Stretching.

I know. It seems like a waste of time. Especially, given how quickly the collected pages of our Lifebook’s turn. But, before you dismiss it out of hand, please look at these questions.

1. Do you experience pain, for no reason whatsoever, like you didn’t get hit by a truck last night, get in a bar fight, or drink massive amounts of alcohol and fall down a flight of stairs?

2. Do you sometimes feel your back tugging at you when you’re doing something as innocuous as standing at the sink doing dishes?

3. Does Fido increasingly annoy you?

4. Does bending over to grab his squishy toy seem more like work than play?

5. And, when you do, and you throw it, does your shoulder reminds you why you never pitched in the major leagues?

6. When he comes back, and drops the squishy toy at your feet, do you sometimes kick it, rather than bend over to grab it and throw it?

7. Do you remember a time when your body seemed like a wondrous new tool?

If you answered, “Why, yes, yes indeed” to any of these questions, then you’re just like me, and a host of others who’ve shot past their 50th birthday. And, welcome to the club.

I’m not saying stretching’s going to cure all your ills. I am saying, when you decide to stretch, you take control of your body. And, you’ll find, with continued repetitions, that the authorship of your future’s not in the hands of your doctor, a pain pill, or a psychic, but solely, and completely, up to you.

Let’s start.

Step one: find a routine you can live with; follow me, or follow a yoga practitioner, or follow a book. But, follow something, until you get it down. Since you’re reading this, follow me; at least until you get it down.

Step two: progress slowly; feel the pain.

Step three: ease into the pain, and let it flow through you, and out of you. Yes, I know it sucks. I also know, like with everything else you’ve learned, and I’ve learned, in our time on this planet, the pain will pass, and you’ll find strength through persistence.

Step four: take your time. Just as they didn’t build Rome in a day, you didn’t tighten your musculature in a day, either. Unwrap those sinews slowly, and with care: there’s a fun surprise inside that package you call your body. And, we’ll find it: together.

Five: take time to stretch AT least three to four times a week.

Now, let’s watch the video. I’ll have more suggestions during the stretches.