Align with Source Workshop

Our next Align with Source workshop will take place on July 31st at 10:30am, see below for more info.

We look forward to having you join us for our Saturday Morning Meeting of 'Align with Source - Prayer - Your Connection To The Divine'. The power of prayer cannot be overstated. What is your prayer? Where is it coming from? How can it change your life? Today our world is finding its way back to Spirit and your prayer is one of the driving forces. Become a conscious participant in our growth to understanding and peace. Allowing yourself to step out of the clutches of past events and patterns. Welcome, assimilate and integrate it into your consciousness. Be the Light you are! Amidst all the chaos, you dear friend, are the heart of love and peace that will lift our world to a beautiful place. 2021 is taking us every moment, to experience what we could never before have imagined, urging us to embrace the One of our Highest Self and thus the ALL. Be guided by your Heart and then fear not. There is huge cosmic support to help us through this phenomenal period. You are one of our world's great Souls who chose to assist Earth & Humanity in the ascension to the 5th Dimension. This brings great growth, wisdom & rewards. You are to be commended for being here. Begin creating now!

Our weekly spiritual meetings are each unique & offer a special place where you will find many answers that help unlock hidden truths & your direction. Each meeting closes with a meditation. Sharing during meetings is strongly encouraged and so on occasion we might extend slightly over the 12 noon time set. We request your understanding in this. Our meetings are open to all, by invitation, so do feel free to invite your friends, if you wish. Forward this to others, or email me with their email ID to request an invitation.

We deeply appreciate your continued support, and thank you for your energy exchange at Venmo@Annaita-Gandhy or PayPal.me/AnnaitaGandhy which makes it possible for us to continue to serve you. To connect with us, please click the zoom link below. In consideration of other participants we request you to please put your video and mic off if and when you are moving around. Thank you!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83426388212?pwd=THphSFZ3T2FPMHJxa2tqcEVQK0Q4UT09

Meeting ID: 834 2638 8212
Passcode: 406372

The Rockfall Foundation presents Plywood Cowboy at the Rose Garden is less than a week away!

 The Rockfall Foundation is hosting our first ever benefit concert on Wednesday, August 4!

Join us in the Wadsworth Mansion's Rose Garden for a performance 
by Steve Dedman & Plywood Cowboy. 

Plywood Cowboy is an Americana band based out of the Connecticut River Valley.
You can check out their music on Spotify or Youtube. 

Tickets are $30 per person, with proceeds benefitting The Rockfall Foundation grants and environmental education programs. All are welcome!

This event is BYOB and picnic style - bring a blanket or lawn chair and some food and unwind with your friends after work! The Dope Fried Food truck will also be onsite, check out their menu here.

Tickets can be purchased here. 

We hope to see you there! 

The Rockfall Foundation promotes and supports environmental education and conservation in the Lower Connecticut River Valley. Since 1972, Rockfall has awarded grants each year to organizations, schools, and municipalities for projects and initiatives supporting environmental education, conservation, restoration, and preservation. 

 Click here to learn more about The Rockfall Foundation.

2021 SAINT SEBASTIAN'S CHURCH FESTIVAL TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 17-19TH.

SAINT SEBASTIAN’S CHURCH FESTIVAL TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 17-19^TH.

SPECTACULAR 20 MINUTES LASER SHOW TO COMMEMORATE 100^TH ANNIVERSARY ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18^TH AT 9 P.M.

 

"E Chiamamulu Paisanu! Primu Diu E Sammastianu!” This Italian phrase will be heard loud and clear once again on the streets of Middlefield, Middletown and beyond for the centennial anniversary of the Saint Sebastian's Church in Middletown. It is tentatively scheduled for September 17-19 a delay of a few months due to COVID-19.  

 

Church organizers are hoping that this year's feast will not be cancelled due to any new surges with the COVID-19 Pandemic like in 2020. Dr. Gene Nocera, one of three Chairmen for the Saint Sebastian's Feast stated "We expect there will not be any more surges. We are optimistic," because of this year's festival. "It is a Historic event and very rare because of the centennial anniversary," stated Nocera. 

 

Salvatore Nesci, the second chairman stated "This will be a very special year for us commemorating this milestone event of our faith, devotion, heritage and culture. The I Nuri will be participating, and my hope is to have more involvement and enthusiasm around this celebration than ever."

There will be a centennial anniversary mass on Sunday, September 19th and invitations have gone out to representatives from the Saint Sebastian's Church in Melilli to be present in which the Middletown church was modeled after. After the mass is over the "I Nuri" will enter the church shouting praises to God and Saint Sebastian for their help during the year.

