“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” —Bruce Lee   STRENGTH PLUS flexibility in the proper timing and intensity yield coordination. Muscles are designed and programmed to do two simple...

  ONCE UPON A TIME… a father asked Bonnie, “Can you help with turned in feet?” Bonnie had just fixed his shoulder during a Myotherapy demonstration at a local lecture sponsored by the business community in western Massachusetts. After two months of static...

  Sixty Years Ago Almost “COME UP WITH something concrete… And don’t scatter your shots…. Make this physical fitness… Do something about girls.” —Vice President Nixon Bonnie describes this “as a moment of hope.” Vice President Nixon was outlining the tasks for...

In 1929 my mother sent me to Marymount, a convent prep Academy. The first year I was there the gym, big, bright and polished, held every piece of gymnastics equipment ever invented. And there was field hockey, a pool and track and field. At the start of my sophomore...

IF YOUR BACKACHE, headache, hip pain or any other muscle-related pain has left you wondering “Where did this come from?,” think first about your muscles and how you have used them. “Muscles are witnesses to our adventures, athletic endeavors, the blows we suffer at...

THE TERM TEXT NECK is being used to describe the injuries and pain sustained from looking down at wireless devices for too long. It is also described as a “poor posture” problem that can lead to early wear-and-tear on the spine, degeneration and surgery. Physical...

IF YOUR GYM CLASS was boring or you didn’t like sweat, you probably had menstrual cramps once a month, nine months out of the year… even if you didn’t really. Had you had a decent gym class, exciting and relevant, you would have had great abdominals and probably no...

SIR JOHN CHARNLEY, a British orthopedic surgeon with a mechanical bent, is recognized as the pioneer and founder of the modern hip replacement, which is now one of the most common operations in the UK and around the world. Fifty-four years later, the Charnley method...

LIKE YOUR OTHER PARTS, your feet cannot be separated from the rest of you. Hips influence knees and feet, and feet influence knees and hips. If you are a dancer or gymnast you probably have very strong flexible feet. If you are a dancer, especially on point, your feet...

THE NURSERY RHYME tells us that little girls are made of “sugar and spice and everything nice.” And little boys? “…snips and snails and puppy dog tails.” I prefer Johnny Mercer’s “life is what you make it,” and that goes for girls and boys and their muscles too. There...