Kavala slipped into the training room quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone that was well into their workout. Already sweating, Kavala's body was warmed up from a run on the beach that she'd had to take to unwind after a particularly difficult case this morning. A man had brought in a prized dog who had a lump on her mammary gland. When Kavala had examined the dog, she was certain the lump was not going to be the first and had recommended the man have the dog's entire nursing system removed. She'd seen such things before, lumps that formed after a mature dog had delivered several litters. Then if left untreated, they would spread to her lungs and sometimes even to the small nobules beneath their chin and behind their legs. Once they were in the lungs or nodes, there was no way to treat them and all an owner could do was make the animal comfortable.
He hadn't been happy about the proposed spay and had told the healer it was kinder to put the dog down, since she was so finely bred and next to useless if she could give him no more pups to sell. He had seemed less worried about the dogs life than about his continued revenue and was upset at having to keep one of the females from the current litter back and then wait a full year to breed her before he could see profit from puppies. Then Kavala had quoted him the price of the surgery and recovery and he'd ordered her to put the dog down or he'd do it. HIs reasoning was she'd only eat and not bring money in after the surgery and the price didn't merit the dogs life. Kavala had disagreed. The man had been human - the Akalak were often times more honorable - but the resulting situation hadn't been pretty. After lengthy debate and the man demanding he watch as she surgically removed the bitch's mammary system and reproductive organs, he'd agreed she could retain the dog once he had proof she wouldn't be bred ever again for someone else's profit.
The dog was a sweet girl, a ruly caring mother, and Kavala had no problems performing the procedure and turning the dog over to staff for recovery support. Then the man had left, finally, and though she'd done the surgery free of charge she was hoping it would be worth it if the dog could then be found a home with a family who just wanted the dog for a pet.
The ensuing frustration had sent her to the beach for a run, to get the situation out of her head, and to unwind after the stress the man had brought on the clinic - every one of them. So when she'd gotten back from her five mile sprint, she'd checked on the dog and headed straight here for more training. It stopped her in her tracks though, seeing someone else here. She paused at the doorway, unsure of whether she should come in or not, and finally she proceeded, trying not to disturb. She'd hoped to use some of Elem's weights to work on her strength. But the thought slipped out of her mind as she watched Loken move, noting his grace and how he handled himself. She wished she could do that, those rolls, and thought how valuable they'd be if one got thrown from a horse or had to take cover from a zith attack and had to do so in a quick situation.
After watching a few moments, she moved, stepping off to one side and began to slowly stretch out again herself. One thing she'd learned as a healer was that simple stretching didn't necessarily need to happen before exercise. It could happen during and afterwards as well. Each had its benefit and they were numerous. So as Loken tumbled, Kavala began to work on her individual muscle groups, wanting to be fully ready in case he offered (or she asked which she was on the verge of) to show her a few things.
Kavala didn’t want to be muscle bound. It meant that sometimes people developed so much muscle that they had problems moving around because of their size. She was not ever going to be one of those people who was huge due to her strength training, but there was always a risk, especially as a healer, of being unable to move like she wanted. So, in order to keep that from happening, Kavala stretched. It was never the amount of muscles to blame when one could not move, but it was the fact that a person wasn’t flexible. Kavala needed to be flexible in her job both as a healer and an animal trainer. So she stretched to reduce muscle tension, preventing injuries and she stretched to live more fully in her body by developing an awareness of it.
Most people thought that stretching was best before working out or running. But the truth was muscle as a tissue was more flexible when they were warm and tired. So she often stretched after a run and before a true workout. The only stretching she did when she started was a joint specific one designed for the body parts she was going to start moving and keep moving throughout whatever it was she was doing – running, walking, chasing yearlings, and riding. She loved stretching even before and after surgery because she didn’t need any special equipment to do it and she didn’t require a bath afterwards due to the sweat. And by stretching routinely, the Konti maintained and even kept increasing her flexibility.
Kavala stretched by maintaining a point of mild tension well short of pain in various muscle groups and then holding the position for ten to thirty mini chimes. She stretched to the point she felt comfortable then moved on to a more intense stretch with various muscle groups. She tried to make her stretches smooth, without bounce, and kept her breath as natural as possible . Stretching was almost like meditating to Kavala. She started on her upper body, her arms, and her abdomen, then worked her way down to her legs and toes, carefully getting ready.
When she was done, she glanced up, caught Loken’s eye and smiled. “Mind if I join you? I’d really love to learn how to do those .. rolls?.. you were just doing.” She said softly, hoping he’d not mind sharing some information and teaching her a thing or two.
by Loken on March 4th, 2013, 8:26 am 
