"My range of motion changed dramatically when I started stretching. I felt stronger and my results skyrocketed."
Dara Torres, Olympic Swimmer (five medals at Sydney 2000 Olympics)

"Before Meridian Stretching I was not an Olympic athlete and after Meridian Stretching I'm still not, but I feel great. I wish I had learnt about it so much sooner. The analogy that I like to use is that my body went from being a crumpled piece of paper to one that has been straightened out. I highly recommend Meridian Stretching. I could not have attained these results without Tom Longo's guidance, expertise and care. Thank you so much Tom."
Riad Mohammed, California

"This stretching is so amazing, I had results right away and you can do it on your own. I have been looking for this for years."
David Levitt, California

BENEFITS & TESTIMONIALS


PART I
Praise for Bob Cooley
Author of
THE GENIUS OF FLEXIBILITY
"Without the flexibility training that Bob developed for me, I could have never accomplished the 5 Olympic medals I had won in Sydney. In fact, every athlete that I asked Bob to help with their flexibility also won Olympic Gold Medals. I know that Bob’s program single handedly developed me psychologically in very specific ways. What he has figured out about stretching no one knows yet. The world will give Bob the Gold."
Dara Torres - Olympic Gold Medalist Age 34

"It is my strong impression that you have uncovered an entire new discipline of healthcare."
Dr. Joesph Mercola - #1 Natural Health Web Site

"After three months of working in the Meridian Flexibility System I was feeling unbelievably strong, fit, and balanced. I do not think that I could have made my fourth Olympic Team without Bob’s help. Thank you Bob for allowing me to feel and perform better than I ever thought possible."
Eric Flaim - four-time Olympic Speed Skater

"…in just a few sessions with the Resistance Stretching Technique, I was finally able to do and feel what no amount of exercise, massage or weight training has done in thirty years…with just a few moments of stretching out my hamstrings, I walk completely differently…head high, shoulders back, without any strain…What Bob has created is not a trend, but will change the way the world will exercise forever!"
Joni Evans - Senior Vice President, William Morris Agency



PART II
The Benefits of Being Flexible
"Help yourself"

RESISTANCE STRETCHING® offers immediate, cumulative, and permanent increases in flexibility; takes the pain out of stretching, and protects you from injuring yourself by over-stretching.

THE MERIDIAN FLEXIBILITY SYSTEM® provides stretches for 16 unique muscle groups with concomitant physiological and psychological benefits.


FOUR KINDS OF BENEFITS
Physical, Spiritual, Emotional, and Psychological

There are physical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological benefits for RFST. People who have stretched for a while know that changes from Resistance Stretching are predictable and self-prescriptive—they can decide what they want to work on, do those stretches, and then reap the benefits they desire. The predictable changes and "self-actualizations" from stretching are the hallmark of The Meridian Flexibility System.

The Physical Benefits of Stretching


Flexibility determines how well you move and improves your posture.
Your flexibility absolutely determines what movements you are able to make and how fast, accurate, and powerful those movements can be. That box on the top shelf suddenly becomes more "reachable." Your posture naturally becomes upright without any need for "mental" reminders to "sit up straight," or "stop slouching."

Flexibility harnesses your strength, power, and endurance.
The ability of any muscle to shorten is directly controlled by its ability to lengthen! By increasing your flexibility, your muscles are then allowed to shorten and contract maximally—this translates into increased power, speed, and acceleration.

Flexibility relieves pain, prevents injuries, and increases your comfortableness.
Many chronic as well as acute myo-fascial pains are the direct result of muscle shortness. Increase the length of your muscles, and watch your back, knee, elbow, etc. pain disappear forever. Increases in flexibility and strength also help to prevent future injuries.

Flexibility heals and overhauls your physiological health.
A flexibility "perk" is that your internal health improves … and in very specific and predictable ways. You’ll find that each of the 16 different types of stretches has been reported by thousands of people to cause specific health improvements. Individualize your own stretching program based on your specific needs.

Flexibility makes you more youthful and solid.
Everyone who stretches regularly gets younger and better looking. Not only will you move and feel like a person with a much younger body, but you’ll have a new tool at your disposal to modify and adjust your body so those aches and pains from aging become less intrusive or are erased completely.

Flexibility teaches you to rest and handle stress and distress.
When you know how to rest, you can build yourself because your body rebuilds itself during rest. Stretching teaches you how to embrace appropriate amounts of stress to challenge yourself and to remove undesirable stress and distress.

