Foam Rolling

As we age, our muscles lose elasticity in the joints and connective tissue and lead us to develop more aches, pains and injuries. The good news is that there's a simple way to maintain a healthy body that's easy to take on at any stage of life: Foam Rolling.

What foam rolling actually does is this: micro-facial release. By applying pressure directly to sore muscles with a foam roller, you're able to roll out knots (or adhesions) on the muscle. This allows your body to bring blood flow to the troubled area, transporting nutrients and oxygen to the muscles for faster repair.

Here are three tips to help you foam roll more effectively:

1. Don't roll directly onto the area of pain.

Avoid rolling directly on the source of pain, and, instead, target the muscles around the area which are likely causing an imbalance and tension in your body. By focusing your rolling a few inches away from the pain source, you'll help muscles relax and repair, rather than bringing unnecessary inflammation to an injury.

2. Go slowly!

You need to give your brain enough time to tell your muscles to relax in order to get the maximum benefit of foam rolling. Find an area of tension that allows you to feel the pressure at about a level of eight, on a scale of one-to-10 (this is called the sensation scale).

Sit into this pressure point and breathe deeply until you settle and the sensation drops to about a four on a sale of one-to-10. After this, work down the same muscle by rolling a few inches over from the original point and repeating the process of sitting into a pressure point and allowing tension to melt away.

3. Do foam rolling for at least ten minutes, twice a week.

This will bring stress relief, improve posture, support anyone who is pregnant and help prevent injury. Foam rolling will help you move better, stand taller and live a pain free life.

If you're exercising more than two times per week, then foam rolling should be a non-negotiable part of your pre- and post- workout routine. Maximize your potential by activating key muscle groups before you exercise.

As much as it is a recovery tool, the foam roller is also an active warm-up tool.

Before you embark on a big cardio workout (i.e. running, swimming, cycling, hiking, etc.), use the foam roller to prime the major muscle groups. This will help the body to fire muscles correctly. Muscles will get more oxygen and be able to work faster and harder.

Sit with your legs extended out in front of you and place the foam roller under the lower half of your calf. With your hands on the floor, lift your butt and roll your calf along the roller. Switch legs and repeat. By placing both calves side-by-side, you get deeper pressure. If you want less intensive compressions, work on one calf at a time.

Foam rolling is a great way to proactively work stress out of the body. It allows you to access hard to reach spots like the shoulders and hips, where many people carry their tension. As a dancer, foam rolling is essential. We must roll out our muscles in order for them to not get bulky. View your time spent foam rolling as a physical meditation. Allow yourself to focus on relaxing the body, deepening your breath and unwinding muscular tension.

Three Quick Exercises that Will Reduce Stress

Not only are dancers bombarded with stress on a daily basis. Everyone is a victim of being overwhelmed with chronic sleep deprivation, long work hours, lack of vacation time at some point. Most of us are in need of regular exercise in our lives. But with our crazy schedules, who has time? 

Without stress, you spend less time being sick. Although there is no magic pill or fancy technology that can take stress away, there is something you can do at the start of your day to reduce the effects of stress:

Before you shower, get dressed for the day, start your to-do list, eat breakfast, or turn on the computer, take 15 minutes to do the same activities every morning to calm your mind and move your body.

An example of a healthy routine that works for me is:

1. Wake up and drink 16 ounces of pure, filtered water to rehydrate your body’s tissues.

Hydration is a healthy way to start your day.

2. Do a 5-minute meditation.

Take five minutes to turn away from all your electronics to just breath. 

3. Do a 10-minute low-impact workout to get your blood flowing and motivation pumping through your veins.

There are lots of great workout options, but the ones I like to do are yoga based. After I wake up I like to move my spine in a pose called "cat, cow" pose. This pose is good to get mobility in the hips and spine. Another pose I like to do is "downward dog" pose. This pose stretches my calves which feels nice in the morning. I also like to do some abdominal exercises so I can feel stable before I leave for work.  

One of the biggest excuses for not eating healthier, exercising more, and taking part in stress-reducing activities, is that we don't have the time. But 15 minutes is a small daily goal that you will change your bad habits.