From Canadian fitness pioneer, bestselling author and PBS star Miranda Esmonde-White, the definitive Essentrics stretching and strengthening book, designed to keep your body strong, mobile and pain-free whatever your age.
Miranda Esmonde-White's fitness revolution began with a simple insight: many exercise programs, including the ones she used to teach at her own studio, actually cause injury and prematurely age the body, bulking muscles and restricting joints. Throwing out the idea of "no pain, no gain," she studied how we are actually designed to move, creating a program that stretches and strengthens all the muscles in the body in a balanced way, enhances the full range of motion of every joint, and unglues stuck connective tissue. The result is Essentrics, a groundbreaking practice of gentle movement, respecting the muscle chains and joint mobility of the body, that scientists from Harvard, Adelphi and McGill universities have validated as a way to keep us strong, flexible and fit for life, as well as providing immense benefits for brain and digestive health.
Where her previous bestsellers, Aging Backwards and Forever Painless, focused on anti-aging and pain-relief, The Movement Miracle is the Essentrics bible. In beautifully shot illustrations, twelve models who range in age from their twenties to their late sixties—all of whom have benefited from the program—demonstrate 100 sequences of gentle movements that can be combined to meet the needs of everyone from office workers to elite athletes. Another section of the book concentrates on posture, teaching us how to counteract the harmful impacts of sedentary living and too much screen time. The revolution Esmonde-White offers us all: only twenty-five minutes a day of gentle movement, following the Essentrics formula, will radically change and strengthen your body, relieve you of pain, replenish your energy and keep you young, no matter your age.
Author(s): Miranda Esmonde-White
Publisher: Random House of Canada
Year: 2023
Language: English
Commentary: The Movement Miracle, Essentrics Stretch Program, Increase Strength, Improve Mobility and Become Pain Free
Pages: 480
Tags: The Movement Miracle, Essentrics Stretch Program, Increase Strength, Improve Mobility and Become Pain Free
CONTENTS
COVER
PRAISE FOR MIRANDA ESMONDE-WHITE AND ESSENTRICS
ALSO BY MIRANDA ESMONDE-WHITE
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS ESSENTRICS?
SECTION I
1: THE BALANCED BODY
2: REDEFINING STRETCHING
3: THE MUSCULOSKELETAL TRIFECTA
4: THE POOR POSTURE EPIDEMIC
Anatomy and Posture
Basic Spine Movements
Techniques for Good Posture
SECTION II
5: NEUROMUSCULAR TECHNIQUES
6: GETTING STARTED
Equipment
Correct/Incorrect Positions
7: THE WARM-UP
Warm-Up
The Essentrics Warm-Up Routine
8: THE ESSENTRICS SEQUENCES
Category 1: Forward Flexion
Category 2: Diagonal Rotation
Category 3: Side to Side
Category 4: Upper-Body Extension
Category 5: Full-Body Figure Eights
Category 6: Pliés
Category 7: Hands, Arms, and Shoulders
Category 8: Legs and Hips
Category 9: Feet, Ankles, and Calves
Category 10: Chair/Barre Stretching
Category 11: Floor Strengthening
Category 12: Floor Stretching
9: ESSENTRICS ROUTINES FOR EVERY DAY
Morning Routine
Evening Routine
Travel Days
Walking the Dog
Stress Relief
Relaxation
Increase Your Energy
Stimulate Your Brain
Routine for Kids
10: ESSENTRICS ROUTINES FOR TARGETED TRAINING
Beginner Flexibility
Floor
Chair
Advanced Flexibility
Cooldown or Recovery
Upper-Body Toning
Lower-Body Toning
Explosive Power
Routine for Speed
Agility
Balance
Jumping Higher
Spine Mobility
11: ESSENTRICS ROUTINES FOR SPORTS
Football
Ballet and Gymnastics
Baseball
Basketball
Cycling
Dance
Diving
Figure Skating
Golf
Hiking
Hockey
Horseback Riding
Martial Arts
Racket Sports (Tennis, Squash, Badminton, Racquetball, Pickleball)
Rowing, Kayaking, Canoeing
Running
Skiing
Snowboarding
Soccer
Surfing
Swimming
Volleyball
Yoga and Pilates
12: ESSENTRICS ROUTINES FOR THE WORKPLACE
On Your Feet All Day
At a Desk All Day
Manual Labor/Construction/Landscaping
Flight Attendants
Housekeeping
Hairdressing
13: ESSENTRICS ROUTINES FOR CHRONIC PAIN
Back Pain
Knee Pain
Foot and Calf Pain (Plantar Fasciitisand Achilles Tendonitis)
Hip Pain
Shoulder Pain
Fibromyalgia and IBS
Neck Pain
Finger, Wrist, and Elbow Pain
14: ESSENTRICS ROUTINE FOR BETTER POSTURE
Posture Routine
AFTERWORD
MEET THE MODELS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND THANKS
NOTES
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