Flexibility teaches you how to protect yourself
There are many ways to defend yourself and to keep good boundaries- "stretching leads the way". Learn that there is also no need to defend yourself if you are not being attacked.


Spiritual Benefits of Stretching


Flexibility is a reflection of your life.
Every tension in your body is a reflection of how you live your life. Stretching allows you to experience the interconnections and the oneness to life and to powers greater than yourself.

Flexibility opens you to new awarenesses and perspectives.
Becoming more objective, viewing others and yourself from "above" are trademarks of stretching. Learn to view others and yourself from both inside and outside yourself — balance your perspective.

Flexibility lets you be in your body and to enjoy being there.
Surprising that you can now feel specific parts of your physical body that you used to feel disconnected. You learn how to stay connected with your physical body and become less depersonalized. You also learn to value everyone’s individuality.


Emotional Benefits of Stretching


Flexibility teaches you new ways to breathe.
Every stretch you do enters you into being in a new position in life. In every new situation, you’ll be asked to breathe differently. New ways of breathing literally morph your physical body. Breathing elevates your mood and affects your feelings of self-worth and self-esteem.

Flexibility shows you how to relax naturally and to use tension appropriately.
As you learn to resist maximally when stretching, your body will naturally employ greater levels of tension while simultaneously relaxing you. It takes unimaginable levels of tension to perform skilled movements and only by being emotional can this happen.

Flexibility brings up your good looks, beauty, image and likeableness.
Everyone wants to put forth his or her best face and body. Because stretching centers you emotionally and helps you to understand who you are from the inside—you light up on the outside… glowing. Remove our tenseness and you’ll find yourself liking yourself more.

Flexibility teaches you how to be fulfilled sexually.
Only by being emotionally available can you have satisfying sexual relationships. Mature emotionally into relationships that bring ultimate satisfaction.


Psychological Benefits of Stretching


Flexibility turns fear into knowing.
Working on your body and learning how to overcome the fears you have associated with this, is a model for showing you how to handle other fears in life.

Flexibility shows you how to be clear and future minded.
Being flexible about your own areas of ignorance is your bridge to knowledge. Stretching helps you to aspire to greater levels of understanding, clarity and humor.

Flexibility teaches you how to better focus, prioritize, and concentrate.
Thinking is one thing, but holding the thought, keeping the focus, knowing where your attention is, and staying with what is important can all be learned from different stretches.


PART III
TESTIMONIALS
JONI EVANS - SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY
"I don't know what the science or medicine behind Bob Cooley's amazing method is; nor do I care. What I do know is that in just a few sessions with his Resistance Stretching Technique, I was finally able to do and feel what no amount of exercise, massage or weight training has done in thirty years. For example, I have always had poor posture and have never been able to straighten up comfortably or naturally. Bob taught me that the problem was centered in my too tight hamstrings, not in my shoulders or upper body. And so, with just a few moments of stretching out my hamstrings, I walk completely differently...head high, shoulders back, without any strain. I was one of the editors at Simon and Schuster when Jane Fonda’s first exercise book was published. It started a revolution. But nothing has happened until now. What Bob has created is not a trend, but will change the way the world will exercise forever! This program is a godsend."


DARA TORRES - OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST Age 34
After 3 Olympics Games (winning 2 Golds, a Sliver and a Bronze), retiring from the sport after the 92 Olympics, and not swimming for seven years after that, I got the itch to give swimming another shot. I was 32 years old (which is ancient in swimming terms), but my heart was telling me to give it another try.

All I wanted to do was to be an alternate on the 2000 Olympic team so I could say I made a 4th Olympic Team. No American had ever swum in 4 Olympics so I knew outsider's looking in would think I was a long shot and absolutely nuts to try this. But it was my dream and I wasn't going to let anyone tell me I couldn't follow my dream, or at least attempt to.