 

In addition to the religious observances at the festival there will be food booths and rides as in past festivals.  Church organizers are planning a spectacular 2O minutes Laser Show on Saturday, September 18th at 9 p.m. stated Tri-Chairman Salvatore Nesci.  Nocera said the Laser Show will be similar to what is done at Disney World.  "It will be amazing," stated Nocera. He went on to say because it will be the 100th anniversary everything at the festival will reflect the significance of this major event for the church. "Everything will be connected to the 100th anniversary theme," stated Nocera.

 

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic church organizers want everyone to feel safe and have an enjoyable time despite the COVID-19 virus & the violent acts that occurred across the nation since January. Nocera stated the festival committee "will be following state and federal protocols regarding safety." There will be handwashing stations at the festival too whatever is needed will be at the event to keep people safe according to Nocera. "The food that will be served at the festival will follow health department regulations at that time," and the church will also follow the safety guidelines from the Diocese of Norwich stated Nocera. 

 

Nesci said "We anticipate large crowds and are keeping up to date on all the latest COVID mitigation strategies as guided by the CDC, State and Local health authorities."  There will be a police presence at the festival too. 

 

There may not be a food auction this year because of the restrictions of people bringing in food noted Nocera. He did say there is a possibility the food auction may still occur because these restrictions may be lifted by September.

 

Nesci stated "Our schedule of events will be out shortly which will outline a series of events that will take place throughout the weekend. You can expect music, authentic food, amusements and spiritual devotion including our Sunday mass and procession." Like in previous festivals the Sunday high mass will be broadcast live on radio stations WLIS/WMRD AM 1150 & 1420.

 

Church organizers are aware that the COVID-19 virus is a volatile situation, and it could change about a possible surge. Nocera stated "We know that is a remote possibility. We never know what will happen." He further stated, "We still have to pray that everything will go well."

 

If you have not been vaccinated against the COVID-19 Virus, please get your shot.  Please click on the links below to find out how to get yours.

https://portal.ct.gov/vaccine-portal

https://portal.ct.gov/vaccine-portal/COVID-19-Vaccination-Walkup

 

Enjoy the videos.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsIipfwC1X8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcqsP9Mg41c

 

Buona Festa!

 

Free Soil Testing for Lead at Plant Science Day

Soil in urban areas like Middletown can have a high enough lead content to cause serious health problems. Increased lead levels in soil are related to past use of leaded gasoline and lead paint on buildings. Lead paint that has flaked off or was scraped, sanded or disturbed in the past stays in the soil for a very long time, thousands of years, and can continue to be harmful. Lead poisoning can result in brain damage, behavior problems and other health concerns. 

 

If you live in an urban area or in a neighborhood with older homes, you should have your soil tested, especially if you have young children or are growing veggies in your yard. Lead can accumulate in root vegetables, and also in leafy greens. And just being in contact with soil with a high lead content can be harmful. 

 

You can have your soil tested for lead for free at the upcoming Plant Science Day in Hamden, CT on August 4, 2021. See below for more info, including instructions on how to collect a soil sample!  

If you would like a fact sheet about Lead Safe Urban Gardening, contact the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District at ctrivercoastal@conservect.org.

 

 

Connecticut Ballet at Wadsworth Mansion on Wednesday!

For your appreciation

The Connecticut Ballet Dances Under the Stars

Free Bluegrass Concert at Holy Trinity Church Today

 The Buttonwood Tree partners with the Downtown Business District to bring the Squeezebox Stompers to Holy Trinity Church for a free family-friendly concert today from 5 to 7 pm. 

The Squeezebox Stompers are a Boston area Americana Roots band. They have performed Cajun, Zydeco, Blues, Folk, and originals all over New England for the past 15 years. Members of the band have received Boston Music Awards and Songwriting Awards. They are noted for our step-lively up-beat music inspiring audiences to get up and dance.

Their instrumentation includes accordion, keyboards, fiddle, saxophone, harmonica, penny whistle, guitar, bass, and drums. The Squeezebox Stompers guarantee a Rockin’ good time at family- friendly outdoor events, clubs, dances, or private parties.

Lively fun for the whole family!

They often perform at contradances all around New England.

Location is 381 Main Street, Middletown. Seating opens at 4:30.

Donations to support The Buttonwood Tree appreciated

See more events at Buttonwood.org

 

 

Blues Night with Gene Donaldson & Friends 

Happening TONIGHT from 8-10 PM!

