Stretch It!

When my joint pain and muscle pain would flair up at the same time I would call it the “body throb”.  Everything hurt. I had always like doing exercise but had to stop as any type of physical activity seem to give me the “body throb” That’s when I discovered Yin Yoga, which is a yoga that focuses on deep muscle and tendon stretch opposed to muscle building. Yin Yoga poses are held for a minute or two and for people who are more limber up to 6 minutes! That doesn’t sound very long but I still struggle for one minute in some of these poses…it is quite a deep stretch.

By stretching on a daily basis I realize I felt better, the fatigue didn’t hurt so much. I also think the deep breathing you do in yoga helped slow my mind and made me feel calmer. I also know when I don’t stretch my muscles and joints feel stiffer and hurt more.

The roller. When I first used the roller I was in a yoga class. The other ladies went on their way rolling out their backs, thighs, shins and hips. They didn’t seem like it bothered them, but I was in horrific pain. I found this explanation from Self written by Alexa Tucker:

“Foam rolling is a way to help smooth out your fascia, the connective tissue that stretches over and through your muscles. “Inactivity, repetitive motion, and injuries can cause the fascia and the underlying muscle tissue to bind together. This causes ‘knots’ or ‘trigger points,’ that lead to tightness,” explains Borden. When you roll out, you release these knots, and this helps reduce muscle tightness and improve joint mobility.”

I now roll every day and it is not painful. I definitely feel better when I roll every day. Exercise should be a part of your healing process, but not the kind most people think of. Forget the running, power walk, tracking how many steps you are taking a day, this should be about slowing down, relaxing, de-stressing. Walk the dog, go for a swim or a bike ride. Move your body but don’t push it.