Hi folks. Pardon the lack of blogging lately! 2015 is shaping up to be a busy year and I haven’t had much time in the evening to write.

It’s been almost a year since I finally joined a gym and started going every weekday morning and almost a year since I had to quit gluten. After I pulled my back during our 2013 move and dealing with some lingering issues sitting in a chair at work all day, I decided to finally prioritize my health in 2014.

To be honest, I started stretching my hamstrings because I could not even bend over my sink while brushing my teeth without pain. I had to lean my arms on the sink itself to support myself while bending over. I was bending all wrong!

For the entire year, I practiced proper bending whenever I had a chance. Every time I bent to load the dishwasher, fold laundry or pick something up off the ground, I really tried to consciously utilize my hamstrings instead of forcing my back to do the work.

At night, I made extra effort to hold a strong stretch for 10-20 seconds while brushing my teeth. Slowly, slowly, I could reach a bit further until I finally touched the ground; First with my fingertips and now with my entire hand.

I have to say… I feel surprised, proud and impressed with my results. I could never touch my toes as a child, even in gym class at the age of 8, so to be able to put my entire palm on the ground really astounds me! I’m not sure if it is the gym, the gluten free-diet or both in addition to the stretching, but I’ll keep it up!

I plan to work more on my flexibility in the next year to improve it even more. Let’s see where I get by 2016!

Can you touch your toes?