Keeping it Limber

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF JARC

COVID restrictions turned many of us into couch potatoes, and the problem may have been more pronounced among the clients of JARC. The organization is dedicated to providing housing and services to enable adults with developmental disabilities to live full and meaningful lives.

JARC serves 108 residents in 21 group homes and more than 40 people who live independently.

During the pandemic, many JARC clients exercised less and ate more junk food, said Shaindle Braunstein, JARC’s executive director. But in March, the group home residents got a boost: a month of free assisted stretches at Stretch Zone.

The Michigan franchise of Stretch Zone, with locations in Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak and Livonia, is owned by Howard Luckoff and Sam Grey. They made the offer to JARC as a way of celebrating their fifth anniversary.

Luckoff, of Bloomfield Hills, is a long-time JARC board member and the organization’s immediate past president. Now on the board of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, he became interested in JARC because one of his four children, now 25, has developmental disabilities. He and his wife, Nancy, are members of Temple Israel.

Gray, a chiropractor, lives in Bloomfield Hills with his wife, Lori, and is a member of Congregation Shaarey Zedek.

Luckoff and Gray have been friends since they met in kindergarten at Burton Elementary School in Huntington Woods. After Luckoff, a commercial real estate attorney, retired from the Honigman law firm, Gray suggested they partner to buy the Michigan Stretch Zone franchise.

The JARC residents, many of whom suffer from longterm arthritis or pain from old injuries, found the Stretch Zone offer a good way to increase mobility and reduce pain.

“Many of these adults aren’t able to access services that can help their overall quality of life,” Gray said. “JARC residents are an important part of our community, and we are excited to welcome them into Stretch Zone.”

Braunstein appreciated the offer. “We want to keep them (the residents) as mobile as possible,” she said.

The company describes its services as practitionerassisted stretching, which some clients view as a mashup of yoga, massage therapy and physical therapy. Trained practitioners perform personalized routines using a patented strapping system and tables to position, stabilize and isolate muscles. The practitioner does the work, and the client gets the benefits, Luckoff said.

“Sam describes it as ‘lazy person’s yoga,’ but it’s so much more,” he said. “The method works by increasing the active range of motion.” Luckoff says he himself enjoys a stretch session after a hard run.

Based in Florida, Stretch Zone has165 locations in 16 states. Clients range from professional athletes to arthritic seniors.

The Stretch Zone method promotes increased flexibility over time, said Luckoff. New clients often start with two sessions per week, then cut back when they start feeling better.

“The product sells itself,” Luckoff said. “I can’t think of anyone who has tried it who hasn’t liked it.”

Sheryl Garfinkel, who has lived at JARC’s Keller Walch Home in Farmington Hills since 1991, enjoyed her recent stretch session with practitioner CJ Dedrich.

“When he was done, my knee didn’t hurt anymore. That makes me feel good,” she said.

Her housemate Caryn Martel, who has been with JARC since 1994, is also a fan.

“I feel so much lighter when I get up,” she said. “I want to come again and again.”

Stretch Zone services are not currently covered by health insurance, said Luckoff, but clients with health savings accounts can usually be reimbursed.

New clients interested in giving Stretch Zone a try can take advantage of a free introductory session.