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You Don't Have to Live with Pain! The Self-Healing Benefits of Stretching
by Jacques Gauthier for SixWise.com


I just finished a walking across the United States. It feels wonderful to have fulfilled my dream of being the first person to walk around North America (I had already crossed Canada several years ago).

What feels even better, however, is to hear of all the people who have started stretching when they learned of me and my story. That was the purpose of my walk - to let people know that they don't have to live with pain, that by stretching they can become healthier and happier. It's so easy and it works!

Jacques Gauthier, Age 66

Jacques Gauthier, top stretching expert who recently completed walking around North America!

Stretching is one of the most powerful self-healing techniques there is and best of all is that it's free. I love to tell people that there is only one side effect to stretching, and that is flexibility!

I didn't invent stretching, of course. It's as old as mankind. And yet, when I started to teach stretching, no one had heard about it. That shows you what unhealthy lives we had been living.

We are just starting to learn about the most basic things - and most important things - that we can do for our health. Now just about everyone knows something about stretching.

They Told Me I Was Going to Be a Quadriplegic!

I found out about stretching the hard way. Sixteen years ago my doctors told me to buy a wheelchair and prepare for being a quadriplegic for the rest of my life. I was crippled by vasculitis, arthritis and osteoporosis.

The pain was so severe that I could barely move. My wife had to help me get out of bed in the morning, help me shower and help me with everything I had to do. All I could do on my own was lie in bed, meditate and pray.

Finally, someone told me about a healer. I traveled many miles to see him and he told me I had to stretch to get well. This is not what I wanted to hear! Any movement was extremely painful and my doctors had told me I could not do exercises. But the healer told me if I didn't stretch, I would never get well.

I had to decide what to do and I decided to give it a try. It was my only hope. It was extremely painful at first, but within 6 weeks I had regained 50% of my function and in 7 months of intense stretching I was back to normal!

The amazing result that I got from stretching made me want to learn more, so I bought many books on the subject. My wife Dorothée also started stretching.
She had been suffering with back pain for many years and when she saw the improvement in me, she thought she'd try it for herself. Her back pain began to improve and after one year she was completely free of pain.

Then we started experimenting with other people because people were coming and asking me how I could be in such a good shape after how sick I had been. People were thinking that I was dying and all of a sudden I seemed to be in better shape than any of them. They asked me what was happening. I told them I had learned stretching and this is how it all started - they wanted to learn too!

Five More Key Benefits of Stretching

  1. Increased flexibility and better range of motion of your joints. Flexible muscles can improve your daily performance. Tasks such as lifting packages, bending to tie your shoes or hurrying to catch a bus become easier and less tiring. Flexibility tends to diminish as you get older, but you can regain and maintain it.

  2. Improved circulation. Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles. Blood flowing to your muscles brings nourishment and gets rid of waste byproducts in the muscle tissue. Improved circulation can help shorten your recovery time if you've had any muscle injuries.

  3. Better posture. Frequent stretching can help keep your muscles from getting tight, allowing you to maintain proper posture. Good posture can minimize discomfort and keep aches and pains at a minimum.

  4. Stress relief. Stretching relaxes tight, tense muscles that often accompany stress.

  5. Enhanced coordination. Maintaining the full range of motion through your joints keeps you in better balance. Coordination and balance will help keep you mobile and less prone to injury from falls, especially as you get older.

Learn More About the Top-Recommended Guide to Stretching: Jacques Gauthier's "Stretching Toward a Healthier Life"

The Remarkable Ability of Stretching to ELIMINATE Your Pain

We started to teach stretching with all kinds of books and ideas from health specialists. We studied with some people who knew about breathing, and combined this with the stretches. By putting together different ideas, we realized that the stretching exercises become anti-inflammatory. I talked to many health care providers about this and they said this made sense. They observed the effects of stretching with their patients and found it to be true. This explains why stretching reduces pain. Inflammation causes pain, and when the inflammation is gone, the pain is gone.

For the anti-inflammatory effect, however, it is extremely important how you stretch.

Inflammation is the body's reaction to injury. If we don't exercise properly we can cause injury. Even stretching, if not done properly, can increase inflammation. It is important to move slowly in and out of the stretches, paying attention to your body and letting it tell you when to stop. I have found that breathing slowly and deeply, as well as holding the stretches for about 30 seconds, is the key to stretching being anti-inflammatory.

I love to teach stretching because I learn more by teaching. Many health care professionals have taken my courses. They learn from me and I learn from them and we keep improving the courses.

The Key 15 Stretches that YOU Should be Doing Every Day

Through our studies, Dorothée and I came up with 15 basic stretches that take about 15-20 minutes a day to do. We made a DVD with these stretches, and when the health specialists in my country reviewed it they said that with only those 15 basic, simple stretching exercises we could stretch 95% of the muscles in our body.

They said this was very important because they felt that to be healthy we should be doing some kind of exercise that would be using all of our muscles everyday just to keep them alive. With the kind of life we are living in the 21st century, most people are not using all of their muscles!

These same health specialists in the eastern part of Canada started to recommend our DVD to their patients. It started with chiropractors and acupuncturists and then a few doctors got involved. They bought our tape and experimented with it themselves before they recommended it. By now I would say that about 80% of the DVDs that we sell through stores in Eastern Canada are sold due to doctor or health specialist recommendations.

