notes from Bliss Out Playshop - March 2010
We spent two hours rolling out our muscles using the Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Balls. There were moments of sweet agony, anxiety sweat and endorphin highs. My goal was that the playshop inspires you to make a daily habit of exploring ways to roll out your tension.
First, a bit about the use and care of the balls. With a bit more give than a tennis ball, the soft, pliable rubber texture of these balls perfectly mimic the touch of a human. Being a natural material, they will decompose over time. You may notice them becoming softer and softer over time and eventually you’ll want to replace them. You can prolong their life by keeping them away from extreme temperatures and direct sunlight. So don’t store them outside, or in your car, or leave them sitting out all day. I keep mine wrapped in my yoga blanket.
As I have said, the balls will tend to release your muscle tension pretty instantaneously. If you’re working on a muscle that doesn’t seem to be giving up, it may be a sign that there is a bigger issue going on, as was the case in my 2009 injury. Be careful that you don’t exacerbate an aggravated muscle with excessive pressure if it’s not releasing.
Here is a list of the muscles, how we found them, how we rolled them out and some of the body actions we did to activate the “pin and stretch” or other massage techniques:
Piriformis - between the sacrum and the greater trochanter* - one leg at a time - tased & bicycle motion
Gluteus Medius - just below the posterior ilaic crest - tased, tiny hip circles, lift leg with external rotation, air bicycles
Tensor Fascia Latae - when you put your hands in your jeans pocket, your palms are on this muscle - laying on your side, chug
Iliotibial Band - the adidas stripe from your knee to your greater trochanter - roll the length
Hamstrings - put the ball at the “sits” bone attachment and roll the length of the hamstrings
Calves - place the ball in the knee pit and sit on your heels, move the ball down and do three or four different spots
Calves - sawing action in the space between the shin bone and the calf muscle, rolling on top of a ball and squishing the other ball into your calf from the top
Achilles tendon - pinch the tendon between the balls and make ankle circles
Feet - place the ball just forward of your heel. Keep your heel on the ground and crush the ball, trying to get your feet all the way down. use the other foot to stretch the top.
squeeze the ball with your toes and practice picking it up.
Bunion Fixer - heels together. ball at the bunion. hold the little toes down and lift the big toes up, then use your hands or a big rubber band to pull the big toes towards each other
Forearms - sawing action, using the mesh bag for more traction
Trapezius - in the bridge position, chug and shimmy, tased, phantom arms, mommy pick me up, hug yourself and tilt, stick your thumb in the ground overhead
Seven points along the inner aspect of the scapula - all the arm positions mentioned above
Mid back - the bra line, crunches and pulling one leg into the chest
Lower back - just above the crest of the pelvis, pelvic tilts
Quadratus Lumborum - deep side lower back muscle that I stuck my thumb into, drop the leg to one side and ‘bite’ the ball by sideways bending at the waist
the Rotator cuff series:
Supraspinatus - above the spine of the scapula, same arm movements as in Trapezius
Infraspinatus - below the spine of the scapula, same arm movements as in Trapezius
Subscapularis - this muscle is flush against the front aspect of your scapula, we put the ball on the ground and laid on it and then stuck our hand in the armpit area to make a subscapularis sandwich
Teres Major and Minor - posterior, lateral aspect of your armpit, the cleopatra position with a little chug
Occiput - the back, lower aspect of your skull, where your head meets your neck.
Third Eye - rest on it
Orbital space - eye socket
All around the face and scalp including above and below the jawbone*.
The SternoCleidoMastoid, neck muscle that goes from the rear of your jaw just behind your ear to the medial aspect of your collarbone, rolling ball in hand.
Subclavius - just below the collarbone* - we put a brick on the ground and laid on it, roll just beneath the collarbone along the length of the bone
Pectoralis Minor - from the anterior aspect of the shoulder to three ribs in the middle of each pec major muscle. Face down, arm movements, palm down lifting out to the side perpendicular to your body, and with palm up lifting arm right by your side.
______________________________________
*beware of a nerve highway in this area. If you land on it, you’ll feel an electrical ZING. Just move over a bit to the left or the right and the ZING will go away
Keep exploring. What I showed you is not everything. The more you play around with the balls, the more you will discover ways to roll out your tension and roll in your bliss.
If you're interested in getting more balls, please contact me. I can also offer private lessons in the rolling technique.
A set of balls and a private lesson makes a wonderful gift. The balls are $10 a pair and the private lesson is $147.
