A Stronger Tomorrow Standing Up

I’ve decided that sitting is not my natural position. If you asked me two years ago I would tell you that one of my favorite things was do was sit, but now I know better. Since it takes me so long to walk nine miles everyday and I also like to get a good night’s sleep that does not leave much time for just sitting, even if that sitting involves doing two things l love, eating and needle pointing, just not together. I still have not succumbed to eating or needle pointing on the treadmill.

My trip to Africa proved how much I need to be upright and not sit. Of course there were the many airplane flights where thanks to terrorist passengers are now expected to sit quietly in our seats and not move around. Then there were the safaris where thanks to wild animals I was expected to sit in my seat for three and a half hours and only move to take pictures. Lastly there were the boat rides in the Zambezi river where I had to sit still because falling out of the boat meant certain death by crocodile, hippo or waterfall.

When I got home I got back to my regular walking life, but my hips were killing me. My muscles were tight and they started screaming at me. I called my massage therapist, Brandi and begged for help. Brandi is no regular mamby bamby masseuse, but a corrective Exercise Specialist.

I went in to her new office at A Stronger Tomorrow today and sure enough she was able to work miracles. Pushing and pulling, rubbing and kneading and after an hour my hips were happy again. I’ve been able to walk today without the pain I came home from Africa with.

When I was a kid I thought that massages were for old men at the Athletic Club in New York who got a rub down after a steam. I was awfully old before I discovered the restorative nature of a good massage. Before Brandi I had some massages that felt good while I was getting them, but afterwards it made little difference to my body. But Brandi is more knowledgeable about finding the causes of my aches and pains and working the string of muscles is a whole different animal.

So thanks Brandi for wiping away two weeks of sitting. I know that it will take me years of study to really learn how to stretch and foam roll myself into feeling as good as Brandi can do.