Foam rolling (or ‘Myofascial release’) is a great way to find a bit more freedom and mobility in your body.
**Next date TBA
Gliding around on a foam roller is a bit like giving yourself a massage. It helps blood and lymphatic circulation; release tension from muscles; and encourages the ‘sliding surfaces’ within your body to move with more freedom. Those sliding surfaces are made up of a thin connective tissue called ‘fascia’. That connective tissue surrounds muscles, organs and bones. It is connected in such a way that tension held in one part of the body can be communicated or transmitted through the length of muscle groups and fascia to other areas.
As a competitive triathlete, I used my yoga practice to help improve my mobility and support my recovery. Getting older, I realised that I didn’t move so well first thing in the mornings. Not ideal when there is an early morning run planned. So I started incorporating a foam rolling routine in my pre-workout warm up, and it made a significant difference. I could get out the door and feel like I’d been up for hours already.
Now, as a new dad I have new expectations of my body. Lifting, carrying, bouncing and playing with my wriggly son places different demands on my posture and upper back. Every day now when I get out of bed, I roll around the floor on the foam roller and then begin a morning yoga practice. This helps me maintain my physical mobility, and keeps the tension and discomfort at bay.
If you’ve ever purchased a foam roller and let it collect dust in the wardrobe, or you’ve always wanted to know what those people at the gym were doing, join me for this introductory session.
Saturday August 9th. 11:30am – 12:45pm. $20.00 (non-concession workshop).
Email bookings [at] urbanyoga.co.nz
I’ve included a video below, that goes some way to explaining that morning get-out-of-bed-discomfort. Please note, it’s an anatomy video that uses people who have offered their bodies to medicine after they have died.
