Myofascial Release For Shoulders And Hip Flexors

This gentle Myofascial Release practice helps to release tension in the muscles and fascia of the shoulders, upper back, and hip flexors. Drink water after the practice to facilitate the benefits. Enjoy! Props needed: 1 tennis ball, 2 blankets

Transcript

Hello everyone,

Welcome.

Today's practice is going to be a brief myofascial release practice.

This will be a gentle myofascial release.

We'll be using a couple props today.

We'll have two blankets,

Maybe a couple blocks,

And a tennis ball.

We're going to start with a blanket.

Actually two blankets.

Myofascial release really allows our bodies to release long held tension and tightness we hold in the bodies and in the fascia especially.

So the muscle part and fascia is the main connective tissue in our bodies which connects everything to everything in our bodies.

It is so important.

And if we don't release the tension,

The knots in the fascia,

It can lead to a lot of different issues down the road and can cause our whole body to just sort of tighten up and be very constricted.

So we want things to flow.

We want to allow energy to flow through the body.

Our upper back and shoulders sometimes is a common area where we hold tension and tightness.

So we're going to begin our focus there.

So before we get into the first pose,

I invite you to just sit quietly,

Any comfortable seat that works for you,

And just notice how your upper back and shoulders feel right now.

What does it feel like?

Is there any sensation going on there?

Is there a feeling of tightness,

Tension,

Discomfort,

Maybe feelings of constriction?

Just notice.

So this is your before state.

And we're going to use our blankets now.

So I'm going to open up my blanket to be approximately the size of,

It's like folded in half and then in half again.

And it's just about maybe two feet wide and three feet long.

That's just my guesstimate.

Take the folded edge,

Start rolling it as tightly as I can.

So that once I roll the blanket up,

It might be as thick as maybe three,

Maybe four inches,

But not much more than that.

And this is the blanket that we're going to lay over.

The back of our heart will be on this blanket.

But before you lay down,

We're going to take another blanket and maybe just fold it,

Not as thick as that rolled blanket,

But just to have some support under our head.

Place the folded blanket at the back end of my mat.

And then I'm going to have about five,

Six inches away from that folded blanket to where I place that rolled blanket.

So I don't want them right up against each other.

When I lay down over the rolled blanket,

I want to have my shoulders above the rolled blanket.

And arms are going to be out in a T shape and your head is going to be on the folded blanket.

So the rolled blanket is going to be behind the shoulder blades,

Just about behind the heart.

So when you lay down,

You should feel like your heart is lifted.

With my knees bent,

Feet flat on the mat,

And I'm going to lower down over that rolled blanket.

My voice gets a little different,

It's because I'm laying down too.

So I lay down.

You might notice that my head is going back too far,

In which case I might want to fold that blanket under my head a little bit.

And then once I position myself where it feels that the blanket that's rolled is right at the mid part of my back and my shoulders are dripping over the blanket and it feels like,

Yeah,

They're lifting my heart a little bit.

And my shoulders are going down towards the space in between the rolled blanket and the folded blanket where my head is laying.

But my shoulders may not touch.

I know mine don't.

But some people that have really open back and shoulders may have their shoulders touch the floor or the mat.

That's fine.

They can be a little bit above,

Just sort of dripping down towards the mat.

Arms are out in a T shape,

Soft and relaxed.

Extend your legs out long.

So you're just relaxing over this rolled blanket behind your back with your head supported on the folded blanket.

So you don't want to feel like your head is going back too far.

That can cause anxiety,

Especially in someone that's prone to anxiety.

So make sure that your head is supported.

And see if you can just begin to soften here.

Let your breath be easy and comfortable.

You might feel some pressure in your mid and upper back as you're laying over this rolled blanket.

It may start to feel like there's something going on.

You might feel pressure in your mid back.

There shouldn't be any discomfort though.

If you feel discomfort,

Please adjust where you're laying.

Find what works for you.

You may need to unroll the blanket so it's not as thick.

And then lay back down over it.

Making sure the rolled blanket is at your mid back and your arms and shoulders are above the blanket,

Dripping towards the mat.

We're going to stay here for a few more breaths.

As you inhale,

You might focus on feeling expansion around the heart and upper chest.

And as you exhale,

Invite a softening into the shoulders,

The arms,

Into the upper back as if you're melting over this rolled blanket.

Exhaling with each exhale.

Beginning to let go of tightness and tension.

Take a few more breaths here.

And then on your next exhale,

Bend one knee and then the other.

Then decide which side you're going to roll over to and bring that arm that's on the other side along with you and roll over to one side using the top hand or arm.

Slowly press yourself up to a seat and pause.

Notice sensation.

You might have a sense of sensation moving around the upper back right now.

Almost as if it's an opening up for energy to flow.

Notice what you observe.

And then set the rolled blanket aside.

We're going to come back to that later.

And get your tennis ball.

If you don't have a tennis ball,

You can use a therapy ball or a racquet ball.

Anything about that size and shape and level of give.

You don't want anything too hard like a softball.

That's just too intense unless you're really hardcore myofascial release.

So we're going to come into a similar position.

Bend your knees and lower down onto your back.

So you're in constructive rest.

Knees are bent,

Feet flat on the floor.

And take the tennis ball and lift one shoulder up and place that tennis ball just sort of as far down into the upper trapezius as you can reach on one side.

And you're going to feel it like a massage.

So release the ball there.

You're laying on the ball now.

And just start to move a little bit.

So you're going to move your upper body and shoulders a little left to right until you feel a good spot that you're getting into almost like a massage where you're getting that pressure point.

