Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘massage’

Your Body Knows Trauma

Posted by terrepruitt on February 12, 2018

Have you ever been in a car accident? Even a minor fender bender? You hit someone or your car got hit and the damage was minor, you didn’t feel injured at all. Well, your body knows it was in a collision. Your body still senses it even if you don’t. You might not have any aches or bruises. You might even FEEL fine, but your body knows. Your mind knows. Your emotions know. First of all I want to ask everyone to start paying attention more when they drive. Please, just don’t use your phone at all. A couple of weeks ago I saw a brand new Audi almost drive right off the edge of an over pass. I was approaching and watching and wondering if I was going to be the witness of a car just sailing over the edge because the car was headed STRAIGHT toward the curved railing, but at the last second the driver jerked the car back on the road, spewing up all the dirt and dust and garbage on the tiny shoulder. And do you know what? Not three seconds later, the driver did it again! I swear! I was so bloody flabbergasted I had to see who was driving and what the heck they were doing, so I pulled up next to the car. And the driver was looking over at the middle of the dash at the screen. I believe the driver was so entranced by what was on the screen that they almost drove off the overpass TWICE. It was a new car so they were probably enthralled. Why that in-dash-computer-that-distracts-people-from-driving is legal I will never know. But I do know that people are not paying attention to their driving Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitbecause there are so many things to distract drivers. There are enough things to distract drivers without all the electronic gizmos. Well, if you have ever been even just tapped while in a vehicle your body knows. So in addition to asking drivers to pay attention I want to ask all of you that have been in any type of collision to take care of your body.

If you can, if you can afford it, and if it is something you would do . . . .go get a massage. A massage at a massage school would be less expensive than at a fancy spa and you could be helping out a student. Tell your masseuse/masseur that you were in a collision and they should be able to help your body process the trauma. If you are not one to go get a massage, then I would suggest a bath. Just soak in epsom salts. They are very affordable and can do wonders at healing the body.

If you are one to use essential oils, try a few drops of oil in the bath to help with the release of the trauma. Or use a diffuser. Some oils that can help are Basil, Bergamot, Lavender, Lemongrass, Majoram, Rose, Yarrow, and Ylang Ylang.

This is EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT SENSING ANYTHING “WRONG” IN YOUR BODY. Your body has gone through a trauma. So help it. Even if it feels fine just give it a little comfort in the form of a massage or a bath.

Of course, this is just an idea to help you process the incident!

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Ball Massager

Posted by terrepruitt on July 7, 2011

While I was doing a Nia DVD today, I kept sensing some discomfort in my back.  I have a spot, a muscle I guess, that sometimes becomes “whiny”.  I think that particular spot on my back, directly next to my backbone to the right, right at the edge of my shoulder-blade, holds all of my stress and tension.  When it came to the floorplay exercise portion of the Nia workout I was focused on my back.  It was really getting my attention.  I have had a student assisting me with my toe/foot and she often says she is “releasing it”.  I wondered if I could touch my back and “release” it.  So I did.  I pressed on the spot that was speaking to me so loudly.  It seemed to help.  I believe in the power of touch.  But since it is a place on my back that is needing touch it is not easy for me to get the entire area.  While I was laying on the floor I was wishing I had a tennis ball to roll on.

Have you ever heard that?  Using a tennis ball to massage your back.  I had a friend who mentioned to me that she was told to put a couple of tennis balls in a sock and roll on them.  You can roll on them against a wall or on the floor, whichever is most comfortable for you.  I had heard to use the balls, but I hadn’t heard of the sock until she mentioned it.  The tennis balls could be used to massage more than just your back, you could roll it under your legs or on your arms.

I don’t have tennis ball, but I do have a rather large “super ball”.  I don’t know if that is what it is called, but that is what I remember we used to call them when I was young.  You know those balls that bounce really well?  It is a “The Incredibles” ball.  It is kind of old so it is yellowed.  It is also really hard.  Much more hard than a tennis ball and a little smaller.  I remembered that the last time I saw it I had used it for my foot and it was in the entertainment center.  How convenient?  It was right there.  YAY!

At first I tried using it while laying on the floor.  That didn’t work so well because it was difficult to roll on the floor without using my elbows which, in doing so, caused me to rise away from the ball.  Plus the ball is really hard.  So I used it with the wall.  I leaned on the ball while it was on the wall.  WOW!  Awesome.  I think the muscle that gets annoyed is small and there was almost a clicking sound as the ball rolled over it.  That is how tight and grumpy it was.  As I mentioned, I had used the ball on my feet before, it is a great foot massagerm just rolling it under my foot, but I hadn’t used it on my back.  Glad I thought of that.

So what do you think?  Have you heard of using tennis balls to massage sore muscles?  Have you ever tried it?  Do you use the sock method?  Oh do tell, I would love to hear about it.  It could definitely help with DOMS.  What do you say?

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