Astonishing Unexpected Results with Classical Stretch
 

About 6 weeks ago, I saw Miranda's Aging Backwards at my library and picked it up on a whim. I had done CS/Essentrics now and again in the past, but I never really "got it" until I read her book. I always considered it simply another toning/stretching workout. As I got more and more into the book, I understood that there is so much more behind it. CS/Essentrics is a systematic, scientific method of exercise which increases mobility and range of motion, reduces or eliminates pain, and repairs imbalances in your muscles and fascia. (Those are my words, but it's better if you read the book for yourself. :p) Anyway . . . I pulled out my CS/Essentrics DVDs with a fresh eye.

To get to the point of my post, after two weeks I noticed my balance had TREMENDOUSLY improved, and I hadn't been doing anything at all to work on it! I had only been doing CS, and none of the workouts I did had any balance component. My balance has never been great and as I've gotten older, it's gotten worse -- despite the fact that I do yoga and T-Tapp.

What this brought home to me, even though I knew it on a superficial level, is that if you continue to do something the wrong way, you will not get better at it. What I mean by that is, for example, I had been practicing balance moves for I don't know how many years with no improvement. It's because I was practicing the same "wrong" way every time. I had some kind of muscle imbalance that was causing me to compensate in a way that didn't help, and once I improved the imbalance, things started to change. I'm not going to say my imbalances are all fixed, because I really don't even know what they are. I'm 59, so I've had 59 years to develop them!

This could apply to all types of things. If your knees hurt when doing lunges, your shoulders hurt when doing presses, etc. All these kinds of things can be because you're doing them incorrectly because you have an imbalance that you're not even aware of.

So naturally, I went and bought up all the CS/Essentrics I could find because, hey, that's what vidiots do, right? :p Since then, I've been doing mostly CS (3-5 days a week) with some T-Tapp thrown in for good measure. My balance has continued to improve, although not as drastically as what I saw in the first two weeks. I also have a more "free" feeling in my body and have reduced some stubborn flab.

Anyway, if you're interested, you might want to get the Aging Backwards book first to see what it's all about. I read the Forever Painless book, too, which was excellent, but I think Aging Backwards gives a broader explanation of the method.

Annie, I'm so glad you found Miranda Esmonde-White and her workouts. I've been in love with her stuff for over 10 years now. It took me a while, maybe six months or more, to 'get it' with her, but something tells me she'll always be a part of my health care.

And I'm a huge fan of T-Tapp, too. I think CS/Essentrics and T-Tapp work together beautifully.

Yes, her work improves balance and much more.

Annie - thanks for posting. I have a couple of seasons and haven't really used them too much. Maybe reading the book would be a good idea.

I found Aging Backwards to be very helpful; reading the book helped me understand the moves a whole lot more, which made the DVDs more interesting and useful.

ETA: Never mind my first question! I see you addressed that. Sorry!!

I have a couple of questions........ for anyone who has the second Aging Backwards book (different title, but that's the subtitle) that came out this year, do you think that explains it well enough? I remember that book getting not so great reviews, but maybe because it was just an unnecessary repeat? I have that version for kindle.

Second, Annie, are you just doing one CS episode 3-5 times per week, or more than that?

For those of you that do both T-Tapp and CS/Essentrics, what is your frequency of each per week to get results?

I like to do both also but need to figure out a better way to be consistent. I’m hoping someone can chime in with how often they do both and what each workout provides that 5he other doesn’t.

Annie, wow! That's impressive. Can you say more about how the book made things so much clearer for you?

Impressive Annie, thanks for sharing!

That's awesome, Annie!

It is wonderful Annie! I have read two of Miranda's books, Forever Painless, and Aging Backwards, and I really got a lot out of both of them. I had recently stopped doing CS because I thought it was contributing to my back pain. I have slowly started doing it again, and now I suspect that my form was not right. It is a wonderful form of exercise and self care for the body :heart:

Sherry :)