Movement is the goal, but good movement requires good mobility, and in a chain-like manner. In order to prepare the body to do any dynamic movement (meaning movements requiring multiple joints in motion at once), we need to be able replicate positions that teach our bodies how to "behave when they get there."
When running, for example, there is obviously a lot of required lower body movement, and therefore, enough mobility for that to occur smoothly and efficiently (smoothly and efficiently being the key words). But, just as the lower musculature is important, without the help of equally smooth and efficient upper body musculature in relation to the pelvis, a long lasting and durable gait will be difficult to achieve. The proper use of the upper musculature in relation to the pelvis is extremely important and must be incorporated into preparation for that motion.
The TrueStretch®, invented by Gary Gray, allows us to position both the upper and lower body together to produce a chain-reaction stretch or pose the will simulate the dynamic mobility various motions produce. It enables us to safely introduce the body to positions it may not have experienced in a very long time, without the fear of falling or losing balance. We need to be able to stretch hamstrings, for instance, but we need to be able to do it with the arms performing any number of tasks, and we need to be able to do it safely and with precise intent.
This is a piece of equipment that everyone usually gets to spend a good deal of time in. Mainly because its uses are endless. We have found no other piece like it that allows us such control in reproducing what are very intense positions with most every client that walks through the door. There's nothing quite like the real thing — but a good glimpse of it, and a sense of the direction to go, have proven to be extremely helpful in demonstrating to our clients just how many "mini stretches" are really going on in what often seem like the most simple tasks. Once we can actually feel and visualize exactly what's going on, it becomes so much easier to recognize when you are not moving correctly. At first, that doesn't mean you know how, or are even capable yet of correcting it on your own (that's the ultimate goal, though), but you do know when it doesn't feel right, because you've been there.
People come in all shapes and sizes, but when you get right down to it, we are all the same. So no matter what the task, or at what level, we all use the same piece of equipment and therefore the same neuromusculoskeletal system and biomechanics. The beauty of the TrueStretch® is that it allows us to get most anyone performing very intense and precise positions relevant to their specific needs, no matter what skill level or physical capability we may be working with, since really they are all the same movements, just different versions. It can reproduce sport positions, yoga poses, or picking up the paper, making its applications limitless and its value priceless.