By now we have taught stretching to thousands of people in Canada and Europe, and many more have learned stretching from the DVD. We continue to receive thank you letters and reports about the wonderful results that people are getting.

Stretching is a "Golden Key" to Prevent Premature Aging: Learn How to Properly Stretch in this Highly Acclaimed DVD by Jacques Gauthier!

"Without a doubt, the simple stretching exercises on this DVD will add life to your years ... and years to your life!"

-- Dr. Jean Chevrefils

  • The Most Effective 15 Stretching Exercises
  • Works Almost 100% of ALL Muscles in Your Body
  • Full Program Takes Just 15-20 Minutes Per Day
  • Eliminate Pain
  • Feel Much Younger & Energetic
  • Increase Your Mental Clarity and Focus
  • Improve Your Blood & Oxygen Circulation
  • Improve Your Body's Absorption of Nutrients
  • Slow Degeneration of Your Joints
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When Can You Expect to Achieve the Immense Benefits of Stretching

Most people notice some results within the first week and the benefits grow with time. With a serious condition it can take months and years for the problem to resolve, but even very serious problems can be healed through stretching. I know this because I've seen people do it. It's not that they go to a healer and the healer heals them; it's because they started the stretching and kept on doing it.

The more you stretch a day, the faster the results come, but for most people 15 to 20 minutes is enough to make a big difference. In the case of a woman who healed herself from multiple sclerosis, it took her a total of two years and she was stretching an hour a day. She is still well 10 years later. Now she does yoga, she plays golf all summer, she goes downhill skiing all winter -- she is in better shape than everybody in her family and surroundings!

There has been a lot of research on stretching with regard to sports, but not enough on its general benefits. It is difficult to measure the results of stretching, and much of the research is contradictory. It has shown, however, that stretching increases flexibility and range of motion in the joints. The anti-inflammatory effect has been demonstrated in a study showing that stretching reduced heel pain in a condition known as plantar fasciitis.

The best proof that stretching works is to try it for yourself! I have seen from my own experience and the reports of so many people that I've taught, that stretching is extremely beneficial. People tell me their pain goes away, they have more energy and they are able to start doing all kinds of things they had stopped doing due to stiffness and pain.

Beyond that, people have even reported recovery from many problems that are not considered curable:

In addition to the woman mentioned above who recovered from multiple sclerosis, people have reported results in healing arthritis, headaches, back/neck/shoulder pain, bursitis, depression, fatigue and even conditions like fibromyalgia.

The body has a tremendous capacity to heal, but we have to help it along by taking proper care of it. Stretching is one of the easiest and most effective self-healing tools that I know of. That, along with good food and relaxation is what I like to call the "immune triangle." Take care of those things and you will take care of your health!


Overview of Some Key Research on the Benefits of Stretching

http://sportsmedicine.about.com
When looking at the effect of stretching alone on range of motion, a review of MEDLINE finds that for both the immediate (an hour) and long-term (several weeks) improvements in range of motion one fifteen to thirty second stretch per muscle group is sufficient for most people. Some people require longer duration or more repetitions. Research also supports the idea that the optimal duration and frequency for stretching may vary by muscle group.

The long-term effects of stretching on range of motion show that after six weeks, those who stretch for 30 seconds per muscle each day increased their range of motion much more than those who stretched 15 seconds per muscle each day. No additional increase was seen in the group that stretched for 60 seconds. Another 6-week study conducted found that one hamstring stretch of 30 seconds each day produced the same results as three stretches of 30 seconds.

These studies support the use of thirty second stretches as part of general conditioning to improve range of motion.

http://www.pponline.co.uk
Does stretching affect flexibility?

Yes. There is conclusive evidence regarding stretching and flexibility. Loss of flexibility can be prevented and at least partially restored by stretching. However, that evidence is more compelling for a long-term stretching programm than for shorter periods of time. Stretching to increase flexibility minutes prior to an event may be possible, but a stretching programme over a period of months can lead to a sustained increase in range of motion.

Can stretching improve performance?

Yes, if the stretches are designed to be sport-specific. One study showed that an increase in the temperature of the vastus lateralis (a muscle in the upper leg) achieved by stretching resulted in an increase in vertical jump and an increase in maximal cycling power. However, the study did not investigate whether or not the increase in temperature could have been achieved by other warm-up methods. Another study showed that a 10-week static stretching programm resulted in improved performance in tests involving speed, strength, power, or muscle endurance. Additional research has shown benefits in throwing a baseball and serving a tennis ball following a stretching programm that improved shoulder flexibility.

http://www.readysetgofitness.com
Stretching can aid in reversing hardening of the arteries

Researchers show that prolonged stretching with moderate aerobic exercise and diet control will reduce cholesterol and significantly reverse hardening of the arteries (20 percent regression) in adults with proven coronary atherosclerotic disease.

After one year in a yoga program, participants lost weight, reduced cholesterol, and improved their exercise capacity, (Retardation of coronary atherosclerosis with yoga lifestyle intervention, 2000, Manchanda).

 

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