There goes Jupiter, here comes Mars
Bend and stretch, reach for the sky
Stand on tippy toes up so high~
How many of us grew up with Romper Room? How about Jack LaLanne? I know I did. Who knew with our parents throwing us outside to play was part of being healthy? We thought we were outsmarting them by heading over to our friends house on our bikes! We were running, playing and dragging our feet when we were called in to eat or bedtime! How many of us now need to be cajoled into movement?
Now I spend time stretching virtually every day. I had a knee scope a few years ago and that leg (hip flexor, quad, hamstring, and calf) are extremely tight. My first inclination is to blame the doctor. he refused to order physical therapy after surgery. He wanted me to schedule a total knee replacement. I said I was working hard at losing the weight (still am) and his response was 'you will be a thin person needing a total knee replacement'. That hurt....both physically and mentally. He had done his job so well cutting out or repairing the miniscus that he saw some cartilidge that was jagged. He smoothed it out and in the process left me spots with bone on bone. Thank you Dr. Poopyhead! He told me I would never do aerobics again (wrong) and that my only exercise should be swimming or stationary bike. BOO.
Being the thick headed Italian I am, I knew I was going to show him he was wrong. In 5 weeks I was back to low impact, low intensity jazzercise. I tried the stationary bike and it was painful so I moved on to swimming except the chlorine level at the YMCA made me cry! Over that summer when my pool opened I used it. I did kicks and other things that felt ok. I still do the jazzercise (low impact, HIGH intensity). I walk every day.......I did the Susan G Komen 3 day breast cancer walk. I keep moving.
Let me start by saying I have never been an active stretcher. I am a 'forced for less pain' kind of stretcher!
Bend and stretch, reach for the sky
Stand on tippy toes up so high~
How many of us grew up with Romper Room? How about Jack LaLanne? I know I did. Who knew with our parents throwing us outside to play was part of being healthy? We thought we were outsmarting them by heading over to our friends house on our bikes! We were running, playing and dragging our feet when we were called in to eat or bedtime! How many of us now need to be cajoled into movement?
Now I spend time stretching virtually every day. I had a knee scope a few years ago and that leg (hip flexor, quad, hamstring, and calf) are extremely tight. My first inclination is to blame the doctor. he refused to order physical therapy after surgery. He wanted me to schedule a total knee replacement. I said I was working hard at losing the weight (still am) and his response was 'you will be a thin person needing a total knee replacement'. That hurt....both physically and mentally. He had done his job so well cutting out or repairing the miniscus that he saw some cartilidge that was jagged. He smoothed it out and in the process left me spots with bone on bone. Thank you Dr. Poopyhead! He told me I would never do aerobics again (wrong) and that my only exercise should be swimming or stationary bike. BOO.
Being the thick headed Italian I am, I knew I was going to show him he was wrong. In 5 weeks I was back to low impact, low intensity jazzercise. I tried the stationary bike and it was painful so I moved on to swimming except the chlorine level at the YMCA made me cry! Over that summer when my pool opened I used it. I did kicks and other things that felt ok. I still do the jazzercise (low impact, HIGH intensity). I walk every day.......I did the Susan G Komen 3 day breast cancer walk. I keep moving.
Let me start by saying I have never been an active stretcher. I am a 'forced for less pain' kind of stretcher!
I move a lot.....I stretch a little. Since having more pain in my feet and legs in general I started seeing a massage therapist. He has cajoled, encouraged, and made me 'show him' (is he from Missouri or something?!) the different stretches he has had me do. I am learning more and more every day that stretching is important. And you know what?? It feels good too!
Life is not just about forward movement. Life is a well rounded event we participate in. This includes stretching. There are many great websites that show various moves. Sparkpeople.com has one section in the exercise area shows you how to stretch. If you view self.com or health.com they always have a featured stretch of the month. We are a society that can google 'how to do xxxx stretch'.
In the end, it improves our quality of life just as much (and maybe more) than regular movement. Both need to be a part of our everyday life. So today and many days in the future, I might just start my day with romper room memories of stretching and bending, reaching for the stars!
What a great entry. I also have to stretch - I do it in the pool, but am not so good about doing it on land. As the most I go to the pool is twice a week that leaves 5 days unaccounted for. After reading your entry I think I shall stretch tonight- thank you! And, by the way, my experience is identical to yours: a meniscus surgery that left me with NO cartilage. Hence the knee replacement... I hope you can avoid one with all the good work you are doing.
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