Bob Cooley, author of The Genius of Flexibility, experienced a near fatal accident in the late 70’s that forever changed his life. As he and a friend were crossing the street, they were struck by a drunk driver. He survived his friend did not. His life search to regain his physical capacities and his mental connection to his life and body, led him to The Genius of Flexibility.

This is no ordinary story, yet some people may be familiar with the themes of his search after experiencing severe trauma themselves. Bob felt disconnected after his accident, disconnected with his body and his life. He felt something missing, though he couldn’t explain it.

After a year and a half of visits with physical therapists, orthopedic and neuromuscular specialists, sports medicine practitioners, Bob was very depressed. He did not feel like he was making the progress he wanted in his recovery and only stretching seemed to offer some relief. Yet he noticed that even though he stretched as instructed in rehab, neither he nor the other patients were having great results.

Paying attention to this insight, led Bob on a quest to discover what he would latter identify as a new and better way to stretch. He calls it resistance stretching, in which you must lengthen and contract the muscles at the same time when you stretch. He came to learn that stretching certain muscles would also affect specific organs, and that traditional Chinese medicine teaches that organs match up with certain meridians.

This method of stretching also played a role in positively affecting Bob’s physiological health. He found as he opened his muscles it opened his heart and mind in ways he never would have imagined. He opened a studio to offer this stretching to others and it changed his life forever.

Dana Torres, an Olympic swimmer, worked with Bob and went on to win three medals in the 2000 summer Olympics. When she was asked to do segment on Good Morning America showing her training tips, she recommended they do a session with Bob Cooley. From this segment airing, Bob became flooded with responses from the public. Everyone wanted to know what he did, how he did it, and if he could help them too. From elite athletes to regular folks recovering from injuries, Bob’s techniques helped them all.

Bob’s determination to regain his normal range of motion led him to discover that increasing his flexibility reconnected him mentally and physically to his life. He considers this a gift and his book, The Genius of Stretching, is certainly a gift shared with the reader.