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…
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.
By the way, holding our breath is also something we practice. Remember, most of us have no trouble breathing but what we don’t know is that we often ”hold” our bodies so tightly that it prevents us from breathing naturally. Take that tight ace bandage off your ribs and use the sssss sound when on the ball. Feel the relief. “Sssssuper, yes?”
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.
Think of your knees as an important link to all the other parts of our body, especially the hips. The pressure on our knees can often be greatly improved day to day if we are mindful of that hip joint connection. If you have been running, dancing, playing a sport or simply sitting for a long time, your hips can get stiff. This stiffness will put a good deal of pressure on your knees. Knee on the Ball (see the video) is another one of my absolute favorite moves. Try it out and see (and hopefully become aware of and feel) the other end of the knee joint — your hips!! As you gently move your knee on the ball you can feel your hip also moving. On a personal note, I love to do this move after a long car ride. I get sciatic pain on my right side when I sit too long and I eventually realized that it was because I was clenching the muscles of my right hip. Knee on the Ball helps me to ease that right side pain and allows my body to realign. Knee on the Ball is also a great way to allow your body to basically “tune up” after a hard gym workout (and run) and relieve some chronic holding (tensing?) in the glutes (located in your buttocks). Remember: Don’t force anything. Just resting on the ball allows you to feel the weight and realign yourself. Remember to check in with your breathing…sssss! Check out pages 154-157 in the Miracle Ball Method book for more information. Don’t have the book? Get on the Ball and go to the SHOP page.
Good luck to all you runners in the New York City Marathon on the 4th!
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.
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.
Pick up your The Miracle Ball Method for Pregnancy kit for post-baby reshaping—and its great for before you give birth, too!
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.
What to do: Whether you are sitting at your kitchen table, lying in bed, or on the floor, rest your wrist over the ball. Let the power of gravity do the work as you cue yourself to “un” work and unwind those gnarled fingers. Feel that loosening up into the arm gradually as you move each finger and gently bend at the wrist.
Remember. Go slowly. The movement should be unforced and painless. This move will loosen that “grip” our hands have on things we hold, carry, and touch all day. It will bring back flexibility, circulation and blood flow — which will in turn benefit the rest of your body. This move of one of my student’s favorites and I know it will be yours, too.
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.
Wait there until your foot begins to anchor against the ball and starts to gradually relax on the ball. If you rush it, it may feel good, but most of the work to move the ball will be done by your legs. We don’t want that. Now, start moving your foot on the ball. Rest your arch on it, then slide your foot back and rest on the ball of your foot and then finally, move to your heel. When you have done this for a minute or two, slide your foot along the ball and stretch your leg out. The ball will end up somewhere under your ankle or calf. This should not hurt, but if it does, and you need support for your knee, use a second ball. Just rest and let gravity do the job. Add some ‘sssss’ breathing sounds, too. This is a great move when you’re glued to the TV watching those long fall football games.
General tip: Strengthen and stretch
Move your feet often. Before you get out of bed in the morning, flex and stretch them several times. Also roll your ankles around. And, while drinking your morning coffee, stand at the kitchen counter and go up and down on your feet. All of these moves are easy to incorporate into your day — at your desk, standing on the coffee or grocery store line, etc.
Remember, if you’re good to your feet, there’s no telling where they’ll take you!
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.
To start, gradually let your own body weight bring you forward–let gravity do its thing. Your body will bend at the top of the leg (the leg joint) (see the photo). Essentially, you’re folding your pelvis over your thighs. Now straighten up using your pelvis to lift you. You’ll begin to feel that leg-pelvis connection. Try this a few times to get the hang of it. Remember to use the weight of your body to bring you forward and don’t hold your breath! Try this must-do move several times a day. It’s not only great for easing your low back pain, but it’s great for your pelvis floor…and it doesn’t hurt your love life either.
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.
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?