Self-Myofascial Release: move better, perform better and have less pain

If you have been to my yoga classes in the last few years you probably have experienced  some self-massaging using rubber balls.  Or perhaps you have seen other self- massage instruments such as foam rollers or massage sticks at your gym, physical therapist’s office or your friend’s apartment. So what is the deal with Self-Massage?

This practice of Self-Massage is also known as Self-Myofascial release.  Myofascia is the connective tissue network that runs through your body.  You can learn more about fascia on my previous post So what is Fascia Anyway? In summary, Myofascia wraps around your internal organs and muscles and holds it all in place. I like the definition “it's the organ of form.”  

When there is trauma or injury to any area of your body or your “form,” it can lead to weakness or adhesions in your myofascia. This may limit your range of motion and can even compress your muscles and nerves, leading to less hydration and blood flow to those areas. This can lead to pain and/or injury and can impact your performance.  To heal and recover from this “form-traumas” you simply roll your bodyweight onto massage balls, foam rollers and other devices available out there. Like any other alternative medicine technique you must use your judgment, learn some basic technique from a trusted source, figure out what works for you, consult your doctor, etc.

Since I started working with  Self-Myofascial release about 10 years ago, I do some form of self-massage every day for 10 to 15 minutes. I roll my muscles pre- and post-workout and often before meditation or bed.  Doing this I’ve experienced relief from my back pain, plantar fasciitis, and my mental and emotional states have received the benefits as well. 

I can't stress enough all the mental and emotional benefits of Self-Myofascial release but here are 5 of the main physical benefits of self-myofascial release as listed in Love Life Surf :

1.      Increases blood flow. Research has shown that self-myofascial release can increase vascular function. By getting rid of knots and tension in the fascia that may be restricting fluid flow in the area, self-myofascial release techniques helps to keep your muscles and connective tissue well hydrated. That means that you’ll recover and heal faster.

2.      Improves muscular range of motion. Studies have also shown that self-myofascial release can increase range of motion without decreasing muscle force or activation. By breaking up the adhesions in the fascia, your muscles and connective tissue can move more freely and you avoid muscle restrictions when you exercise.

3.      Reduce muscle soreness. With better circulation to your muscles and connective tissues, you’ll experience less muscle soreness.

4.      Maintains normal functional muscular length. Self-myofascial release relieves tension in the myofascia network and helps your muscles return to their normal length, improving muscle function.

5.      Encourages movement of your lymph – a major component of your immune system that helps to fight infection in the body. However, the lymph system relies on movement pressure to move the fluid. Self-myofascial release can encourage the flow of lymph back to the heart.

Ultimately, this means that you’ll move better, recover faster, perform better and have less pain so that you can continue to be active and do what you love to do.  I am more than happy to help you develop your own routine, just reach out to me.  

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under wellness, Ballwork and tagged myofascial release fascia self-massage.

Urban Monk Principles to Live by

I found the Monk Manifesto written  by  Christine Valters Paintner, a couple of days ago and it really resonated with me.  A re-occurring teaching from yoga is that the practice doesn't ask you to give up your life, quite the opposite, the invitation is to engage deeper into who you already are.  When I read the Monk Manifesto that is exactly why I feel the manifesto is conveying.

The Monk Manifesto: Seven Principles for Living with Deep Intention by Christine Valters Paintner

Monk: from the Greek monachos meaning single or solitary. A monk in the world does not live apart but immersed in the everyday with a single-hearted and undivided presence, always striving for greater wholeness and integrity.

Manifesto: from the Latin for clear, means a public declaration of principles and intentions.

Monk Manifesto: A public expression of your commitment to live a compassionate, contemplative, and creative life.

The Monk Manifesto

I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be heard, and to resist a culture of noise and constant stimulation.I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger both without and within. I recognize that when I make space inside my heart for the unclaimed parts of myself, I cultivate compassion and the ability to accept those places in others.I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey.I commit to cultivating awareness of my kinship with creation and a healthy asceticism by discerning my use of energy and things, letting go of what does not help nature to flourish.I commit to bringing myself fully present to the work I do, whether paid or unpaid, holding a heart of gratitude for the ability to express my gifts in the world in meaningful ways.I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do.I commit to a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation, recognizing that I am always on a journey with both gifts and limitations.

  

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under inspiration, Meditation, wellness and tagged Monk compassion better living.

So What is Fascia Anyway?

Chances are that if you have taken my yoga class or come to my Roll+Restore workshops, you have experience some form of self-massage techniques AND you have also heard me talk about fascia, myofascia or connective tissue.  So what is FASCIA anyway?

