Journal Entry 1 by Adia415 from Cleves, Ohio USA on Tuesday, December 20, 2005

This was in a big box of books that I got from another freecycler. It's an older (1980) book that illustrates lots of basic stretches.

It'll be available until I can release it. 

Journal Entry 2 by Adia415 from Cleves, Ohio USA on Monday, March 20, 2006

I'm sending this to BCer Potok-fan as a RABCK. Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 3 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Tuesday, May 09, 2006

This book arrived in the post today. I got it from Adia415 as part of a Spring Break / Spring Cleaning RABCK. What generosity! Thank you!

I'm hoping this will encourage me to stretch more, and feel comfortable with my body. I taught a (very academically oriented university-level) class this spring which included a little dancing. It was a big deal for me to lead the students in some warm-ups and stretches, while trying to act like I didn't feel silly.

I literally only got the book fifteen minutes ago, but so far it looks good. There are stretches for specific activities (soccer, martial arts, golf) and for certain parts of the body (lower back, hamstrings, upper body). It looks like the sort of book which is encouraging and life-affirming, not like the glossy magazine approach to health and fitness ("Don't you wish you looked as good as our model? Fat chance!"). It would also seem to have a sense of humor - near the beginning of the book is a chart referencing parts of the body and the pages on which to find stretches for those body parts... Also labelled is the handknit vegetable dyed wool hat by Jean Anderson (but we don't get to find out who made the boxer shorts the model is wearing). :)

So far my one big question is: what do the little pencilled x's mean next to four of ten in a series of stretches on page 30? ? ? 

Journal Entry 4 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Wednesday, January 10, 2007

One of my two New Year's Resolutions is to do some of these stretches every weekday afternoon. So far I'm failing miserably... but it's still a resolution. Maybe writing this journal entry will give me more motivation. 

Journal Entry 5 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Monday, August 24, 2009

At long last, I have found a way to use this book. I have READ it onto my ipod! Yep. I couldn't figure out a way to learn stretches from a book until I got the bright idea to use my computer microphone and make a recording of my own voice reading the book.

I even timed the stretches - "Hold this stretch for 20 seconds... ... [20 seconds go by] and now relax". So far I've made myself two recordings. One is based on the everyday morning stretch routine, and the other is the stretches for when you've been sitting too long.

I used them quite a lot this summer, and I hope to continue with them now that I'm back in my office at work. Thank you Adia415, Bob Anderson (the author), and my brother for giving me the ipod!