Join us at The Buttonwood Tree for a memorable performance featuring Blues Hall of Fame inductee, Gene Donaldson, and drummer Stephen Krzynowek.

Gene has starred in “The Motown Review ” 1985 thru 1992, Phil Guy Band, Lee “Shot” William’s, Mary Taylor, his own group “The Stingrays” , “The Redliners”, and “The Instigators “ In 2019 Gene was recognized as a “Master Blues Artist” and inducted into the Connecticut Blues Hall of Fame. He is still performing on a regular basis, averaging over 100 gigs a year since 1985.

A friend of Gene, Stephen Krzynowek is a drummer from New Hartford, CT. Aged 29 years with 13 years of drumming experience, he enjoys the soul and dynamic range of blues music, and is a recent addition to the Brass Horse Cafe house band.

$10 in advance, $12 day of show. Book your tickets HERE!

The XXXII Olympiad Of The 2020 Summer Olympics Games Opening Ceremonies Begin Friday, July 23, 2021 At 7 A.M. From Tokyo, Japan

THE XXXII OLYMPIAD OF THE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES SET TO KICK OFF WITH THE OPENING CEREMONIES ON FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2021 AT 7 A.M. FROM TOKYO, JAPAN

 

 

What are the Summer Olympics and how did it begin?  The Summer Olympics began in Ancient Greece approximately 3,000 years ago beginning in the 8th Century B.C. until the 4th Century A.D. and was held in Olympia, Greece as a way to honor the God Zeus according to History.com article "The Olympics Games."   

 

It was named after the town Olympia where the games began, and it was considered a holy site. According to this article about the ancient Olympics it stated, "Their influence was so great that ancient historians began to measure time by the four-year increments in between Olympic Games, which were known as Olympiads." The first recorded documentation of an event was in 776 B.Ç. which was a a 192-meter footrace known as "...the stade (the origin of the modern “stadium." An athlete Coroebus became the first Olympic champion of this event according to the same article.

 

Participation in the early Olympic Games in Greece were limited only to "...freeborn male citizens of Greece; there were no women’s events, and married women were prohibited from attending the competition," from History.com

 

What events were held in the early days of the Ancient Olympics? They had the "diaulos" which is the equivalent of today's 400-meter race, "dolichos" which is a long-distance race similar to the 1,500 meter or 5,000-meter races, the pentathlon, boxing and chariot races.

 

When the Roman Empire conquered Greece during the mid-2nd century B.C. the Romans continued the Olympic Games but the quality of the games deteriorated. In 67 A.D., Emperor Nero entered a chariot race. He declared himself the winner of this event when he fell off the chariot disgracing himself. "In 393 A.D., Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, called for a ban on all “pagan” festivals, ending the ancient Olympic tradition after nearly 12 centuries," according to History.com "The Olympics Games."

 

There would not be another Summer Olympics until the late 1800's due to the efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France. Who was he? This individual was a staunch supporter & advocate of physical education. He became interested in restarting the Olympics games after he visited the original site in Greece. 

 

In November 1892, he had a meeting with the Union des Sports Athlétiques in Paris. During this meeting he "...proposed the idea of reviving the Olympics as an international athletic competition held every four years. Two years later, he got the approval he needed to create the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which would become the governing body of the modern Olympic Games," according to History.com. 

 

The first Summer Olympics were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. There were 60,000 spectators who welcomed the athletes with King Georgios for the Opening Ceremonies. Plus, there were 280 athletes all male from 13 nations who competed in 43 events such as track and field, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, cycling, tennis, weightlifting, shooting and fencing.

 

This article reported that "The official symbol of the modern Games is five interlocking colored rings, representing the continents of North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. The Olympic flag, featuring this symbol on a white background, flew for the first time at the Antwerp Games in 1920."

 

The 2020 Summer Olympics Games were delayed one year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and it will begin with the Opening Ceremonies on Friday, July 23rd and it will take place at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium.  The games will last until August 8th. 

 

The Opening Ceremonies will take place at 8 p.m. Japan's time which is 7 a.m. here in Connecticut. NBC Television will broadcast the Opening Ceremonies live beginning at 6:55 a.m. on July 23rd. So, Set Your Alarm Clocks & Smart Phones Now. The games will still be called the 2020 Tokyo Olympics according to USA Today. 

