I bought a foam roller from my Pilates instructor awhile ago. The foam roller is reminiscent of a pool noodle, and is pretty darn versatile. It is wider than a pool noodle, usually 6 inches in diameter and I am going to say denser than a pool noodle.
I bought it for one particular stretch, the one where you just lay on it. Both your head and your tush are on the roller and you are laying on it length-wise and your arms are stretched out with your elbows on the ground. I like that stretch. While keeping your elbows on the ground you draw your elbows towards your body or you can move your arms closer to your body by moving your hands down. Then you can stretch your arms up over your head. Just move your arms into whatever feels like a good stretch and feel the yummy goodness of using the roller.
Since owning it I have done a few other stretches, some that my instructor had shown me and others I have figured out that if you can do it on a ball you can do it on a roller. But I recently took a class from the aforementioned instructor and learned even more.
Like this other great stretch that is soooooo simple. Put a hand at each end of the foam roller. Hold the roller so it is vertical, then with your bottom hand press up into your other hand. Your top hand can even just hold on with your fingers if you want a really good stretch. This stretches out your shoulders.
These are just two really simply stretches that you can do on a foam roller. As I continue to “blog”, I will share more.
What stretches do you do on your foam roller? I would love to hear.
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