Self Treatment
Self treating your fascia everyday for thirty minutes will help relieve pain and stress. Everyday our fascial system has to resist the force of gravity and the denseness of the ground underneath our feet. Our fascial system protects us from those forces by maintaining space in between the structures of our body. We loose the space when injury or stress is applied over time. This is why symptoms seem unrelated or we don't get the results we are looking for in traditional therapy. Self-treatment with Myofascial principles will give your fascia the release it needs. At the same time, you are developing awareness of all the tension in your body. As John F. Barnes would say, "Without Awareness there is no Choice". The single most beneficial thing you an do for yourself is release the stress we accumulate everyday.
Self Treatment for Low Back
The low back is so misunderstood. There is very little movement in the lower spine compared to the rest of the spine. Most likely the tension in your hips and thorax is causing the tension. Just another reason to treat the entire body. John Barnes would say, "find the symptoms but look elsewhere".
Functional Movement Warmup
Use your foam roller to build awareness of how you feel before any exercise. Most injuries occur because you lack the awareness of how you feel that day.
Breath slowly and feel like you are moving through water with gentle resistance to engage the fascia. Stretch like you just woke up and always let gravity do the work
Principles of MFR & Movement
Combining any movement with MFR principles will help alleviate pain and increase awareness. Begin with creating a safe space for the activity as well as your emotions. Our emotions are often neglected as we were taught not to show them as it is a sign of weakness, yet emotions are energies moving through our fascia that create stress and pain. Separating stress from pain is like separating your heart from the function of the lungs. Measure your success by feeling your breath before and after. Start with a commitment to do this for at least two weeks every day. Your fascia will learn to adapt and make a healthy change. Just like sitting in a chair everyday your body learns to adapt to that position. When we ask our body to do something else it rebels and lets us know by producing pain signals. Pain is so misunderstood in today's society. Pain is a messenger that you need to feel and not numb it by taking medications. If you skip a few days spend a little more time the next day. Thirty minutes a day is recommended and you can split it up if you want but I find that it takes at least 15 minutes to get into the feeling of it.
Functional Cat-Cow
Just a great movement for anytime of the day. Use it as a warm-up, cool-down or just for awareness. Shoulders and hips can cause neck, back, leg and arm pain. Utilizing 3 dimensional movements will help reduce tension and increase mobility providing oxygen and lubrication for your fascia. Fascia provides the stability for all movement. There are three options; standing, sitting and on the floor. Begin with creating a successful outcome so your fascia will adapt to a positive outcome.
Functional Lunge
Standing Lunge in three directions will increase mobility and stability in the hips. Use the wall for balance if needed and move and breathe slowly.
Kneeling Lunge in three directions will help increase awareness in the hips and how much tension we actually hold onto. Always use a blanket to protect your knees and remember a successful experience is more important than anything else.
Cool Down
Use a treatment ball or just lie down and breath slowly to feel the awareness of how your body feels. Cool down is so important. 5 to 10 minutes can make that much needed difference.
Within a week of doing these exercises everyday for just 15 – 20 minutes will really open you up to the gift this movement will bring you. It will provide the awareness that will prevent you from injury and feeling pain. As it will teach your body the safe way to let go rather than think it has to hold on to the tension. The new proprioception skills your fascia learns from functional movement will last longer than you could ever imagine. Almost as long as when you get treatment from me.