So, I began intensive weight training, bicycle and running aerobic training, and massive pool workouts. I had a lot of catching up to do after having been out of the pool for 7 years. But, I was really having a problem with my body being extremely tight, especially my shoulders from the added 20lbs I had gained in the first 5 months of training. I had a lot of specialists helping me in my Olympic Quest, and I tried Pilates and stretched on my own, but nothing seemed to help until I met Bob Cooley. Without the flexibility training that Bob developed for me, I could have never accomplished the 5 Olympic medals I won in Sydney. This program literally transformed my body into an elite bio-mechanical swimming machine. His Resistance Stretching technique and The Meridian Flexibility System were my secret weapon to changing my first goal of making my 4th Olympic Team as an alternate, to being so successful at the Summer Games. Other swimmers would see me being stretched by Bob at meets and they all wanted a part of it. In fact, every athlete that I asked Bob to help with their flexibility also won Olympic Gold Medals. On a more personal note, though I have a hard time trying to express what I’m about to say, I know that Bob’s program single handedly developed me psychologically in very specific ways. With this mental edge, I felt personally unbelievable. There was no part of me that wasn’t improved. The wild thing about all this, is that Bob knew exactly what he was doing. Everyday he did different things to me. No matter what training I was doing, the stretching always made me feel like a million bucks. The joke on the deck’ was that the last person that was cared for and educated this way was the Last Emperor of China. I have never felt so good and laughed so much in my whole life. He has helped me set the stage for the rest of my life. What he has figured out about stretching no one knows yet. The world will give Bob the Gold.


LISA SHARKEY GLEICHER - FORMER PRODUCER GMA, PRESIDENT AL ROKER PRODUCTIONS
I first met Bob Cooley through Dara Torres, who is a fitness contributor on Good Morning America, where I work and who is a friend. She told me "you have to meet Bob Cooley. His stretching methods are the most amazing things because they not only help you physically become more flexible, they also completely change you psychologically.

Since I am skeptical by nature and by profession as a journalist, and also quite curious, I was eager to meet Bob and learn about what he had discovered. I have never been a particularly flexible person and yet I am quite aware of myself physicaly, emotionally and spiritually.

When I met Bob I knew right away that this man was someone with a gift. When he began to show me what he had put together and how resistance is the key to flexibility, I began to fully appreciate that what Bob has to offer has the power to change us all.

Bob showed me through simple routines how to alter my moods, how to maximize my body's potential and how to be a better person all around. In addition, he has worked with my husband and my three young children. The results are awe-inspiring.

As someone who spends many hours a day at my desk and immersed in a hectic work and family life, I had forgotten how to feel a wide range of emotions. In addition, my body had become stiff, sore and unfit. Bob's resistance stretches allow the butterfly to emerge from the cocoon that had become my musculature. I literally feel lighter, taller, happier, smarter and more in tune with the world around me when I am stretching. Thank you Bob for bringing this extraordinary discovery into my life and raising the quality of my entire family's existence as a result.


DR. MERCOLA - MERCOLA.COM
It is my strong impression that you have uncovered an entire new discipline of healthcare. In some ways, Westernizing and integrating many of the tools of Indian (yoga) and Chinese (acupuncture) medicine. When they hand out the awards for pioneers and innovators in health care you will certainly be at the front of the line. I consider it a great privilege to have met you and very much look forward to continuing the relationship.

I am overwhelmed with what you have developed and very much excited about helping you bring it to the world.


JULIE BURDICK, MD
I came to resistance stretching both as an internist, an avid runner, and a yoga enthusiast. My initial intent was to try yet again to find someone who could help me with chronic knee problems.

"Bob is the Galileo and Thomas Edison of flexibility research. I found that Bob had a paradigm of stretching and body alignment that was firmly grounded in anatomy yet went beyond what I had learned in medical school and yoga sessions. Using his knowledge of body mechanics, muscle physiology, and thoughtful observation Bob was able to give me the tools to improve the alignment of my hips and relieve the pain in my knee.

The meridian flexibility method is unique in that it has the potential to view the stated problem in the context of the whole person. Bob is able to recognize that a problem in one area is related to problems throughout the body as well as to emotional and spiritual aspects of the person. What results is an extraordinary blending of eastern and western systems of healing that gives a person a means of helping her/himself.

I would recommend resistance stretching to my young athletes as well as my geriatric patients as a means of reducing potentially harmful pharmacological therapy and improving function and well being.


ERIC FLAIM - FOUR TIME OLYMPIC SPEED SKATER AGE 33
I was introduced to Bob from a close friend who told me I would have won the gold instead of the silver if I had stretched with Bob. Throughout my skating career I had developed an understanding of the importance of flexibility training. I had dealt with back and leg injuries and at times had to stop training due to the severity. However I was unaware of the link between my emotional and physical health and the proper techniques for developing the two to their highest level.

During my first session with Bob I was informed that I needed substantial work, and that I would learn a great deal. He is more than a flexibility trainer, Bob became my coach and explained the concepts of his program which opened my mind to an overall wellness of being.

After the first week my entire posture started to change and I began to be taller. I was sleeping better and thinking clearer but the physical gains due to my increased range of motion were realized when I started skating again.

