I've been really active my entire life, but I didn't really get an understanding and an appreciation for stretching, flexibility and mobility until I trained for the NYC Marathon in 2014. I had been running all my life, long distance, short distances and in between through track in high school and Army training but I had never run 26.2 miles all at once. So I wanted to understand how to sustain and stay safe and healthy while training. I started taking mobility classes, yoga classes and starting integrating deeper stretches. These stretches helped keep me flexible and lessen the tension in my muscles after long runs. This is when I realized how important stretching was for everyday use as well as athletes. A yoga instructor I followed for about two years started developing a stretching program specifically geared towards improving our basic range of motion and I decided to join the program. I started working with close friends giving them stretching techniques and incorporating 15 minutes daily into my routines after each workout and started to see improvements in my squats, lunges and just everyday tasks. So I decided to try my hand at formally providing flexibility and stretching to others. For me, stretching and flexibility is about being able to stay physically able for as long as you can. So my classes will provide long passive stretching that will allow each student to see a progression over time as long as they continue to practice, breathe and be willing to stretch past their boundaries.