 

This year's Summer Games will include 339 events across 33 sports. There will be 6 new sports which are Karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing, baseball and softball. Baseball and softball are returning this year after they were removed previously. 

 

The 2020 Summer Olympic Oath was revised.  Here is the new wording for this year’s Summer Games all of the Olympic Athletes will take during Opening Ceremonies and pledge to abide to during the Summer Olympics.

 

“We promise to take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of fair play, inclusion and equality. Together we stand in solidarity and commit ourselves to sport without doping, without cheating, without any form of discrimination. We do this for the honour of our teams, in respect for the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, and to make the world a better place through sport.”

 

For More Information about the Summer Olympics Games please see the following websites:

 

https://www.history.com/topics/sports/olympic-games

 

https://www.britannica.com/sports/Olympic-Games/St-Moritz-Switzerland-1948

 

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/olympic-oath-tokyo-games-opening-015623390.html

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/06/01/2021-summer-olympics-when-do-they-start-tokyo/7465013002/

 

https://www.today.com/news/tokyo-olympics-schedule-t220617

 

https://www.olympiandatabase.com/index.php?id=44926&L=1

 

 

Let The Games Begin 

Of The

XXXII Olympiad!

 

Enjoy the videos.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUHaUNpCn0o

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBsRx4wN_v4&t=1s

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaQW0PskI0M

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWdOFgDQIn0

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF0fEAFBOoM

 

 

 

 

 

CHEER Funding Campaign is LIVE

 We are live with our CHEER funding campaign as of today! Please consider donating at Patronicity.com/CHEER. 

Also, tonight is the kick-off event for the campaign as well as for our HeatSmart program. All invited. 

CHEER and HeatSmart offer Middletown residents valuable programming to reduce energy use and cost in your home, and to facilitate access to energy efficiency funds and lower-cost renewable energy. 

Align with Source Workshop

 

Our next Align with Source Workshop will take place on July 24th at 10:30am, see below for more info. 

We look forward to having you join us for our Saturday Morning Meeting of 'Align with Source - Unity Comes from ONENESS'. A world immersed in separation seeks to create a unified world. Oneness cannot be attained by further methods of Separation. Oneness can only occur when our Consciousness can only see ONE. The separations we are experiencing in race, religion, economics, politics, gender, home front are merely some expressions of our core attachment to separation. By boldly addressing the Separation within each one of us, and acknowledging where we are in our evolution, we can bridge these gaps and create a respectful, harmonious world. Becoming a conscious participant enables huge growth, understanding and peace, allowing you to step out of the clutches of past events and patterns. Welcome, assimilate and integrate it into your consciousness. Be the Light you are! Amidst all the chaos, you dear friend, are the heart of love and peace that will lift our world to a beautiful place. 2021 is taking us every moment, to experience what we could never before have imagined, urging us to embrace the One of our Highest Self and thus the ALL. Be guided by your Heart and then fear not. There is huge cosmic support to help us through this phenomenal period. You are one of our world's great Souls who chose to assist Earth & Humanity in the ascension to the 5th Dimension. This brings great growth, wisdom & rewards. You are to be commended for being here. Begin creating now! 
 
Our weekly spiritual meetings are each unique & offer a special place where you will find many answers that help unlock hidden truths & your direction. Each meeting closes with a meditation. Sharing during meetings is strongly encouraged and so on occasion we might extend slightly over the 12 noon time set. We request your understanding in this. Our meetings are open to all, by invitation, so do feel free to invite your friends, if you wish. Forward this to others, or email me with their email ID to request an invitation.
 
We deeply appreciate your continued support, and thank you for your energy exchange at Venmo@Annaita-Gandhy or PayPal.me/AnnaitaGandhy which makes it possible for us to continue to serve you. To connect with us, please click the zoom link below. In consideration of other participants we request you to please put your video and mic off if and when you are moving around. Thank you!
 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82772731523?pwd=b0poaFpoZVFoekJRSmJDLzJ4MFZmZz09
Meeting ID: 827 7273 1523

Passcode: 393290

How Smart a Park ...

OPINION  --  GUEST ESSAY

The Simplest Tool for Improving Cities

 Is Also Free

July 16, 2021
By Sara Hendren

___________________

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/opinion/cities-reopening-time.html

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — For decades, a stretch of Memorial Drive here that runs along the Charles River has been closed to automobiles on Sundays for the warmer half of the year. In the absence of cars on a four-lane thoroughfare beside the water, all kinds of other street uses blossom: skateboards, bicycles, hoverboards, strollers, wheelchairs and walkers, people on feet and on wheels now moving slowly enough to witness the late spring goslings, the ever-present sea gulls or the rarer magic and grace of a heron feeding along the water’s edge. A towering line of stately, centenarian sycamores forms an unbroken canopy over several blocks.