And you really control this.

So move along whatever feels good to you.

Moving either side to side or moving that arm up or down of whatever side the ball is on.

So we're going to start on one side to start.

Do a few minutes on this side and then we'll notice the difference before we go to the other side.

So this is great to do anytime you've got excess tension or tightness in the upper body and upper back area,

Into the upper trapezius.

It's a common area where we hold tension.

And maybe start to move a little slower.

See if you can notice another spot that's like,

Oh,

That's another spot to just pause for a moment and breathe.

Usually I do this with the hips down.

If you're not feeling enough of sensation and want more intensity,

You can lift the hips up and put more weight onto the ball.

But I find that is sometimes too much for my body.

So a little more on this side.

Find a good spot.

Move as you would like to here.

Breathe through it.

Use the breath.

Nice full breaths.

Slow,

Soft sighs of an exhale can really help aid in your body.

Letting go.

And then remove the tennis ball.

Keep laying down.

Just set the ball aside for a moment.

Pausing here in constructive rest and notice difference between left and right.

One side might feel a little more open.

Maybe more sensation or energy is flowing there.

Just notice.

What are you experiencing?

And then take the tennis ball and go to the other side.

Placing it under that shoulder,

Upper trapezius area.

Right about in the middle of the upper trapezius and maybe down an inch or so from the top.

The top of the shoulder.

If it is up too close to the top of the shoulder,

The ball is just not going to get into a good spot.

It is going to feel like it is going to slip out of there.

So again find some movement.

Maybe lifting that arm that is on that same side.

You are working up over your head and then lowering it down.

Moving a little side to side or moving the shoulder up and down.

You can discover a lot of different ways to move here that feels good in this spot.

Find a spot where you just want to hold it for a few breaths.

Breathing into it.

Inviting those knots to begin to release and let go.

Use your breath.

You can always do this longer.

If you wanted to do it longer you can always pause this recording and really get into a certain area as you need to.

For now we are going to call that good.

So remove the tennis ball.

Pause in constructive rest.

Make sure both sides feel about the same.

Then thoughtfully roll over to one side.

Press your weight back up to a comfortable seat and pause.

Notice sensation.

Do just one more for today's practice.

We are going to take that rolled blanket for the next part.

We are going to get into our hip flexors and re-roll it so it is really tightly rolled.

But this time roll it only maybe 3 inches thick instead of if it was 4 inches thick.

Not quite as thick as it was under your shoulders.

Place this blanket in the middle of our mat.

Right across it.

We are going to lay over this blanket with our hip flexors right on top of it.

If you bring your fingers to the front of your hips where you hinge from the hip crease is if you are bending over with a long spine.

Right where you hinge where you feel that crease in your hips that is where you want to lay right over that rolled blanket.

So come into a table pose and hips onto that rolled blanket.

Make sure it is not on your belly.

So make sure your belly is above the blanket and your hip crease on each side of your hips is right on top of the blanket.

Come onto your forearms.

Legs are relaxed.

And then coming into a makrasana.

Elbows out.

Stack your hands on top of each other and rest your forehead on the back of your hands.

Relax and release completely.

Let your body be heavy and soft and breathe here.

This is a very gentle myofascial release for the hips.

Relax and breathe.

Soften any areas of your body that feel tight or tense.

If there is any tension remaining in the shoulders and upper back.

Invite your breath especially the exhale to help release those areas.

Soften and let go.

Let your legs be heavy.

And watch your breath as it moves through your body.

Inviting your whole body to release and soften a little bit deeper with every exhale.

Be the observer.

Setting aside any criticism,

Judgment or commentary.

Just notice.

And invite your body to relax a little bit deeper.

Soften and release.

And let go.

Relax and breathe.

Really begin to deepen your breath.

And again you can always stay here longer if you have more time.

This can be a very relaxing position.

And whenever you're ready,

Gently press yourself back up onto your forearms.

And then thoughtfully press your way back up into table.

Pausing for a moment.

And if it would feel good you could bring the toes to touch,

Widen the knees and sit your hips back towards the heels for a child's pose.

You could use that rolled blanket to put your hands on to get a shoulder stretch,

Moving the blanket away from you.

Forehead to the mat or a prop and breathe here.

Feel free to stay in child's pose as long as you have time for.

Softening shoulders.

Deepening your breath.

Letting go.

Whenever you're ready,

Make your way back up to a comfortable seat and maybe take a few moments to pause and notice how you feel.

Thank you for joining me today for this brief mini myofascial release.

I'll be doing more of these mini practices.

So stay tuned.

Have a beautiful day.

Namaste.

Reviews

Lovely heart opening awareness and grounding class Thankyou for teaching it

I have historically held tension in my shoulders - this session was amazing. My shoulders feel wonderful. Good Stuff! Thank you, Pamela🙏

This is everything my body needed. My back and hips feel so much better. Thank you ☀️

Hello beautiful 🌺🌷🌺🌷🌺Thank you so much for the wonderful practice 🍧I’m feeling so wonderfully relaxed like a sweet soft ice cream 🗺️have a blessed day 🙏Namaste

What a gift to find this today! It was just what I needed. Thank you 🙏

Lovely!💗
Pamela has a gift for articulating with great precision!

Beautiful practice. You have a lovely gentle voice which helped me release and relax. Thank you so much

Thank you 😊

Another wonderful guided practice ! Pamela’s cuing is clear and precise and easy to follow. Thank you for making these available to us for whenever we have the time to practice.

Thank you so much! Just what I needed!