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Way before I knew it as Fascia, I knew it as ‘energy.’ As soon as I began to teach Yoga, my eyes caught the whimsical forms that human bodies create or form. Individually and/or collectively my eyes were thrilled to find the fluidity and the fixedness of the student’s “space” or “energy.” I had no way of explaining what I was looking at till I learned about Fascia. Fascia in a simplified way  is a thin layer of connective tissue that encases your body under your skin. Your myofascia (muscular tissue) forms a system of continuous, three-dimensional, body-suit-like tension that gives your body its shape or form. This system spreads without interruption through the entire body. It actually wraps itself around every muscle, joint, and organ.

Fascia, as I understand it, is the organ of form. Fascia tissue holds patterns of physical and/or emotional tension that if unchecked, or through accidents, becomes injuries (physical injuries or emotional ones!).   These injuries and/or scared tissue cause the layers of fascia to tighten and stick together creating restriction and muscular pain. So for example when you have a stiff low back, often it isn’t damage to the muscle that is causing the pain, but a hardening or thickening of the fascia around the sacrum/lumbar region.  

Interestingly, in Ayurveda toxins or ama can accumulate through your Fascia and these toxins are the product of lifestyle choices or emotional baggage. 

The good news here in the west is that fascia is being recognized for its importance in maintaining a healthy, fit, toned, calm, and aligned body.   Through myofascial release techniques we can relax muscles and break “injuries" and/or release “toxins.” Releasing the stored tension in the fascia allows for cellular memories to be forgiven, relaxing your mind and allowing the body to enjoy better flexibility in every sense.

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under wellness, Yoga, Ballwork and tagged fascia myofascial release.

A Subway Ride to the Divine

Since living in NYC I find my subway rides a great space for my Spiritual work.  It started as a place to catch up with my reading and it has progress to a place where I can catch up with my contemplation.  My favorite exercise is to look around and ask my self if I can observe the Divine in the faces I see.  Yes, I can probably be the creepy guy staring at you now and then.  You would be surprise what you will find when you look for the sameness in your commuting brothers and sisters.

I found this poem from the always inspiring OnBeing website.  I just love the way Ms. Simmons captures the extraordinary presence of Grace on a mundane subway ride.  

 

Subway Prayer

BY DENA SIMMONS

From her neck, a plastic rosary dangles
like a child, swinging.
With poker-player precision,
she rations coins and cigarettes with her man
who drinks Jack Daniels
on a Bronx-bound 2 train.

Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.

On-lookers drink in faded lipstick lips,
older white woman,
her younger black lover,
his hair, small,
cotton-ball knots,
crimson eyes and lipstick-stained lips.
Intoxicating lust.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

A beggar, heavy, duck-taped like his wheelchair,
stumbles into the train car,
fragrant with human waste.
He speaks of a world that hurls him
into subterranean fundraising.

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

He makes his rounds,
wheelchair, clinking against iron poles.
Open hands,
empty,
in front of potential donors.
He wishes God blessed him
with a winning deck of cards.

Holy Mary, Mother of God.

To the lovers,
he huffs.
Despair.

Pray for us sinners.

The gambling-pair captures him
in the midst of trading nickels and Marlboros,
gives the begging man
everything,
hoping for a better hand.

Amen.

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under Spirituality, Meditation, inspiration and tagged Dena Simmons Poetry in Motion Subway Prayer Prayer Spiritual.

How to get a cat IN the bag in the first place

In my space organizer capacity I have been asked to pack away lots of items.  From dozens of wheel-chair cushions to an extensive collection of virtual art files, I have stored it all.  So when I was asked to help with packing an unruly cat in his carrier, I was stopped right on my organized tracks.  I decided to approach the project with the same open mind I approach all organizational conundrum: first, find out the objective/intention, then learn about the subject and finally the most important step, to follow through with efficient actions that get the job done.  So here is my case study on how to place an unwilling cat in a carrier.

The objective:  Kitty owner is moving, cat must be transported in a carrier to a far away land.  The kitty in question doesn’t like being in a carrier and in the past has made a big fuzz about it.  There is no time to train the cat.

Subject:  these days you can learn about anything from YouTube or Google search.  However the Internet is never my first resource, the first thing I always do is to reach out to the experts in my life.  I don’t know much about cats, except that they are independent and fun (btw, good characteristics for Happy Hour friends), so I reach out to my cat loving friends to get a consensus.  Professional help is always good, Veterinarian & yes, finally consulting the Internet can be good way to further find alternatives. 

