The journey that led to the development of our technique was in progress more than 40 years, and it will continue for as long as we practice and teach; therefore, there are many people to thank. This book would not have been possible without my beloved husband, Chris. He was instrumental in the entire creative process, and he has been my true partner. We have spent countless hours working together on the book, side by side on our dueling laptops, without a single disagreement. Although I spent many years studying the science of flexibility and stretching people before we met in 1998, his inspiration, guidance, support, vision, and love transformed my work and helped it evolve into what is today.
I especially want to thank my parents for having always been there for me, believing in me, and supporting all my dreams and endeavors. My mom taught me that I could become anything I desired as long as I kept my feet planted firmly on the earth and my spirit reaching for the heavens. My father advised me to find a special niche, become the very best at it, and never stop improving. I know they were proud of what I created and they smile down on me knowing I am living my dream.
Numerous influences have culminated in the beliefs Chris and I share about stretching and flexibility as a means of tapping into human potential, beginning with our mutual backgrounds in dance and movement. I began dance training at the age of 4, and Chris began dancing at the age of 10. I extend my thanks to the many dance teachers and students I have had the pleasure of working with over the past 40 years for providing endless inspiration as to all the possibilities that exist in movement and flexibility.
Special thanks to Tim McClellan and Rich Wenner, who introduced me to the world of strength and conditioning at Arizona State University in 1995. They gave me a chance to develop my techniques into a functional flexibility that transferred to the field for athletes. This opened the door to my being chosen as the flexibility specialist for the 1996 U.S. men’s Olympic wrestling team. The experience of working with athletes of this caliber set the benchmark for the role that sport-specific flexibility can have in athletic success.
I must thank my many clients over the nearly 20 years I ran my clinic for believing and trusting in my work. By sharing their lives and providing feedback, they have participated in the development and growth of my vision. They have taught me a great deal about the many differences and similarities in the human body and about its unlimited potential.
A very special thank-you to my athletes for the time, trust, and devotion they have invested in me over the years. They have truly inspired me to continue improving the methods of stretching to help them reach their performance, prevent injuries, and achieve health and fitness goals. It has been an honor and a privilege to be a small part of their careers.
Last, but most important, is a heartfelt thank-you that I lovingly send out to all our students and our teaching teams in the United States and Canada. We have closed our clinic since writing the first edition of this book; we are now dedicating our time to teaching and writing. My present focus is how to best educate and inspire our students, teachers, and readers. The people who bring us joy and fulfillment are those whose lives have been influenced by our work, both professionally and personally. I feel truly blessed to have touched so many lives and to have those people touch and change so many more.
—Ann Frederick
First, I would like to thank my wife. This book is a product of and a testament to the joy that comes when we have the opportunity to create something together. I will never forget the first time I got on Ann’s table and, through her stretching techniques, experienced the magical sensation of pain and tension melting away; this is the feeling shared by her clients every day. She is a master teacher and a divine inspiration, and I thank her for personally training me in her original philosophy and system of stretching and for sharing with me all the things that drive her passion in this field.
Thanks to my parents for encouraging me to follow my heart in all my endeavors, even when the path I chose was not exactly what they had in mind for me. A very special thank-you to the first teacher and person who made a significant impact in my life, Sifu Sat Chuen Hon, for helping me create a solid spiritual and physical foundation. Special thanks to Dr. Mei-Hsiu Chan for her guidance in teaching me deeper levels of life experience through profound healing and training of the body and mind.
I am truly grateful for all the dance teachers who freely gave of themselves when teaching their passion and joy of movement to me: Wilhelm Burmann, David Howard, Melissa Haydn, Gloria Fokine, and Robert Blankshine. Thanks to Romana Kryzanowska and Kathy Grant for introducing me to Pilates and to Juliu Horvath for training me in his system of Gyrokinesis before it was known by any name.
I want to thank my mentor and guide in manual therapy, Marika Molnar, PT, LAc, and founder of the famed Westside Dance Physical Therapy practice in New York City. Without her inspiration, I would not be the kind of manual physical therapist that I am proud to be today. Liz Henry, PT, and Katie Keller, PT, were also wonderful guides on that journey. I am also thankful for the inspiration of the many creative collaborators who frequented that magical place, among them Jean Claude West, Ken Endelman (founder of Balanced Body), and Brent Anderson (founder of Polestar Pilates).
—Chris Frederick
There are many others who contributed to the creation of this book. A very special thanks to Michael J. Alter, whose first book in 1988, The Science of Stretching, provided scientific validation of an emerging field of flexibility science. Michael laid the groundwork and inspiration for others to follow, and we hope that we do his work some justice. He was kind enough to share his valuable time and knowledge by reviewing our first-edition manuscript, sending research, and discussing the future of flexibility science. Thanks also to Wayne Phillips, PhD, our dear friend and colleague, who was instrumental in the pursuit of research in the field, and to James Oschman, PhD, who was inspirational in his brilliant work relating to energy medicine and the wonders of the fascial system. Special thanks to our friend, colleague, and mentor, Thomas Myers, who gave us a new perspective on how to see and experience the body. After spending 12 weeks training with him in Maine, and being exposed to the tremendous volume of work covered in his book Anatomy Trains, we can truly say that we “changed our bodies about our minds.”
To all the students who have trained in our technique, thank you for your trust, time, passion, and commitment. You motivate us to be our very best and to continue evolving. We learn so much from you every time we teach, and we are eternally grateful for your constant faith and never-ending inspiration.
Thanks also to our models—Jon Lempke, Emily Grout, and Christine Sijera—for donating their time and talent. Avery special thanks to Bertrand Berry, who is always a joy to work with and is one of our all-time favorite athletes. We thought it only appropriate to have one of our (now retired) NFL players be the model for the assisted stretches on the table in chapter 8.
We would like to thank all the fine folks at Human Kinetics who have made this second edition possible, particularly Michelle Maloney, Acquisitions Editor, Laura Pulliam, Developmental Editor, and Ann Gindes, Managing Editor. They were a pleasure to work with and were extremely helpful and understanding throughout the entire writing process.
We thank photographer Neil Bernstein both for his outstanding work and for his amazing ability to understand what we wanted to convey. Thanks so much to Bruce Hogarth, our artist, for helping us interpret our new concepts of depicting the fascial nets. We also thank all those we don’t know by name who had a part in helping this book come to fruition.
Finally, we’d like to thank the readers of the first edition of this book who e-mailed us with amazing testimonials of how this book eliminated chronic pain, radically improved mobility, and optimized fitness and athletic performance!
—Ann and Chris Frederick