Guest post by Richard Beswick-Arthur
Richard joined my twice-weekly Organic Stretching® classes in December 2011 and has been a regular member ever since along with practicing the work at home each day. In this post, he shares with us how the program has changed the way his body responds to the strenuous work he demands of it.
Hard physical work is something to which I am not unaccustomed. I owned 160 acres of land in Alberta together with farm-type buildings. The introduction of some farm animals meant cutting and hauling hay, feeding it daily throughout the winter months (7-8 of those in Northern Alberta!), mucking-out by hand, as well as maintaining the buildings themselves.
Richard at work
Today, some 30 years later, I still have occasion to work hard on maintenance projects during our Mexican “winter” months. However well it is planned, painting concrete surfaces, caulking cracks, and stopping steel from rusting all seem to happen in a rush, and it is vital to complete this work prior to the rainy season of June-October.
This year, I caulked my upper deck. It is tiled, but the grout between the tiles had cracked and allowed water to pass between the tiles. This was a slow job, hunched down, taping both sides of 1320 lineal feet of grout, and then smoothing-in caulking to form the new seal. I worked hard, without a break, at least 2-1/2 hours early most mornings. After that, both the caulking and I did not do well in the heat. Crouching for that long in one position, made 2-1/2 hours seem endless.
My lower back has always been a problem. Chiropractors et al have been unable to help me long-term, and it was not until I went to Organic Stretching® that my back improved to the point that I now normally live pain-free. Well, I felt some pain after 2-1/2 hours of crouching, and to get the job done was going to take many days, or even weeks! Imagine my surprise when, 1/2 hour after completing the first day’s work, the pain had disappeared. This was the case every day! I was not even stiff from working in that crunched position throughout the entire project.
I hark back to 30 years ago, when I would be stiff and sore for days after exertion. Admittedly the work was tougher and went on longer, but I was only in my 30s and my body should have been capable of handling hard days without complaint. But it was not so, I believe, because I did not “exercise,” I only “exerted.” If the techniques of Organic Stretching® had been available to me 30 years ago, I believe I would have had the flexibility that I have today, and would not have suffered. For me, this proves that Organic Stretching® can benefit all age groups.
My recent experiences show that improving flexibility through Organic Stretching® is highly beneficial for not only real-time exertion, but particularly for improved, almost instant, recovery-time after that exertion.
