Ya’ll know that I am basically up for anything when it comes to fitness. I will try any workout offered and while I’ve found some that didn’t quite fit with my training or lifestyle (prancercise was a bust), I’ve found many others that I would love to do more. Fortunately, I can add another such workout to my list of “when can I do this again please?”

A few months ago, Emily Stein reached out to me about trying “Yamuna® Body Rolling.” I had to google it, of course, and it looked like something I’d enjoy. After some scheduling hiccups, we finally connected last week at the Best Damn Race warehouse for a free demo session. We used the warehouse because it has a lot of floor space and no small dogs who may or may not be having some bladder control issues.

Ok, so what the heck is Yamuna®? In my layman’s terms, it’s stretching, massage, and a little bit of strength training all rolled (no pun intended) into one.

Here’s the actual description that Emily provided: Yamuna® Body Rolling™ is an approach to health and fitness using balls designed exclusively for this practice. It consists of a series of routines using 6 to 10-inch balls. Unlike other ball exercises, YBR goes far beyond random movement and stretch. It allows you to work specific muscles in detail, to create suppleness in tight areas and optimize range of motion. Yamuna® Body Rolling™ re-educates muscles and stimulates bone, creating positive, permanent changes in the body. The ball moves along muscles to stretch them, dislodge tension and discomfort, increase blood flow, and promote healing. Yamuna® Body Rolling has been around for 25 years and was created by a Master Yoga Practitioner, Yamuna Zake as way to reinforce and improve one’s yoga practice, and movement. Lying over the ball, you literally roll your body out almost like dough, stretching and elongating your muscles. The YBR routines follow specific sequences that match the body’s own logic and order. It is a great workout and effective self-care therapy to prevent injuries, reduce pain and general body stress. Every athlete should have a self-care flexibility program to maximize their results and avoid injuries.

Emily was kind enough to show me some of the best rolling techniques for my tight hips and achy feet. I really enjoyed the work we did on my inner and outer thighs that I don’t think the foam roller can really hit. It was painful at first, but similar to a great sports massage, the pain leads to release. After some rolling, I felt as though my hips completely opened up and were WAY less tight. It was awesome!

The gold spiky half balls worked wonders for my feet. As runners, we do a heck of a lot to our feet with the continual pounding of the pavement. Just standing on these felt like a great massage. Please disregard my crazy toes and the warehouse. I promise the floor is clean. Ha!

I would recommend that runners and triathletes try Yamuna® during training cycles as a supplement to massage and foam rolling. There is some core work that happens when holding yourself on top of the ball, but for me, the most effective part of this practice was the ease of tension in my muscles. I’m not kidding when I say my hips felt ten times better afterward. I think I said WOW fifteen times.

If you are interested in trying this out or learning more, head over to Emily’s site: www.RollForFitness.com

Have you ever tried body rolling? What about prancercise? 

*Emily Stein offered me a free demo session. I chose to blog about it. The end.