Why on earth am I talking to you about stretching and foam rolling. Because I have a well-rounded life; it isn’t just good exercise, sleep, and water. Flexibility is a very important part of aging comfortably. I know this sounds strange because I’m not even 40 years old, but I know there are a lot of women out there who are my age and they can’t even touch their toes, or they haven’t stretched in years. Stretching keeps injury away, helps lower stress levels and is conducive to a more youthful body. Flow like water, y’all.
Foam rolling allows you to massage your muscles and release tightness and muscular tension. Foam rolling is important even if you are not working out; when we get stressed we get knots in our muscles. When I started foam rolling I could feel old trauma being released from my body. Pain gets stuck in certain places – and I don’t just mean sports injuries, I mean childhood trauma, work stress, heartbreak – we don’t just have emotional experiences from those life situations, we have physical ones too! When I have anxiety, I subconsciously squeeze my upper thighs together and curl my shoulders in. It’s as if I am trying to make myself as compact as possible, and brace for the pain. That’s some old trauma stuff from having an abusive father and a chaotic childhood. I haven’t seen that man in years, but when I get stressed at work I have the same physical reaction. Foam rolling has made me aware of what my body does to “protect itself” when I’m stressed and release that fear. I am now able to hold space for myself as a woman. It also got rid of years of tension in my hips, thighs and butt.
We are not just roaming this earth aimlessly, letting life experiences bump up against us as we tread on. We’re put here to have those experiences, learn from them and grow. We must integrate mind, body and soul to have a full life experience.
Here are some of my favorite foam rollers.
- Fitness King Ultimate Foam Roller Set – this is the best bang for your buck. You get the foam roller as well as a yoga strap, the massage stick and some deep tissue massage balls. Basically all you need.
- Yes4All High Density Foam Roller – Just the basic roller, no frills. I’d say you’re fine sticking with 18 inches or 24 inches.
- Rumble Roller – If you really want to get DEEP into the muscle this is it. I hurt just looking at it, but it’s also so amazing at breaking up that fascia tissue. I’ve provided the link for the 31 inch roller.
Now picture a rigid, brittle woman in her 60s. She never takes time for selfcare and the only physical activity she gets is from her errands. Her back hurts, she’s stiff in the morning and her stress levels are high. Now imagine if that same woman took 10 minutes a day, set the timer, sat on the floor of her living room and stretched while watching Netflix. She’s taking time for herself, she’s doing deep breathing exercises while she stretches, and she is listening to her body and going where the pain is. I bet when those 10 minutes are over, she feels so good, she decides to move on to her foam roller to get the knots out.
Don’t believe it can work? Take a look at this woman to our right.
Which version would you rather be?
Foam rolling will also help you with your muscle development. If the muscles are too tight and knotted, you will prohibit growth, Jessica Arevalo even talks about this on her youtube channel. To put it in super simple terms because I’m not a trainer…you lift and lift and lift, but you never take time to recover. You’re always sore and you’re hitting a plateau with your muscles. Girl, get your butt on the floor, stretch and foam roll. I know what you’re thinking, you want to know how it’s ‘good for that assss’, as the title implies; because stretching relaxes and elongates the muscles, and foam rolling releases the tight tissue, fascia, and the knots, my results were smoother skin (the appearance of cellulite went down a bit), less pain in my legs (it used to hurt so bad when anyone touched my thighs) and more flexibility.
In summary:
1. Exercise
2. Drink water. This is my favorite way to drink water and hit my water goals.
3. Stretch 10 minutes
4. Foam Roll 10 minutes
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