Aaron Mattes' Active Isolated Stretching

I bought this book after a professional coach at a church gave a session on stretching after one of the women's meetups, and recommended it. In considering it, I found that Mattes' Active Isolated Stretching was the gold standard for a very long time, and then, when adjustments were necessary, they were made so that the stretches lasted for not even a minute. Isn't that interesting? The problem was that while I just wanted to stretch on my own, almost half the stretches required working with someone else (Assisted Isolated Stretching), or they required lying on a special sort of physical therapist's table and my bed did not quite work for the purpose and lying on the dining room table seemed odd. In looking at some of the stretches that required lying down, it appears that the person in the photo has a sort of pad wrapped around him and the table, so that the pad exerts gravity on him as we used to have someone hold down our feet during sit-ups in physical education class (if you had physical education class). So, this is not a book for the average consumer who just wants to stretch at home. But it appears that some of the stretches that also require lying down can be completed while lying on the floor with a Stretch Out Strap (I bought the OPTP version). The one stretch that I could do while sitting on my bed felt like a very good stretch, but there was constantly the question in my mind of whether I was doing it correctly because Mattes' writing is rather technical requiring the terminology of a physical therapist or physical education specialist, but the photos are helpful. Although there isn't a lot that I can do with Mattes' stretches, I think I'll keep the book because of how *good* the stretching felt, and try to do what I can even if I can't stretch every part of my body. I will also consider other methods of stretching. With the stretching exercises that came with my OPTP Stretch Out Strap, while I can't quite say what the difference is, perhaps I might say that those exercises felt like they stretch my flesh too...and my flesh is rather icky from sin and requiring new birth in Christ. Given my situation, and perhaps for secular people too (but is there anyone who hasn't heard of Christ and didn't believe, even if they refuse to go to church?), I don't think I want to stretch my flesh and end up looking super muscular as a woman. Hmm, I think it's a rhetorical question to ask, "Who is super muscular?"

This is a valuable book to have on so much valuable isolated stretches for massage therapist, stretch instructors like myself or yoga instructors as well .If you are a hands on taking your mobility and wellness to the next level get this ans begin informing yourself about isolated stretch. Great service fast shipping and good quality hard copy .I am a huge fan of Aaron Mattes , if you're in FL highly recommend taking his training or workshops

This book has everything you need (other than a towel/stretch strap) to get started with a great stretching program. If you follow these stretches with the directions, you will not injure yourself while stretching.The pictures show each stretch and variation clearly, plus there are written directions describing each move.The book opens flat and will stay that way, which is very helpful for keeping your place.I am a massage therapist, so my arms get very tight from work. The first time I went through the stretching protocol for elbows, wrists, and fingers I felt wonderful. It was almost as though I had received a deep massage, but I didn't hurt...it was great. Now I'm learning this to use on some of my clients that are particularly tight. Stretching affects the whole muscle rather than just a part of it at a time (like massage); so for people who are particularly bound up, stretching oftentimes can give a greater release overall before I work on the individual muscles.There are a couple of areas I would like to see improvements though. 1.) I wish they would update the book to give some of the more recent scientific research that explains the mechanics and physiology behind why this type of stretching is so effective, 2.) There should be pictures of the muscles by layer, so you know more easily which stretches should be done in which order if you are not going to do all of the stretches for a body part. The stretches are supposed to release the fascia from superficial to deep; I believe some pictures of the muscles shown as cross-sections for each area from superficial to deep would be very helpful.That said, overall it is a great book that I would highly recommend to anyone needing to stretch out an area of overuse, previous injury, or otherwise.

I had been having trouble with my neck and shoulders -- like many of us, because of too much time at the computer. This book was recommended by my sports massage therapist, who suggested the neck and shoulder protocols. I now do one of the two neck stretching routines every day, and I do the shoulder stretches every other day -- it has made a HUGE difference! The pain is gone, and I sleep better. In fact, the stretching is so good, my massage therapist can now focus on other parts of my body during our sessions since my neck and shoulders are no longer an issue.This book isn't only for the neck and shoulders, though. There are stretches for the entire body. Some require a partner for assistance, but most can be done individually, many with no equipment, others with just a stretching strap.The only complaint is that the writing isn't always stellar. The book could use a once-over from a good copy editor to fix grammar and clarity. But the quality of the writing isn't so bad as to detract from the overall quality.

this stretches can ve very damaging to your body, leading to a hyper-flaccid condition. If you have spinal problems some of the exercises are brilliant if you wanna get a spinal disk herniation. it is a good book to know what you should not do your body as can very damaging in a long-term run!