The post run stretch is an often skipped part of a workout.
This is what teaching my mom to stretch taught me about just “being.”
Even now, she is the fastest 55 year old Ive ever met.
My grandmother has always been a worker, for whom the idea of stillness does not come naturally.
I inherited this from the women who came before me.
Being in constant motion (Im a volleyball player turned actor) kept me from thinking aboutwellme.
But that didnt last very long.
Six months after getting my Masters degree, I found myself immobile.
An autoimmune disease calledNeuromyelitis Opticahad severely damaged the nerves in my spine from T5 and down.
Stretching helped to give me a bodily awareness and a groundedness that I didnt have before.
Stretching was one daily action that my physical therapist recommended to improve myrange of motionand ease the pain.
Gradually, I began to feel my muscles and gain control of my body.
Stretching helped to give me a bodily awareness and a groundedness that I didnt have before.
The only problem is that she thinks Im trying to kill her.
But I have been on a mission to change that.
Most of the time, its in her lower body because of all the running.
So I show her some quad, hamstring, calf, and inner thigh stretches.
Let me tell you: This woman starts praying from the moment we put our yoga mats down.
You might say, my self-imposed job has not been easy.
And yet, after each stretching session she feels so much lighter and freer in her body.
And yet, after each stretching session, she feels so much lighter and freer in her body.
Stretching forces us to slow down and breathe deeply into uncomfortable spaces in our bodies for growth and healing.
There was a lot of silence in that conversation which I will tell myself is attributed to heavy thinking.
All I know for sure is that at the end she asked, What time are we stretching again?
And undoubtedly, we will.
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