Stretch Like a Tiger
What you do in the first few minutes of your day sets the tone for the rest of it. That’s why it is important to begin your day with thoughts of happiness, success, great health, and prosperity.
As soon as your feet hit the deck, you want to be launched into the realm of success – the “get something done today” realm. No more putting off till tomorrow what you can and should do today. No more dilly-dallying.
One way to help set yourself on this course is to always have a daily goal – especially a daily fitness goal. And if you achieve that goal first thing in the morning, the rest of the day is going to be awesome.
Yesterday, when my son Frank and I arose, I asked him how many push-ups he wanted to do. He chose the number – I counted. Then I asked him how many Hindu squats. Again, he chose the number and I counted. We did the same for sit-ups.
Then I went to work on my own Hindu push-ups and other stretches.
The Hindu push-up is a bit like a cat stretch. I’m not a big TV watcher, but, contrary to what some think, there are some good stations. Animal Planet is one of them.
Last night I watched a special they had on wild cats. Everything from lions to tigers to cheetahs to leopards to mountain lions and a lynx.
Watched a mountain lion nab a deer, drag it through the forest, latch onto its neck, and PULL it up a tree to bend it over a branch (for safekeeping). Now, let me tell you, that’s some major league strength.
So watch how wild – as well as domesticated – cats stretch. They stretch backward hundreds of times per day. And they do it as soon as they wake up.
You, my friend, would be well advised to do likewise. It will not only increase your strength and flexibility – it will ENERGIZE you for hours.
Move your body the way it wants to be moved. Stretch like a cat and you’ll know why cats stretch the way they do.
[Ed. Note: You can learn all about this form of exercise in Matt Furey’s Combat Conditioning book and DVDs. Go gobble them up NOW by sprinting over to his site. .