This section of Memorial Drive is formally called “Riverbend Park” during its weekend closures, but it’s not a park in any physical, structural sense. It’s an open public space transformed into a park without any construction. State park employees arrive in trucks in the morning and again in the evening at junctures in the road, placing gates, cones, and signs that cut off traffic. By dusk, the gates disappear, and traffic returns. That’s it — a park that is “found” from what’s already there.

It happens in cities everywhere: design, or redesign, created by time. A weekend clock turns an open street into something else entirely — a time structure organized outside commuter efficiency or traffic flows. Urban planners sometimes call it “temporal zoning.”

In 2020 and 2021, in response to the need for outdoor recreation during the pandemic, the city of Cambridge added Saturday hours for Riverbend Park, doubling its recreational time. Two luxurious weekend days of an open street from April to November — a provisional state of the built environment, like hundreds of other pandemic-led pilot projects happening right now all over the world. Each of these urban innovations carries with it a question: Can this last? Should it?

As cities across the world open up, urban planners and architects — and the rest of us — are looking around, asking whether our streets and buildings will be, or should be, the same again. But whatever we decide, there’s one transformational tool for building the cities that’s right in front of us, calling for more sustained attention: the design of time. We can creatively reorganize our collective hours and days in ways that help more people enjoy our cities and institutions. Time might be our most valuable resource for building the environments we want.

Covid-19 brought about temporal designs of other kinds. Starting in spring 2020, cities from New York to Bethesda to Berkeley repurposed city streets for outdoor dining, allocated by hours of the day. Retail shops everywhere, from grocery stores to booksellers, dedicated “seniors-only” browsing hours to vulnerable customers. In London and other cities, crosswalk signals were extended in length, an accommodation for more pedestrians in a season of fewer transit rides. It took responsiveness under duress to refashion the streets and spaces of our lives. Some of that ingenuity used the invisible tool of the clock.

Riverbend Park in Cambridge and “found” parks like it are created from a declaration, or more precisely a reclamation, of time — without expensive construction or risky permanent changes. Our collective clock got reset in a crisis, showing us that our time might be spent differently. The pandemic may ultimately force us — or beckon with an invitation — to see the clock as a resource for the cities we want, one that’s always been right in front of us: an undersung and powerful utility on a designer’s tool belt.

Designing with time may seem like an abstract concept best left to civic planners and public officials, but it’s important to remember: Sometimes the designer is an ordinary citizen.

In 1974, Isabella Halsted lived on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, one of the “river roads” that connects downtown Boston to its outskirts. She saw the Charles River every day — blocked by the constant traffic. This river — the city’s jewel, girded by plenty of green space — is mostly experienced at the pace of a car, rushed and blurry. But Ms. Halsted, who had grown up in nature, wanted more of that waterfront and green space to be present in its quieter, slower form — for herself and for her whole city. So she sent out several hundred postcards asking her fellow city residents whether they might support a novel idea: to close one section of the street to traffic on Sundays.

She formed the Riverbend Park Trust the following year. The group got permission to try out the idea, and held an enormous picnic in the street to celebrate. A small group of volunteers worked to raise the money to cover the basic expenses of Riverbend in its early form: portable toilets and park rangers. The Trust lobbied the Metropolitan District Commission to approve Riverbend one year at a time, before the idea’s momentum was sufficient to make it permanent. Since 1985, it has been managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Time has long been a way to rethink the design of cities and spaces. There are lightweight versions — a baseball diamond that is designated as an off-leash dog park in early morning hours, for example. Some shopping malls open their doors before regular retail hours, allowing people to walk their corridors for exercise — a safe and smooth passage especially appealing to older adults.