You see I had retired from the sport of Speed skating in 1995 and in 1997 decided to make a comeback and have one more shot at a gold medal. On the ice when we would practice starts I was quicker than I had ever been due to an increase in my ability to drive my legs forward, with an even greater amount of agility. I was also able to stay down in the skating position for longer periods of time without my back getting sore.

After three months of working in the Meridian Flexibility System I was feeling unbelievably strong, fit and balanced. I do not think that I could have made my fourth Olympic Team without Bob’s help. Thank you Bob for allowing me to feel and perform better than I ever thought possible.

If you follow the Meridian Flexibility System you will notice incredible results that will benefit your life. Bob is the genius of flexibility.


DR. IK SHASHA
"I couldn't believe how much better my back felt after doing Resistance Stretching. It's not just that it really works, but it's unbelievable how fast it works. I got relief from my back spasms and pain that I had been having for the past two weeks. I literally had to lie down on the floor of the doctors launch room between surgeries because my back pain was so intense. After only 20 minutes of Resistance Stretching, for the first time in 2 weeks I could sit, and move about with almost no pain. All I hear from the older Doctors is how much chronic pain and lack of movement everyone experiences as we and everyone we meet become older, the amount of chronic pain and lack of movement everyone begins having — their knees, back, shoulders, elbows, and feet. And it just keeps getting worse. This Resistance Stretching could change all this."


TERESA BOUGHNER
I've studied various movement systems with Bob Cooley ;since 1974 and he helped me turn a serious corner in my understanding of myself, changing my physical body, increased my self-confidence, and encouraged me to live fully. I can say his influence was the primary reason I went to study Physical Education/Exercise Science for four years.

After losing touch with Bob for over five years when he was in Western Mass I sought him out through a mutual friend and was profoundly happy when we reconnected quite "accidentally" in 1990; When he told me about the stretching I showed up right away and soon brought many delighted friends.

Working with Bob was such a relief since I'd been teaching various forms of strength training and aerobic classes and now I had finally found the source of fitness and mental health, the foundation of fitness and mental health. Having a free-attentional focus while stretching, walking or chanting made everything better. This opened me to the subtleties in what I was doing.

I never had that problem with exercising especially with stretching because I treasure the time I spend doing these. I understand with my entire life that movement is disease prevention - it is the single most important factor for creating an abundance of wellness. I am proud to say I have taught hundreds of people to stretch and it has made their quality of life much more positive. (Smiles produced by stretching enhance the stretching high). We become who we are and allow others to be themselves as well.

Robert Thurman once wrote an article for the Yoga Journal titled "The Inner Science of Yoga". It is a privilege to study with Bob who is like an Albert Einstein of the physical body. I am a confident teacher because of my association with him.

Best of luck with this truly exciting book!


EDIE C.
It is shear joy to experience stretching that awakens the body and mind. After I release from a pose and plant my feet back on the ground, I feel my spirit soar. My senses are heightened and I believe that I can do and be anything I want. I have just connected with source energy.


JOHNNY B.
Johnny B. traces the beginning of his troubling back injury to November 11th 2000 while he was in the middle of studying for two college midterms. He doesn’t know why or how it happened, but the pain quickly became so debilitating that he was forced to stand for 16 hours of every day. A philosophy student at college at the time, he stood in the back of his college classes for more than a year. In the summer, he stood in the same spot at his cubicle throughout the course of his three-month internship. He spent so much time standing that he developed Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome in both heels, but this paled in comparison to the sciatic nerve pain he experienced when he didn’t stand. After a lengthy process involving a variety of chiropractors (many of whose best intentions only exacerbated the condition), and Orthopedic Spinal Surgeons who gave him painkillers and anti-inflammatories, and not much else, he was at his wit’s end. He ultimately underwent IDET surgery, a new and dangerous surgical procedure that ended up worsening his condition to the point where he could no longer stand up for more than 10 minutes at a time. He was lying down 22 hours of every day. Sometimes he would go days without showering. He lost 20 pounds. Not even the strongest dosage of Percocet could cut through the pain. In the 2 1/2 years since his ordeal had begun, Johnny had seen 11 Western doctors and four physical therapists, making very little progress. In January of 2003, a week away from having fusion surgery, he met with Bob for the first time. Here are Johnny’s own words of how his life changed:

"I wondered whether I would ever have a day without pain, be able to hold down a normal job, or perform any of the most basic physical activities. But Bob’s holistic and intuitive approach did what no one else could. Now, I’m actually better off than before I hurt my back nearly three years ago, because not only am I much better off physically, I am also functioning at dramatically higher levels both psychologically and emotionally. After just three months of stretching and a healthy diet, I was able to stand for over five hours, and sit for over 45 minutes. After four months I could sit for over an hour and go for 14 hours without lying down. The excruciating nerve pain is almost completely gone. I used to take six different medications for six different things . . . after 10 weeks, I stopped taking all of them. My Interstitial Cystitis is gone; my allergy symptoms are gone; my tarsal tunnel syndrome is gone. I’ve gained six pounds and feel myself growing stronger and stronger every day. I no longer look like a stiff, decrepit, frail, pale-as-a-ghost 80-year-old. Meridian stretching has changed my life beyond my wildest dreams."


