deep self massage

Whether we’re stocking shelves, teaching a classroom or working at our cubicle, none of us are strangers to back pain. Yoga, weekly back adjustments and medication have been our options to help with the discomfort, sometimes ending with little to no results. Make way for… Deep Self Massage - Foam Rolling?!  What’s foam rolling?  Besides being affordable and easily accessible, it’s an at home workout to relieve and rework your body and take care of you! Foam rolling can help prevent sports injuries and encourages faster recovery for those of us itching to get back on the field or court! Working stiff muscles can increase your flexibility and even reduce inflammation.

How to roll:

Hips: Place your right hip on the foam roller so that you are resting on your hip crease. Extend your right leg. Extend your left leg and press your toes into the floors that your left hip is up off the roller. Roll from the top of your right hip down through the top of your thigh. Repeat on the other side.

Glutes: Place your foam roller on the floor and sit on it. Place one foot over the opposite knee. Shift your weight onto the right gluteal region. Roll in a front to back motion from the top of the pelvis to the bottom of the buttock. Repeat on the other side.

Quads: Lie in a plank position with the foam roller under your thighs, resting on your forearms. Roll through the length of your thighs, up and down. Keep your core engaged throughout. Repeat on the other side.

Back: Sit on the floor with the foam roller on your lower back, resting your hands behind you for balance. Tighten your abs and slowly bend your knees to move the roller up your back, just below your shoulder blades.Calves: Sit on the floor with your legs straight out, hands on the floor behind you supporting your weight. Place the foam roller under your calves. Slowly roll along the back of your legs up and down from your knees to your ankles

Hamstrings: Sit with your right leg on the foam roller; bend your left knee, cross your left ankle over your right ankle, and put your hands on the floor behind you. Roll up and down from your knee to just under your right butt cheek. Switch legs.

Shoulders: Lie on your back with the foam roller behind your shoulders. Lace your fingers loosely behind your head and lean your upper back into the foam roller. Brace your abs and glutes for stability, and slowly press into the roller on your left side, raising your right shoulder. Roll from your underarms to the bottom of your rib cage. Return to the center and switch sides.

Follow up your deep self massage routine with B.Witching Organic Muscle Rub or a relaxing Dead Sea Salt bath and you will be renewed and ready to take on the world.