Time can also be a transformative tool for redesigning spaces with more ambitious goals in mind, making the built world more accessible and equitable. Many museums have made adjustments to their modes of physical access — ramps and elevators and audio tour apps — but meaningful accessibility might also call for a creative shift in time. At the Smithsonian Institution museums in Washington, D.C., for example, a time-based program called Morning at the Museum makes exhibits much more friendly to patrons with disabilities, especially those with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Ordinarily an exhibition is designed to be visually and aurally dynamic, with plenty of interactive sounds and lights. But when community research made it clear that some people with autism spectrum conditions found these features difficult to be around, staff members realized they were excluding a constituency that would enjoy the museum more without these intense sensory experiences. Instead of redesigning the architecture or software to make a permanent change, Access Smithsonian, the institution’s office for accessibility, designed a clock-bound structure to accommodate these sensory needs. On dedicated weekend days, one of the museums opens early for visitors with disabilities of any kind — an open door to whoever needs it, says Ashley Grady, the senior program specialist who oversees the program. The Morning at the Museum staff makes adjustments to some exhibit features — turning down the sound or dimming the lights and offering targeted pre-visit prep materials. For a set number of hours, a museum offers a particular welcome to an overlooked population.

In Mexico City, Gabriella Gomez-Mont, who ran the wide-ranging and experimental Laboratory for the City between 2013 and 2018, used time structures to recover play space for children. The city was home to more than two million children as of 2015, and its green spaces and parks are unevenly distributed. Ms. Gomez-Mont’s group worked with residents in a pilot neighborhood to recapture play space for kids where no built structure was available. They tried a time experiment once a week: one street closed to cars and open to children’s play for four hours at a time. Just like Riverbend Park, the idea had to start small — temporary, built to address the needs of local residents, while planting the seed of more substantive change. The group eventually opened eight “playing lanes” throughout the city, created a replication manual for other neighborhoods, and generated data to advocate for more sustainable play space in the future.

In this way, a city might change its shape to adjust to its citizens’ changing needs. Multiple, imaginative uses of public space could be made from what’s already in front of us. In 2020, cities such as Philadelphia and Chicago also opened play streets for children in lieu of traditional indoor summer camps. But open streets for children could be more than just a stopgap amenity for pandemic emergencies.

A found park, a welcoming museum, streets that shift their shapes for children: These are designs built with time as the sculpting tool. Ordinary people like Isabella Halsted have been able to reshape time, and make our public spaces more truly public. What other worlds might be possible, inside or outside a pandemic? Who else might take up the cause of a small shift in the clock, a rescue of time outside the machine of efficiency?

Sara Hendren is an artist and design researcher, and a professor at Olin College of Engineering. She is the author of “What Can a Body Do? How We Meet the Built World.”

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.

CDC and ISSA have something to say about Tight Hips

Sometimes, with Tight Hips,

It Doesn't Take Much

To Feel a Lot Better

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Excerpted from the following website:
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5717a9.htm

What Causes Hip Tightness? For most people, the biggest cause of tightness is what we do all day long: sitting for too long is a major culprit in tightening the hip flexors. When you sit all day at a desk, the iliopsoas, in particular, shortens, making the flexors tight. Some athletes are also more prone to tightness.

<-- Can you do that?  

International Sports Sciences Association
Excerpted from the following website:
https://www.issaonline.com/blog/index.cfm/2019/how-to-identify-and-correct-tight-hip-flexors. 
(This article is written for trainers, but is informative for anyone with pain in legs or hips.) 

“Tight hip flexors” is a buzzing term in gyms around the country. People in yoga studios are stretching out their hip flexors, runners are blaming a short stride and injuries on these muscles, and your clients are probably asking you about their own tight hips. 

It’s important to understand exactly what it means to have tight hip flexors so you can help your clients. They may genuinely have tight muscles in the hips that need stretching, but they may also need to strengthen the hip flexors or related muscles, like the glutes or core. 

Tackle the issue with information so you can determine if your clients really do have tight hips or if there is another problem. With a few new stretches and exercises, you can help those with tight hip flexors loosen them up, get better mobility with less pain, and avoid injuries. 

Want to help your clients achieve better results and reduce their chance for injury? Get the knowledge you need with ISSA’s Glute Specialist Certification.

What Exactly Are Tight Hip Flexors?

First, help your clients understand what the hip flexors are, what they do, and how you know when they’re tight. The term hip flexors refers to a group of muscles in and around the hips that help move the legs and the trunk together, as when you lift your leg up, bending at the hip. 

From here, the article becomes more technical, describing various muscles, tendons, etc., involved in tight hip syndrome.

____________

NOTE: I persist in posting this information on tight hips because every day I see men and women who appear to be walking in pain, or some indication of pain in their legs, hips, or back. And I've recently found, by experience, that with the right exercise, the pain and awkwardness caused by tight hips can be greatly eased. 

Try these

4-Min Stretch Routine for Hip Mobility  

Lower Body Workout for Active Exercisers

Or these

More advanced stretches**
7 Stretches to loosen up tight hips