NANCY MELLON - AUTHOR STORYTELLING AND THE ART OF IMAGINATION
"Bob's stretching techniques open the body like a map. They help us discover countless pathways to empathy, compassion, and self-respect. Bob's stretching techniques awaken immediate empathy. With wonder and respect, they teach us how to listen in to the astonishing conversations between our bodies and our souls."


NANCY HESLETON
Through stretching (The Meridian Flexibility System), I have reawakened levels of comfort and aliveness in my life that I never even knew were there. Stretching has been for me a key that unlocks the door of mental chatter and lets me live my life deeply and fully at home in my own body...I relish the comfort of being at home wherever I go. It allows me to appreciate and enjoy each moment, each person I am with to the fullest."


PHOEBE BARNES
I have known Bob for a very long time - first as a friend, then as a teacher. I stretched at his studio in Boston for about 5-6 years; his work led me to become a teacher of Yoga. Bob first started with Yoga poses, but then he has taken the work beyond Yoga and it stands apart. A lot of what I know and understand I learned from Bob; he has been extremely generous and caring in sharing his knowledge and work. Needless to say he has had a profound effect on my life.

I am so excited and happy that Bob's work is finally being published. I find the work so real - you can test it and get instant results! And it is based on knowledge and experience, not some vague prescriptions of what one should do. I think people need this knowledge and understanding to help themselves grow and evolve. Definitely cutting edge!

I had a woman in my class who for a long time said she couldn't step forward into a lunge position. From Heart pose she couldn't step forward. I helped her stretch her hip flexors with resistance stretching and presto! she could step forward between her hands!. The expression of surprise, excitement and I DID IT! on her face was priceless. One of those ah ha moments of understanding.

Years ago, when I was studying with Bob, I always felt I had to go out and meet the world - I was inside myself and had to reach out to talk, to interact, to try to be a part of the world outside of myself. After doing Heart pose intensely the world came in to me! I didn't have to do anything, the world, the people, interactions happened and I was in it with ease and awareness. A profound change in perception and experience so palpable, I'll never forget it.

When I first started stretching, I was quite weak physically. Then one day I noticed I was doing my daily family chores - carrying bags of groceries in from the car, lifting and carrying children, hauling baskets of laundry up and down stairs - and no problem! Not only could I do these chores with ease, physically, but also mentally and emotionally the doing of the chores was no longer a burden. I felt good and confident in myself.

I have experienced a total life change practicing Meridian Stretching. I have healed abuse and neglect from my past in ways that psychotherapy could not help. I have become more and more myself - who I really am – with ease and grace. And for this I am eternally grateful.


REBECCA
I consider myself very undisciplined, but these stretches have made such an impact, that even when I'm in "slouch" mode, I find myself doing seated spleen exercises, small intestine arms, and other "Bob" things on a fairly regular basis. I do it without thinking because my body recalls how good it is for me. When people puzzle me, I have much better tools with which to decipher their behavior. I instantly became more compassionate upon learning about the different types, and that compassion has grown as I have deepened my understanding of the types through my own experience. When someone is moving quite slowly, considering everything, I have much more patience, knowing that this person may be a spiritual type and it's just how they work. Much more compassion and understanding...Bob taught me about my body; about muscles, tendons, ligaments and how they work. I have much more of an understanding about physical exercise than athletic friends who just go through the motions of a stretch before a run. I don't know of anything else that would have taught me in the same deep way.

I might have been a lost cause at a certain point without Meridian Stretching...I would join gyms and drop out, try exercise for a while. I really got to understand how important it is to take care of my body, feel it, relate to it, nurture it, and stretch it. I'm successfully disciplined in working out and from the beginning felt that stretching was great support for improving my diet, which has become more and more healthy.

