Shirley Wulf believes in the benefits of StretchLab so much that she and her husband, Pat, are opening six of them in Georgia – the first of them is set for a grand opening Aug. 9 and 10 at the Mullins Colony Shopping Center in Evans.
“I’m real active. I do a lot of things – exercise classes, bicycling and lots of things, but as I got older, I experienced more injuries,” she said.
She learned the benefits of assisted stretching firsthand several years ago after meeting with a stretch therapist.
“I would go to him when I got hurt. He would stretch me, and I would recover,” said Wulf who wondered why the practice wasn’t more widely available.
While yoga offers stretching, Wulf said it wasn’t necessarily helpful for her because her competitive side would want to keep up with what others were doing on the mats and that could lead to additional injury, potentially negating the benefits.
About two years ago, the couple was living in Sarasota, Fla. when she saw a sign about StretchLab. With her curiosity piqued, she signed up for a free demo stretch and was all in. When they learned it was a franchise, they were eager to be a part.
The former Atlanta residents have a goddaughter living in Evans so they were familiar with the area. It seemed like a great place to open the business.
At StretchLab, the flexologists come to the business with some type of certification such as a professional trainer, or they have a related degree. Then, they undergo an additional 60 hours of training to be certified with StretchLab where they use a technique called proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation or PNF.
Clients are evaluated with a program called MAPS which “identifies movement inefficiencies across four critical categories: mobility, activation, posture and symmetry. The MAPS score is created utilizing 3D technology to perform a total body movement assessment scan in under 30 seconds, as users perform three body-weight squats,” according to a news release.
“One of the primary benefits is it increases mobility; it increases your range of motion; it increases your strength,” she said.
She said some people feel an emotional or mental release of stress and tension when undergoing the stretching.
“It you’ve ever had decreased mobility, you know how that can impact your quality of life. This really improves people’s quality of life,” she said.
Monthly memberships are available for four or eight visits per month, as well as stretch packages of 5 or 10 stretches. StretchLab Evans is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
