Chances are you may have already been given a lovely orange ball from The Massage Centre. This ball or even a tennis ball can be used to give yourself a massage between your appointments. Not only is this surprisingly simple but surprisingly effective.

Here are three steps to mini massage bliss…

Step 1–Plan:

So often we read articles and say to ourselves I should really do that. Then three weeks later are reminded and say “Oh yeah, that would help, I should really do that”, then all of a sudden six months has slipped by and you know you would have felt better if you had really done that.

Plan when you are going to give yourself a massage. Decide if you are a morning person or if you can sneak away from work in the afternoon or if you would like to relax your body before going to bed. Once you have decided, put it in your phone, then add an alarm. If you have a hand written diary, put in your appointment, then underline it. Don’t wait till you have finished reading this, grab your calendars now….

Step 2–Permission:

So often we delay giving ourselves permission to feel better because there’s always more to be done. Computers need to be backed up, closets cleaned out and friends called that we haven’t spoken to in ages, in the midst of all of that it is tough to prioritise ourselves. Putting aside time can feel anything from frivolous to selfish. So come up with reasons to give yourself the permission you need. It might be that you’re more productive if you aren’t suffering with tension headaches, or you’ll be able to play more with your children if your shoulders weren’t so tight. Whatever it is, grant yourself a permit and mentally wave it around when you take your ball to a wall.

Step 3–Play:

To massage your shoulders and back, stand with your back on a wall. Bring your feet a couple of feet forward and bend your knees. Place your ball between the wall and your shoulder. This part is very important because it is the point that you play. Prepare to feel a little silly and have fun with it. Feel free to wriggle, bend your knees to roll up and down or sway softly against the ball finding areas where it feels good. If an area feels really tight stay still, take a deep breath and imagine softening and melting around the ball. The ball can also be used on your middle and lower back, just make sure not to roll it over your spine.

For your chest and shoulders, turn to face the wall and place the ball just under your collar bone, move your body so the ball rolls horizontally towards the top of your arm. If you want to get really fancy, lift your arm up to a 90 degree angle and place it flat on the wall, put the ball on the front of your shoulder while you turn yourself the opposite direction so you are using the ball to intensify the stretch.

To really get into your glutes and calves, sit on the floor and place the ball underneath you, using your hands to support you, roll back and forth, or side to side or wriggle and hold. This can be quite intense so be gentle.

For sore feet, take off your shoes and roll the ball under the foot. You can mix it up by pressing your foot into ball and releasing.

If you have sore wrists, perhaps from too much typing, place the ball on your desk and roll from your wrist to your elbow.

You will notice how much more effective your regular massages are when you have given yourself regular mini massages. You’ll feel like a rock-star for making a powerful little orange ball part of your daily entourage.

Tatum De Roeck

Tatum runs a stretching class on Friday morning at the clinic. To find out more please contact us at the clinic on 020 8166 8958