I had done yoga on my own for years prior and taken many yoga classes, but never felt fully engaged with any of it until I went to Bobs classes, which had a depth to them that the others didn't. As much as the asana stuff in previous yoga classes had a spiritual side and after the classes the teachers would bow and say "namastae" or whatever it is that they said, it seemed like going through the motions and trying to be spiritual.

Bob's classes engaged me from the outset. Suddenly, I was a participant with my own unique body, and I wasn't someone following an instructor's lead; everyone was treated according to where they were, and Bob was able to connect with that right away.


ROBERT DURKIN - FORMER VICE PRESIDENT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, AND HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, COSTA RICA
Before I met Bob Cooley I was destined to walk like a penguin. My hips were atrophying to the point that my physical activity was limited. With Bob's work not only was I able to learn that the problem in my hips was related to quadriceps, hamstrings and the general operation of my whole body. He was able to reverse the atrophy and showed me how to maintain my body so I am still physically active. Today I work with others to share the genius of Bob Cooley's work helping them to overcome their limitations.


JAMES RUSHFORD
Bob Cooley integrates our body types into an understanding of what makes us tick. Through Meridian Stretching I am learning to reach for the stars and somehow still stay grounded. I have never been all that athletic--took up jogging in my younger days (college, early 20s) and have always walked a lot--but did have a desire to be more physical--then started doing yoga about 9 years ago--I liked it but then there was no challenge and the teachers were no fun--too serious and trying to be too Eastern --then I found Bob's form of stretching! it was fun and very physical--and you didn't have to go to the gym. and you could do it alone in your apt or in hotel rooms or stretch with friends--it was like finding the Holy grail for me!

I am not one to feel or sense changes going on inside my body, but I am very visual and after doing Bob's form of stretching--I saw the results in the mirror--my body was lean, shapely and my posture improved, and even my toes got straighter--people were commenting on how good I looked--this never happened before. Bob's stretching also brought out qualities in my personality that lay dormant for years--such as my physical competitive side--and the stretching seemed to moderate some negative parts of my personality--I became less compulsive in ceratin behavior--more moderate overall in certain areas of my life--and once you see your physical body improve, you start to think more about your diet and what's going into your body--so my diet improved and my digestive system became--lets say--much more efficient! I have Bob to thank for all this..


STEVE KING
Before starting with the Meridian Stretching System my physical and mental state seemed fine, or at least I thought so. The problem was that I never really felt like myself, and it was hard to get into shape again to run or bike, or play softball or golf, after being out of shape during the winter time.

I used to consider myself very flexible and strong from high school through college, and into my early 30's when I often competed in triathlon and duathlon competitions. As a matter of fact I had teammates in high school and college that were amazed at how flexible I was, one even called me "rubber band man" because of how far I could stretch my hamstrings. At the age of 30 I even qualified for the national championships in Duathlon, which consists of a 5k run, 30k bike, and 5k run. Somewhere after that I fell into a workaholic routine that kept me working long hours, and working out less and less, to the point that I hardly worked out at all. I am 43 years old now, and I met Bob and started on the Meridian Stretching system about two years ago. After a few private sessions with Bob I immediately noticed the difference in how my body worked, and how I felt about it. There were parts of my body that had seemed to whither away into weakness, and others that became stiff and lifeless. After the first sessions, and a little while of personal work on my own (directed by Bob's recommendations) my body started to transform into a much more fit, comfortable, and PAIN FREE state of being. I would have never though this to be possible without working hard every day at the athletic club for months on end. And this only took an hour or so a day every other day or so. This was just fantastic! At this point I also started to notice changes in how I felt, both about my body and about myself as a person. I'm sure this was happening all along, and didn't just happen at once, but certain epiphanies came to me about every week or so, unitl I started noticing them consciously. I noticed that I became more settled in who I am, more confident in my own abilities, and much happier with what I wanted to do with myself, both personally and professionally.

I've read many positive thinking and self help books over the years, and these helped me to a point. This system has taken me beyond what anything like that could do for me. The connection of my mental and physical beings was really together, and both were moving forward positively in amazing leaps and bounds. My friends and family have noticed that I'm still an"eternal optimist" but even more so now, especially since I've lost the horrible temper that I once had. I've lost that hidden feeling of eternal fear that once haunted me, and I'm now just so happy to look at myself in the mirror and see the person that I really am, the person that I'm proud to be, the person who I am happy to say is so eternally grateful to Bob for his Meridian Stretching system that I cannot express it in words.