I will also be having another Bliss Out Playshop this summer. If you're on my mailing list, you will be notified.
Enjoy!
First, a bit about the use and care of the balls. With a bit more give than a tennis ball, the soft, pliable rubber texture of these balls perfectly mimic the touch of a human. Being a natural material, they will decompose over time. You may notice them becoming softer and softer over time and eventually you’ll want to replace them. You can prolong their life by keeping them away from extreme temperatures and direct sunlight. So don’t store them outside, or in your car, or leave them sitting out all day. I keep mine wrapped in my yoga blanket.
As I have said, the balls will tend to release your muscle tension pretty instantaneously. If you’re working on a muscle that doesn’t seem to be giving up, it may be a sign that there is a bigger issue going on, as was the case in my 2009 injury. Be careful that you don’t exacerbate an aggravated muscle with excessive pressure if it’s not releasing.
Here is a list of the muscles, how we found them, how we rolled them out and some of the body actions we did to activate the “pin and stretch” or other massage techniques:
Piriformis - between the sacrum and the greater trochanter* - one leg at a time - tased & bicycle motion
Gluteus Medius - just below the posterior ilaic crest - tased, tiny hip circles, lift leg with external rotation, air bicycles
Tensor Fascia Latae - when you put your hands in your jeans pocket, your palms are on this muscle - laying on your side, chug
Iliotibial Band - the adidas stripe from your knee to your greater trochanter - roll the length
Hamstrings - put the ball at the “sits” bone attachment and roll the length of the hamstrings
Calves - place the ball in the knee pit and sit on your heels, move the ball down and do three or four different spots
Calves - sawing action in the space between the shin bone and the calf muscle, rolling on top of a ball and squishing the other ball into your calf from the top
Achilles tendon - pinch the tendon between the balls and make ankle circles
Feet - place the ball just forward of your heel. Keep your heel on the ground and crush the ball, trying to get your feet all the way down. use the other foot to stretch the top.
squeeze the ball with your toes and practice picking it up.
Bunion Fixer - heels together. ball at the bunion. hold the little toes down and lift the big toes up, then use your hands or a big rubber band to pull the big toes towards each other
Forearms - sawing action, using the mesh bag for more traction
Trapezius - in the bridge position, chug and shimmy, tased, phantom arms, mommy pick me up, hug yourself and tilt, stick your thumb in the ground overhead
Seven points along the inner aspect of the scapula - all the arm positions mentioned above
Mid back - the bra line, crunches and pulling one leg into the chest
Lower back - just above the crest of the pelvis, pelvic tilts
Quadratus Lumborum - deep side lower back muscle that I stuck my thumb into, drop the leg to one side and ‘bite’ the ball by sideways bending at the waist
the Rotator cuff series:
Supraspinatus - above the spine of the scapula, same arm movements as in Trapezius
Infraspinatus - below the spine of the scapula, same arm movements as in Trapezius
Subscapularis - this muscle is flush against the front aspect of your scapula, we put the ball on the ground and laid on it and then stuck our hand in the armpit area to make a subscapularis sandwich
Teres Major and Minor - posterior, lateral aspect of your armpit, the cleopatra position with a little chug
Occiput - the back, lower aspect of your skull, where your head meets your neck.
Third Eye - rest on it
Orbital space - eye socket
All around the face and scalp including above and below the jawbone*.
The SternoCleidoMastoid, neck muscle that goes from the rear of your jaw just behind your ear to the medial aspect of your collarbone, rolling ball in hand.
Subclavius - just below the collarbone* - we put a brick on the ground and laid on it, roll just beneath the collarbone along the length of the bone
Pectoralis Minor - from the anterior aspect of the shoulder to three ribs in the middle of each pec major muscle. Face down, arm movements, palm down lifting out to the side perpendicular to your body, and with palm up lifting arm right by your side.
______________________________________
*beware of a nerve highway in this area. If you land on it, you’ll feel an electrical ZING. Just move over a bit to the left or the right and the ZING will go away
Keep exploring. What I showed you is not everything. The more you play around with the balls, the more you will discover ways to roll out your tension and roll in your bliss.
If you're interested in getting more balls, please contact me. I can also offer private lessons in the rolling technique.
A set of balls and a private lesson makes a wonderful gift. The balls are $10 a pair and the private lesson is $147.
I will also be having another Bliss Out Playshop this summer. If you're on my mailing list, you will be notified.
Enjoy!
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