Customer Reviews

200+ Table Stretching Techniques + More

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Very informative, but this video is too much like watching an awkward high school student give a demonstration speech.

Although there are some excellent stretching ideas, I found there are too many "cons" to make purchasing this dvd for the $25 I paid for it worthwhile.

* There is no comfortable flow to the demonstration. Occasionally, the instructor awkwardly stops to check his notes to see what's next in the stretching sequence. I have no problem with this during a live demo but it does not belong in a professional dvd. That's what editing is for!

* There is no comfortable flow to the instructor's speaking. He says "um" a bit too much. Also he says "next technique", "next one", or "another stretch" before each example...and when there's 200+ shown techniques, that's a HECK of a lot of next technique's, next one's, and another stretch-es.

NOTE: In the Amazon Editorial Review of this dvd it does state "This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media". However, I don't think that gives a good representation of exactly what one is getting when purchasing this item. The following are what I found to be the case with this dvd.

* Very poor sound quality.

The video is shot in a very sterile looking, completely empty room giving the video no visual appeal and the emptiness of the room means there is an echo when the instructor speaks.

* Home movie quality of video

The picture quality is mediocre as though filmed with a home camcorder.

The camera person would sometimes zoom in or out of a shot but was very choppy doing so. Also he or she would mess with the focus while filming thereby blurring the instructor in the process. Other than zooming in or out, there are no other camera angles showing the stretches.

* Very poor editing! One moment the instructor is standing in one spot after completing a stretch, the next moment he pops up in a different location by the table.

Yes, I am able to name some positive aspects of purchasing this video.

This dvd contains numerous stretches for prone, supine, and side-lying positions. There are also sections on Active & Passive Muscle Tests, and Posture Evaluation.

The instructor knows the anatomy, he knows a lot of good stretches, and has a pleasant speaking voice. However, these reasons alone are not enough to warrant investing 20-plus dollars for this dvd.

Again, let me say there are many excellent stretching ideas in this dvd. I recommend purchasing IF you are prepared in advance for the poor-to-mediocre production quality AND you can find it for $10.00 (maybe used?) or less.

As a relatively new practicioner, I've found 200+ Table Stretching Techniques to be very helpful in adding the stretch modality to my customized Swedish + deep tissue sequences. In the first few viewings, I was sometimes distracted by the instructor's over-long belt and felt that the otherwise good quality of the demonsatrations would have been enhanced if someone had given a bit of thought to what he should wear. I eventually learned to consider this detail like the occasional ant at the family picnic --something to brush aside and get on with it. I found the moves to be easy to view and to implement, and I was pleased with the number: enough to keep me busily integrating for some time to come. Since I've been integrating some of the stretches in my sequences, my clients have given appreciative feedback. And that, for me, is the best test of how good a product it is.

If you intend to watch this straight thru, be prepared for a nap. It really just goes thru one stretch after the next, after the next, after the next. I only watched it once (split into 2 viewings on account of the nap) so I don't remember exactly what I think it's missing. If I remember correctly, the DVD should more clearly explain which muscles are being stretched, show the assisted motion from more than one angle, explain where and how to properly hold/support/touch the client's body. There is one part on muscle testing and food allergy testing towards the end that is pretty interesting. The body never lies and you'll definitely get a more objective answer from a person's body than from his/her mouth, so seeing how to get the body to "answer a question" was good.

I happen to like Massage Nerd. Yes, it is like a home video, but a really useful one. For this professional massage therapist I learned many new techniques and I do pull this out to review every now and then. I can't say that I do that with many other DVD's in my collection. It would even be helpful to a non-professional who wants to learn a few stretching techniques to do at home. No it doesn't always flow well, but I don't need that. I wanted to learn table stretching techniques that I could incorporate into my regular massage sessions. This DVD did that for me. I can come up with my own flow - I had one already.

There are so many stretches on this DVD! The biggest drawback is that there is no good index of the stretches. There is one whole chapter on posterior stretches. The chapter is almost 1 1/2 hours so it takes a while to watch the whole thing and then you need to make notes if you want to be able to refer to a particular body part. I think there is great information here but it is going to take me a while to be able to integrate it into my everyday work.