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Miracle Ball Method Training and Instructor Discount. Group of students on floor during a training session.

Saturday Summer Camp of the Method

Saturday Workshop Series Testimonial Email

I wanted to share a recent email from someone in the Saturday Workshop Series. It is a diverse group of people from around the world. She signed her email, Saturday Summer Camp of the Method! I think it says it all. For those of you thinking, what could I do to learn more? Here is an email from someone who had used the balls for a while, and just began taking ZOOM classes. The classes are great for taking your body to another level in the most miraculous way! (more…)

Elaine Petrone from the Miracle Ball Method showing how pillows impact the body

Why Pillows? Do They Really Impact Your Back, Neck And Body?

Why Pillows? What You Need To Know

I am always amazed at pillow commercials. There is always a new pillow that is going to solve our back and neck problems, and give us a good night’s sleep, all at the same time. I love a good pillow just as much as anyone. I use them to read, watch television. I am not sure why we think they are necessary to keep our spine in correct alignment while we sleep. If the body was meant to have a pillow for sleep, then I think we would have been born with our own little pillow to match our bodies. Our bodies know how to adapt to all kinds of positions. Sleep is one of them. When we try to control our sleeping positions, we are going down the wrong road.

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The Miracle Ball Method Mind Body Connection, Part 2 - Rebooting

Reboot Your Mind Body Connection: The Miracle Ball Method

Part 2: Mind Body Counseling: Rebooting

In Part 1 of the blog on the Mind Body Disconnection, we began to make a distinction between the thoughts about the body and feeling your body. In other words, having a personal experience with your body vs simply listening to information about your body. No one feels what you feel. That is why finding long term answers to lower back ache issues, anxiety, chronic injuries, are so difficult. We are all unique with many factors that contribute to how we feel physically. It becomes extremely difficult to say any one thing works for everyone.

Let your body reboot using your kinesthetic sense.

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The body mind disconnection

Discover How The Mind Body Connection Can Work For You: Relieve Stress, Reduce Pain And Reshape Your Body

Part 1: The Mind Body “Dis” Connection

We leave out that little piece when we talk about the mind body connection. Yes, there is a connection between the mind and body. Although, I would describe it more heavily towards how disconnected we are from our bodies. Many of us make the mistake that “thinking” about the body, is the same as “feeling” the body. We “think” about the body in the same way we plan our day. These are all thoughts. Its kind of like “thinking” about what you are going to eat for dinner. That is quite different than having the experience of tasting your dinner.

Thinking about your body without physically experiencing your body, will not allow your body to recover, self-adjust, and recalibrate daily. As a result, we build up years of adaptations to injuries, coping mechanisms for stress and postural issues, that can result in many chronic aches and pains.  The disconnect is important to understand because we keep “thinking” about the solutions. But it is the experience of increased “feeling” or “sensing “the physical body that will heal you. (Take a look at my classes that help reconnect your body and brain!) (more…)

how to relieve excess muscle tension

How The Miracle Ball Method Helps Relieve Excess Muscle Tension And Anxiety

A Member Of My Family Recently Got Into A Serious Car Accident

I wonder why it is so hard for most of us to believe that the body knows how to make us feel better. It does take a bit of understanding, how to experience the body helping us to recover from our day to day stresses and strains, painlessly and easily. Most of us are driven by information and complicated thoughts related to what it will take to improve how we feel physically and mentally. Having done the method for my entire adult life, I have experimented through many difficult times. When I was sure nothing would help, I would experiment. When the last thing I wanted to do was breathe, I exhaled. When every muscle in my body responded with a resounding “no” just go to bed, nothing will help, I gave my body a chance to recover. It became a curiosity to me, why does this work? And why is it so easy if I step out of the way. (more…)

A Miracle Ball Method class with Elaine Petrone

Feel Your Body?

You don’t know what you don’t know.

It’s an interesting thought. It very much applies to our bodies. We don’t feel what we don’t feel. Moving freely, relieving stress, many times requires us to feel our bodies in ways we are not familiar.  When we go about it this way, we begin to notice our body actually gives us some clear direction and can give us feedback to take the stress off chronically tight muscles, being emotionally drained and more.  Think about it, our bodies know how to do it. But to unlock this wisdom we need to ask the right questions of the body. That in turn will relieve the symptoms, or help you move easily and reshape your body. But for now, most of us, we don’t feel what we don’t feel.

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That Irritating Muffin Top 

That Irritating Muffin Top 

A ‘Muffin Top’ is really just a silly way of referring to the muscles around the middle of the body that are somewhat underused.

Many of us exercise and get disappointed when our shape remains the same. We want our core or waist area to slim down, tighten up, or lengthen, yet it stays the same –but– other areas of our body get tighter and tighter.

Very, very irritating.