ANNE MARIE
In Boston, I had the pleasure of working with Anne Marie, a woman who taught me much about the transformative power of stretching, and how flexibility has very little to do with natural athletic ability or heredity. Anne Marie had struggled with scoliosis since she was a teenager, her spine so curved and rigid she couldn’t stand fully erect. She showed up at the studio one afternoon dubious, but eager to give stretching a try. At first she struggled through most of the exercises and was close to giving up in frustration. After successfully performing some simpler versions of the same exercises, her confidence grew. As she repeated the poses, she noticed a physical difference almost immediately. Her back straightened; her posture improved; she began to experience remarkable (and what would prove to be permanent) suppleness in her joints.

A passionate stretcher now, Anne Marie remains self-deprecating about her abilities . . . quick to tell you she is not a "physical person." Her diminutive size (a petite 5 foot 2) belies a body of amazing power, strength and elasticity. She has more flexibility and strength in her back—her physical limitations notwithstanding—than any of the Olympic athletes with whom I’ve worked.


SUE
Sue, a successful Boston attorney, came to my studio in the fall of 1996, intrigued by what she had overheard at a dinner party about the Meridian Flexibility Center and Resistance Stretching. Sue made it very clear from the outset that she was not interested in the psychological aspects of stretching, but wanted to attend the class for the physical benefits alone. Over time, she gradually began to experience the emotional and psychological impacts of stretching in her own life and eventually became exceptionally adept at identifying personality types. Although stretching has modified her shape and functionality, this isn’t what she likes best about it:

"Stretching has enabled me to diagnose physical and emotional issues in myself and to know how to resolve them by stretching. For example, when I have a big event at work, I do particular stretches beforehand to increase mental clarity and to relieve anxiety. When going out for the evening, I do certain other stretches to enhance my own personality traits and to increase my capacity for fun. If I feel motion sickness or have a headache up the back of my neck, I know which stretches will relieve it. Generally speaking, after a stretching class, I feel unbelievably good, intoxicated in a very clear and useful way."


NIC BARTOLOTTA
Many people today join gyms and fitness clubs—putting their bodies through grueling workouts as a tedious duty rather than a joyous anticipation. By contrast, stretching puts you in the moment, allowing you to enjoy the experience for what it is. Even under the pressures of competition, stretching can bring a unique kind of awareness and self-possession. Nick Bartolota, a diver I had been training, demonstrated this to me one afternoon during a dive competition. Nick had just completed the last of 6 dives on the three-meter board. I and another trainer, Steve Sierra had rigorously stretched Nick between each of his dives. Nick’s scores had been high, but the competition was close, and he was by no means a shoe-in for first place. Rather than waiting to hear the outcome, Nick congratulated his teammates and headed back to the locker room. When asked why he left before the final scores were read, he replied: "Diving was fun today. I didn’t feel I needed to know who won." He was diving for the sheer pleasure of it.

That’s living light.


HAYLEE
When Haylee’s parents brought their daughter to see me, she had recently been diagnosed with scoliosis. The couple had been working with their chiropractor and had also contacted the International Scoliosis Institute in Wisconsin for help. Some doctors suggested Haylee use a brace and were threatening surgery. Unwilling to go that direction, the Chugermans brought Haylee in to see me for a stretching session. I and another flexibility trainer, Elizabeth Troy, worked with Haylee, and then her parents took the stretching protocol we had established to use with Haylee at home. At that time Haylee’s stretch routine involved a lot of gall bladder poses and others to affect the psoas muscle. Elizabeth continues to see Haylee every 3 or 4 months. Each time the poses change according to what Haylee's body is now capable of doing. At the onset of her diagnosis, her spine curvatures were at 21 degrees (thoracic) and 16 degrees (lumbar). Since this diagnosis, two X-rays were taken, both standing and hanging. Haylee has not only stopped the degeneration of the curve but she has also improved beyond what anyone could have imagined. Her curvatures recently measured 15 degrees (thoracic) and 10 degrees (lumbar)! Her pleased parents had this to say:

"Our daughter Haylee is a prime example of what stretching can really do. She is so much more flexible and her shoulders have leveled out, knees don't knock together and her prolapsed ankles are straighter! Haylee just turned 13 and we are very proud of her progress. It's hard to get a teenager up every day at 5:45 am to stretch for 45 minutes but she does it! Other people that I know whose children have been diagnosed with scoliosis are contemplating a brace and/or surgery in the future. It's terrible, and we have tried to explain that stretching and a commitment could change all that. We are committed to seeing this through and continuing her stretching regimen for a long time to come."


