Catch Your Breath

Unintentionally, many of us have adopted poor habits of posture, movement and lack of awareness over the years, resulting in faulty breathing patterns. We’ve lost our natural capacity to breathe, fully and deeply. Our ability to utilize oxygen and generate vitality at the cellular level impacts our metabolism, alters our emotions, and ultimately translates into our ability to move well throughout our day.

Expert Jill Miller, bestselling author of “The Roll Model” and creator of the Treat While You Train program brings us back to our native breath with simple, easy-to-access-anywhere, “Relax and Roll” practices that liberate our bodies and our breath.

RIB CAGE REMEDY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X48iuipM42M

Equipment: Therapy Ball Plus

Get more out of your 20,000 breaths each day. The muscles that surround your ribcage get tight from training or overtraining and from a chronic sitting position — and as a result, restrict your breath. Try this remedy for immediate relief.

• Recline on the ground and place a ball at any point along the back of your ribcage.
• Slowly move the ball between each of the ribs, tracing the spaces between the ribs — the intercostal muscles.
• Spend a few minutes on each side of your ribs rolling from inside out, to outside in.
• Finish and rest on the floor, enjoying your new liberty in your ribcage as you take a deep, broad breath of bliss.

UNWIND YOUR SPINE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSTjhD3a8lU

Equipment: Coregeous® Ball

Feel stuck in your ability to rotate and move in your day? We have what it takes to unwind your spine.

• Test your rotation.
• Then grab your Coregeous® ball or a small pillow and recline on your side and place the ball under your ribs.
• Rest here and breathe deeply for 30 seconds to two minutes, as the ball works with your breath and gravity to mobilize tissues that were restricting your breathing and your body’s ability to twist.
• Switch sides.
• Then retest your rotation and voilà — enjoy more freedom!

FASCIA FACIAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Ac53BSoY8

Equipment: Therapy Balls and a block or thick book

Struggling with the tension in your face but not sure how to release it?

• Rest on your side. Place one ball on a block or book or thick mat, and rest your jaw on the ball. Place the other ball on the opposite side of your face and twist it gently as you rest and let the weight of your head sink into the ball on the other side. Keep your face relaxed and continue to breathe deeply. Then try to slowly open and close your mouth.
• Move the bottom ball up to your temporalis muscle and place the top ball on the other temporalis muscle just before the hairline. Continue to allow breath to be free and relax the body into the balls to release tension in the head, neck and shoulders.
• Rest in each spot and breathe deeply for 30 seconds to two minutes, and switch sides.
• Once complete, enjoy your revitalized face.

Learn more about Jill Miller’s self-care release techniques, “The Roll Model,” and purchase Therapy Balls and other tools here.