Let’s move this picture around!

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The Miracle Ball Method - Elbow on the Ball

Elbow on Ball

Elbow on Ball is a great way to relieve stiffness in your shoulders and tightness in your neck. See page 223 in The Miracle Ball Method™ book for more details — and check out this video to see ball placement. Remember to take it slow and BREATHE…

Talk About That Back!

Most of us have areas of the body that are extra tight at the end of a day. Sometimes that tightness can even prevent a good night’s sleep and last through the next day. For many, the low back is one of those areas. Take a look at the video and see how just bending the knees can ease the low back muscles and enhance much needed circulation. By adding the ball under your pelvis, (either one or two strategically placed), your body begins to “un”do all the extra tightening in the low back. Let gravity and this great ball placement do the work for you. 

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The Knee Bone’s Connected to the Hip Bone…

Talk to any runner, dancer, tennis player, martial artist, etc. and they will tell you how important healthy, happy knees are to the rest of their body. But as a lot of us experience — athlete or not – our knees aren’t always happy.

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Gravity

Gravity

Gravity. Got it love it! Here’s a Miracle Ball Method student at her desk at Stamford Office Furniture letting the weight of her body do something that another MBM student calls “stretching without stretching.” So easy and your back will feel so great afterwards. Have you done a Must-Do Move today? Yes? We want to see it! Post it on our Facebook page.

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Twin Skin

Twin Skin

Happy Birthday John and Lucas! Although having two babies at the same time had its challenges, I can’t say it wasn’t amazing. I thank God that I knew the Method at that time. After the birth, I had what I found out was called “twin skin.” I could roll up my belly like a towel and tuck it into my pants! My boys were big babies — seven pounds each — and I felt like my body had been through a war — not that I know what that is like — but it was a shock! Using key components of the Method and the breathing really helped to ease my anxiety about returning back to my old self. The happy surprise was feeling even better than before I was pregnant! Miracle Ball Method for Moms for sure.

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Must-Do Move to Restore-Relieve-Renew: Raise Your Hands

For stiff shoulders, carpal tunnel syndrome, and a great stress reducer.

Hands are extremely connected to movement and to moving with freedom and flow – just look at any sport, dance, martial arts, or folk dancing around the world. Unfortunately, though, most of us don’t realize the connection of our hands to the rest of our body. And often, we don’t reach, we grab. We don’t wrap, we grasp tightly. Our hands pull us forward at the computer and while texting, they roll our shoulders forward or back. When our hands stiffen up it actually creates a chain reaction of stiffness throughout our bodies.

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Feet

Must-Do Move to Restore-Relieve-Renew: Standing on Your Own Two Feet

When I look at peoples’ feet, I sometimes think of the scene in the Wizard of Oz where the witch’s feet shrivel up when the Wicked Witch of the West goes for her ruby slippers.

Feet need to move — and in many, many directions. Most of us just stand on them in cramped shoes and they can feel crushed.

A great move to pamper hardworking feet is FOOT ON THE BALL. Lie on a couch, the floor, or in bed and gently bend one knee and rest your (shoeless) foot on the ball.

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Back

Must-Do Move to Restore-Relieve-Renew: Oh, My Aching Back

Do you know where your pelvis is?

A lot of us get an achy low back and struggle between holding ourselves up stiffly and just collapsing. Why is it so hard to maintain great posture without it feeling so forced? The same reason our lower back aches. Tight leg joints. Most people’s leg joints are tight. As a result, this puts all the work of moving on the lower back. This is where your pelvis comes in. I call the pelvis ‘the great connector’ which is simply because it connects the leg joints and the lower spine. Think of the pelvis as a hammock between two trees. It supports the low back and keeps us effortlessly balanced. Find your pelvis and help your posture and your achy back.

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That Pain in the Neck

Must-Do Move to Restore-Relieve-Renew: That Pain in the Neck

Movement is simply moving weight in space. When sitting down, your head (which is the heaviest body part) often times is in front of the rest of your body—which causes the strain in your neck. Take notice of where your head is in relation to the rest of your body. Now, bend your head forward– which will allow the muscles to stop overworking. Feel the chain reaction through your whole body! When lifting your head back up, lift from your head not your neck. Notice if your breathing improves. Listen to your body–do this as often as you feel you need it.

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Breathe

Must-Do Move to Restore-Relieve-Renew: Breathe

Look up and reach for the sky. We spend most of our days hunched over computers, steering wheels, kitchen counters- not to mention our phones– and our breathing gets constricted. Looking up lifts the ribs off the diaphragm and allows us to breathe again. Try it now: Look up, reach, and make sure you are not holding your breath. Allow the ribs to feel the lift and stay lifted even when you bring your arms back down. Notice the freedom in your breathing as a result….ahhh. Amazing, right?

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