SUZANNE CAVEDON
I met Suzanne Cavedon in Boston. A year and a half before, Suzanne had received a positive diagnosis for Lyme disease. She had tried a number of traditional and alternative treatments, but none had changed her general condition. Her physician remained cautiously optimistic, but she sensed she was losing ground every day. In her struggle to beat the disease, she was forced to put aside two creative projects she had put her heart and soul into. Frustrated and devastated by the choices she had to resign herself to, she knew she had to do something proactive about her condition, and she had to do it fast. It was around this time that a friend suggested she stop by the Meridian studio. Suzanne describes what it was like to experience Resistance Stretching for the first time: "I watched as a few people stretched together at one end of the room, while another group chatted by a water cooler. Two very skilled and fit looking people worked together by standing on each other’s backs. It looked absolutely acrobatic, and like nothing I had ever seen in yoga. Was this a training camp for the Cirque Du Soleil? A second pair of students began to perform another feat of balance which I later learned was hamstring walking, a shiatsu-style massage practice adapted by Bob to warm up the hamstring muscles. I had a sudden awareness that all these people appeared to be very comfortable with each other. There was no air of competition here; rather there was a kind of relaxed dedication and respect for individual improvement. As I studied a poster that illustrated the poses and their associated organs, I realized I had come upon a very exceptional and timely opportunity. I couldn’t wait to begin!"

Within the sanctuary of the Meridian studio, Suzanne found the path toward her own healing. Over a four-year period, she learned how to listen to the language of her body and to sharpen her awareness toward her own body-mind connection and the world at large. As Suzanne shares: "Things were coming together and my return to health became an exciting odyssey of opposites. I was being trained to look at my own disbelief, and to expose the faith beneath it that pushed me forward; to untangle muscle and emotion simultaneously, stretch tendons and trust to their limits, improve circulation and dismantle anger. Bob challenged and pushed me beyond every pre-conceived limit I thought I had both mental and physical. I was exhilarated, exasperated and sometimes exhausted. I grew immeasurably in strength, endurance and courage . . . and one day, I finally dared to say that I was well, that I was better than I’d ever been, and that I was no longer afraid of what the future might hold. Meridian Stretching offers and delivers the promise of vitality, optimum health and peak performance to anyone who practices faithfully."


CHRIS MAHER
Chris Maher, didn’t exactly embrace Resistance Stretching with open arms. You might say he came into it with a fair amount of kicking and screaming! His friend Mark had emailed him one afternoon to tell him that he had just seen a segment on Good Morning America! about something called "Resistance Stretching," and suggested Chris check it out. Chris was a little miffed. A 30-year-old ex-Navy Seal in training for the Olympics, he thought, "Why do I need this?" A few days later his friend Bonnie called him on the phone. She said, "Chris, I saw Bob Cooley on Good Morning America! the other day, and I think you should check it out!" Now he was intrigued. Although Chris will tell you he typically learns things in "threes," he decided he wasn’t going to wait for the third sign to hit him over the head. After several phone call exchanges, we arranged to meet the first weekend in June for several days of intensive stretching. After stretching 6 to 8 hours a day for four days, Chris wasn’t aware of the transformation that had taken place in him until he arrived at the airport to go back home. Chris possessed the body and personality of the classic "Alpha Male." His energy was often very intimidating and frightening to people. A friend had taken to calling him "The Viking" because of his ferocious intensity. To his surprise, when he caught the flight back to San Diego he noticed that people at the airport didn’t seem intimidated by him anymore.

Later, when he taught his first fitness class after his return home, his students thought he had been abducted by aliens. Chris seemed uncharacteristically interested in what they wanted to do, instead of just ordering them around and giving them ultimatums. Later that fall, after several months of intense stretching, Chris returned to a school Homecoming celebration. Suddenly, people were coming up to him asking him what he’d been doing with himself. "You’re glowing," one classmate said. Another old friend told him that the last time she had seen him, she could barely tolerate being around him. His behavior had been troubling and alienating. She told him, "Now you’re almost back to the person I knew when we were kids."

As Chris explains, "Tension in my body was keeping me from doing the things I wanted to do, and from being the person I wanted to be. As I removed the tension, I began to change at an incredibly fast rate." Chris came out of an unusually traumatic childhood—physically and emotionally abused. The furious intensity of his behavior came from a place of great rage and pain. His stint in the Navy Seals served to only tighten and solidify the anger in him, and he soon acquired a reputation for being a rebel. As he continued to stretch, he noticed that he no longer needed to control his environment, to act out and domineer those around him. He was relinquishing his tight-fisted control. And as this happened, his demeanor and manner also softened. He was being "mellowed" and broadened by stretching.


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