Yoga Tune Up

Today I attended a Yoga Tune Up class. Yoga Tune Up uses high grip rubber balls for self-massage trigger point therapy. Using two yoga tune up balls, blocks, a yoga strap and a blanket we loosened our tight muscles through simple yoga poses. Using the yoga tune up balls on tight spots helps break up the fascia(connective tissue) that can become knotted when we do things such as sit as a desk all day. Our instructor Jennifer told us to think of fascia like the stringy part of a piece of raw chicken.

We began by rolling the ball under our feet. It felt great- like getting a foot massage . We then laid on our mats and placed the balls above our shoulder blades and rolled back on the balls. I felt a feeling of slight pain but great release as the balls pressed out my knots. We continued to move the balls down and did our low back, hips, and butt. The butt was suprisingly painful. I had not realized that even our butts can get tight and this can even contribute to hip/low back/pain down the leg/sciatia issues.

We worked muscles right between the chest and armpit that can get tight from sitting. Jennifer told us we would feel this tommorow. We worked hips and lastly the neck. If you stick out our jaw and feel along the side of your neck you can feel the sternocleidomastoid, a muscle that if too tight can cause neck pain, jaw pain and migraines. We cross-fibered this muscle to break up the fascia by rolling the ball across it. The move can be enhanced by moving your head while rolling the ball across the muscle. By rolling on the neck and chest we were targeting Sternocleidomastoid muscle, the Pectoralis minor and the Subclavius muscle.

We ended the class with some quiet mediation.

The Yoga Tune Up Website offers a place to purchase Yoga Tune Up Balls, instructors in your area and even some free videos.