it again. No pain, no gain. Ugh!
According to Stretching’s author Bob Anderson, “Stretching is not stressful. It is peaceful, relaxing, and noncompetitive.” He almost made it sound like a sport I could actually become interested in.
So I tried the beginning stretches, the ones where you loosen up before engaging in sports or other physical activities. By then the timer went off, but I continued to study the section of the book called “Stretches for Those Over 50,” since there was no section called “Stretching for Sitting in Front of Your Computer.”
Actually the entire process felt really good; so good that in one easy lesson, I agreed with Anderson when he said, “Stretching is the link between the sedentary and the active life.” And with my newly found knowledge, I’m offering Brandt’s Corollary: Since I’d never taken stretching seriously before, that’s why I’ve never liked exercise either.
Maybe that’s a stretch, but I’m going to read on tomorrow.
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