Myofascial Release for Calves and Hamstrings: Leg Relief

This class is for you if you run regularly, spend long hours in heels, or carry chronic tightness in the back of your legs that stretches and foam rolling never seem to fully shift.

Using small firm balls, this short session works through the calves and hamstrings together - two areas that function as one continuous chain along the back of the leg, meaning tension in one almost always affects the other. Releasing both in the same session creates deeper, longer-lasting relief than addressing either in isolation, and many people notice the difference into their lower back and hips as well.

This is a cut from a live online MFR Yoga class - suitable for all levels.
Props needed: two small firm balls (like tennis balls), a yoga block, and some floor space

Transcript

Hello, Welcome to this week's myofascial release yoga class. We have the theme to work on our roots, Meaning on our legs and they are important because the legs carry us obviously all day long, Yet the other aspect is that they are connecting us with the ground, With the earth, With the energy that comes from underneath us. With releasing the tension today, We are opening up, Not just feeling lighter in the legs and obviously the extension in the back and upper body. But it also helps us to ground in more deeply and stronger, Meaning it gives you the foundation. For your system to feel stable, To feel safe and to feel connected. Two release balls and you may also want to have one block handy as we're going through different areas. With my first release, We always want to work in the sweet spot of. . . Putting our body in an angle with a certain body weight on top of these balls in a way that it's still supportive. So that you feel the tension points, Yet your body can still relax and work with the pressure that it has to open up the tissue as we go through without going into pain. And without needing to braze or protect a specific area. So you are in full charge of how you position your body, How much body weight you put on top of the balls. And I really encourage you to constantly check in with that. As well as we go through the process. Okay, So as we're ready, I invite you to come into a seated position first. And whatever that means for you, You can sit on a block already if that's more comfortable. And close your eyes. And then take a few cycles of breath comfortably in through your nose. And sigh out through your mouth and in through your nose. Or more conscious like that in through the nose. And out. Allow yourself to arrive for this practice. Be very present with your body. How it feels at any given moment. You're here to work with your body. And for that. Attention and awareness is needed. As you're going to explore different tension points. Around your leg. Maybe tune into your lower body here for a moment. Feeling from your hips. Breathe better, Scan down your upper thighs. The front, The outside, The inside, The back. Cross your knees. To your lower legs, The calves on the back, Your shin on the front. Across your ankles. And then tune into your feet. Then with your next inhale reopen your eyes, Get ready for our practice. We'll do two regions at the same time, Which I don't do very often, But it just works. It's just a great opportunity to do that with your legs. We'll be working on the calf muscles and on our hamstrings at the same time together. So for that you will need two balls and a block most likely. So I have the block hand in front of you, Come up kneeling, And then take both your balls. Place them at the meaty part. At the top of your screen. Calf muscle. And then slowly. Come down to sit. And move your hip towards your heels. And try to see how far you can go down without being in pain. Because all the pressure is now mostly on your calf muscles. Hamstrings will also benefit from that. But the squeezing will mostly appear and be noticeable. In your calf strength. Most likely. So I use my hands to really hold my upper body in the right weight so that I do not collapse on the balls and press too much. You can also use the block again if you find the right height to allow your hip to rest on that. So find whatever works for you to have fun. Sufficient pressure. On your calf muscles and your hamstring to still work on this. The height of the block may depend on where you hold the ball. So whether your ball is closer to the knee or closer to the ankle, That will also differentiate how. High or how low you can sit with your hip. So play with that. Maybe you want to distribute your body weight differently or you want to change the height of the block. As you're coming closer to your ankles, Usually you can also sit a bit lower. An interested liar. Whatever you have, You pull. Allowed to sit with that. You can if you want move your upper body a little bit to the left and to the right so that there's a bit of a weight distribution happening. Not so much of a cross fiber movement that you do here it's just a bit more of if you're leaning left you're adding a bit more weight to the left while the right side has a little bit of a breather. And then you can go to the other side, Stay here for a few breaths extra with extra weight. While the left side. Is being a bit more comforted. That's an option. You don't need to do that. But. . . Play with it and see how it works for your body. And we're already halfway through, So if you want to reposition those balls again slightly lower. Do that. Again, The goal is not to have touched every single spot between the ankle and the knee, But just find What works for you. And you might feel it more in your calf muscle just because the calf muscle is under you and the hamstring is kind of pressing on top of it so naturally there's a bit more impact. On D. The lower part than the top part. But your hamstrings are still being. Pressed onto the ball. To shape around that, So depending on how. Once your strings are there, You will feel that. And not just your calf muscles. Can change if you like to, But of course you can stay in one region. I also find it very interesting to bring the balls closer to the Achilles. Ligaments closer to the ankle because that tends to hold a lot of tension as well and may not have enough. Hydration to be like really at its best shape. So by you. Pressing on the tissue just above. Where it goes into the calf muscle, It helps the ligament itself as well. And that is because the Achilles is basically while you feel it. There's parts of it that will open up and that's more the fascia tissue that goes. Around and inside of the muscle tissue. But at the lower end of the calf muscle that fascia tissues that are spread all over the cells come together and then form the ligament. So the fascia tissue, That's why. We can work on all the fascia tissue throughout the body while we're just working on one spot here. And then with your next inhale, Lift your hip up, Remove the balls. Maybe swipe your legs around. Straightening them out. I like them bent actually after this kind of work so I can tap the backside very nicely and gently for rebound. Feeling a bit more closely into how was my calf muscle impacted compared to the hamstring. But I like to give both areas a nice and gentle shake. And then feeling. Into your entire back side of your leg. Maybe you wanna. . . Lay down for a minute, Savasana, Really allowing that integration to happen. Find your own timing to complete today's focus. And I hope you notice a difference across your backside of your legs.