Hi everyone! I am happy to announce the publication of my latest book EVERYTHING’S A STRETCH: THE FITNESS BOOK. Here is a fun preview… ENJOY!

INTRODUCTION:

Hi and welcome to EVERYTHING’S A STRETCH: THE FITNESS BOOK. My mission is to revolutionize health and fitness by helping people FEEL HUMAN AGAIN. I will teach you, yes you, how to open your heart so you start working and playing with your body, not against your body all day every day. No supplements, no doctors or special equipment required. Love and self love will be your anchor to achieving your ultimate potential of looking and feeling your most natural and attractive self.

Let’s get started, shall we?

#1 Your Body Is Your Temple

Your body is your temple, and my body is my temple, but I’m gay so it’s mostly a Shirley Temple, am I right fellas? Well, it is true, your body is your temple, it’s the only one you get in this lifetime. Your spine is your temple’s power building blocks and your hips are it’s strong solid foundation. Oxygen is the glue, the core that keeps you standing tall and strong. And your heart is what elevates, lengthens and strengthens all of the above.

#2 Oxygen: The Golden Rule Of Fitness

How do we start this path of self love and self knowledge? In my fitness book, the main objective, the main goal for myself and all of my students is realizing our fullest potential by achieving NO FEAR. To have NO FEAR you have to open your heart to the unknown. When you open your heart you feel. When you feel you heal. In plain English, healing is oxygenating deoxygenated tissue. The only real way to abolish fear of any sort is to face it head on while breathing deep into your belly, keeping an empty mind and allowing that fear to take its course. Use this powerful acronym to guide you at a moment by moment basis: ROEM: Remember Oxygen Empty Minded

#3 No Fear

What does having no fear look like, feel like? Having no fear is knowing yourself inside and out. Understanding your body from its most simple to its most complex systems. Each and every single one of our joints should be set free to do whatever they want to do. The same goes with our minds and emotions. To have no fear that whatever comes our way will soon disappear and transform into something else. Here is a simple technique I created that works really well for me, I call it THE 5 BREATH MEDITATION: When facing any fear or body discomfort look at it, inside and out and start with the first breath which will most likely be very shallow. The second breath is your second chance at allowing more air in. By the third and fourth breath you should be able to feel the expansion in body and mind necessary to relax deeply into your final breath which is very telling on how healthy you are at this exact moment. The easiest way to do it is laying flat on your back, sitting down or standing up.

#4 Bent Like A Hose

Take a look at yourself, at your body and your joints especially the elbows, hips, knees, spine and fingers. Are they bent or extended? Most humans spend their entire day with their joints bent without even realizing it. What’s wrong with that? Well, visualize a hose that you want to use to water a garden, the most beautiful garden. If the hose is always bent then the flow of blood is greatly diminished. If the joints are extended the oxygenated blood will be free to travel to the areas of the body where it is needed the most. At any point of the day ask yourself: Am I bent like a hose right now? Do I really need to be bent like this right now? If the answer is yes… keep going! If the answer is no… release everything and extend yourself as wide and relaxed as possible.

EVERYTHING’S A STRETCH: is what it means. Wherever I go I make sure I stretch my body for a variety of reasons but mostly because it feels good! It brings fresh blood to your brain, body and joints. Oxygenated blood always makes the human body happy to move. Stretching prevents most injuries. Stretching can help shape and mold joints in ways you desire them to be. To me, stretching is a game of TETRIS meets JENGA with my bones and joints. I love it! My fit lifestyle makes me feel smart while I lengthen and strengthen my body. Now, with the stretching also must come the strengthening. We lengthen the body to achieve new plasticity and mobility within the major joints of the body. Hips, shoulders, knees and ankles. And then we must strengthen the newly lengthened joints with resistance or weight training. The main strength training exercises with weights or body weight are: squats, lunges, deadlifts, pullups, pushups, situps, planks, shoulder presses, chest presses, lat pull downs, seated rows, bicep curls, tricep extensions or skull crushers, tricep dips, hip hinge, burpees, jumping jacks. Other weighted or body weighted moves are always welcomed.

THE POSES: I will now draw for you the main postures and exercises you need to do and master during the day or in between your strength sets at the gym. The minimum amount of time you should hold and mindfully lengthen these body positions is 5 deep and gentle breaths. Standing: Arms Down, Arms Sideways and Arms Up. Kneeling: Arms Down, Arms Sideways and Arms Up. Sitting: Arms Down, Arms Sideways and Arms Up. Laying Facing Down: Arms Down, Arms Sideways and Arms Up. Laying Facing up: Arms Down, Arms Sideways and Arms Up.

THE MOVES: The exercises shown with the trigger point therapy ball are essential to release and open the main joints of the human body. To start, place yourself and the ball in the positions shown on the drawings. Find a trigger point or deoxygenated muscle or connective tissue by slowly breathing into your belly and moving the body on the ball ever so slightly. As soon as you find a tight or sensitive spot, hold it for a strong solid moment. You should be able to take one or two or even five deep breaths before moving on to the next hot spot.