Action:  There are ways or techniques to train or recondition a cat to feel comfortable getting into a cat carrier, but that takes time and we are on a time line, so below I am listing the fast learning technique I am calling “the-top-drop-of-the-burrito-cat.” I admit it’s a terrible name but it works.  In less than thirty seconds your cat will be in the cat carrier if you follow these steps:

1-    If you have time,  a day or two before you have to put cat into the carrier (and while your cat is distracted by something) get carrier in the space where you will be packing your kitty.  I am using the word packing because I pack things with love.  Some people suggest bathroom but if you live in NYC your bathroom may be too small to hold two living organisms at the same time.  Make sure you have the right size carrier, do some research on this if you need to.  If you forget to get carrier out before hand,  then bring it out at the last possible moment.  Apparently cats don’t like changes, so you either give them time to adjust to changes in their environment or you use the element of surprise.  The less stress out the cat is the less stress out you will be.  Position the carrier so that the carrier’s door is facing the ceiling, this will let you take advantage of gravity (Apana vayu, my yogis, Apana Vayu).

2-    Locate a lightweight bath towel that is big enough to wrap around your cat and contain all his legs/paws/claws, but not so big that wrapped around your cat you can’t get him through the carrier door.  Either leave towel out around the cat days before or don't bring it out till the very last minute.  Read above, either give your cat time to adjust to the towel or keep it a total surprise.

3-    At the last minute, get the cat into the room with you and the upward facing carrier. Depending on your cat, you may be able to pick him up and carry him in, or lure him in with food or a toy.  Quickly close the door/s.  By now he knows something is up, so let him be for a moment.  YOU take a deep breath.

4-    Gently but with strength & confidence wrap the cat like a burrito in the towel with only his head sticking out.  The towel is over the cat’s shoulders so his front paws are inside the burrito.  You may not get this right the first time! You need to wrap and hold the towel securely enough so the cat doesn’t escape, but please don’t suffocate Mr. Cat.

5- Now lower the burrito cat into the carrier, and swiftly shut the door.  Basically let his butt drop down into the carrier.  Cat will land on his feet and he will unwrap himself, don’t do anything else other than bringing the carrier to its horizontal position.  Cat is good to go.

Resources: Monica Longsdorf (the cat whisperer), Julie Dohrman (legendary yoga teacher & burrito cat expert) and a strange source, Joanie Coles (catering empress & unquenchable researcher of all things, including animals)

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under Organization and tagged how to put cat in carrier how to move your cat unwilling cats.

Thin Places in a Rubenesque Earth

 

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Eduardo Martinez.

The SkyMall is falling!

At the turn of the century I had a job in the chemical industry that required me to visit explosive-making plants located all over the Americas.  I traveled.  I traveled a lot.  There was one companion that got me through all the long hours in plains, the SkyMall catalogue.  I confess I never purchased anything from the catalogue, but I developed a morbid fascination with SkyMall's pages and pages of overly engineered artifacts.   For 25 years, SkyMall has been the most complete retail outlet of the unnecessary. If you don’t need it, they probably got it.  And in what I hope is a sign that the time has come for us American to put a stop to mindless consumerism, SkyMall filed for bankruptcy.  Congratulations to us!

As an ode to SkyMall’s impending passage, I thought I’d put together a gallery of some of the items you may still find available in their liquidation stock.

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Posted on February 6, 2015 by Eduardo Martinez.

Gift Ideas that Won't Bring Clutter

Some of us spend hours looking for the perfect gift and some of us just buy the first things that crosses our path with a sale sticker on it.  This year I am determined to toss the idea of giving stuff and focus my energy on finding experiences that will bring joy and peace to those around me.  So I put my thinking cap on, reached out to friends and got my editing pants on to come up with a concept that I hope won't bring clutter, but instead will bring space to this holiday season.  I am calling it My Favorite Non-Things. 

 

So what are Non-Things?  As part of my ministry of space, I help people manage their physical things though there are mental and spiritual things about this process too.  So I know there are A LOT of things out there.  Things that consume our space. Things that distract us from experiencing life better.  So Non-Things don't take space from your home, they don't end up in a box in the closet, they don't break or end up in a landfill somewhere.

This year, I have gathered the coolest and bestest Non-Things gift ideas for your friends and family.  Why to go with this list for your holiday shopping? Think about it, free shipping & no paper trails- all these gifts can be arranged via e-mail or with a phone call, no resifts or need for craigslist, Non-Things don't require wrapping paper which means no paper cuts, you will avoid bargain hunting injuries, you won't have to worry about finding the right size either, Non-Things make no noise when you shake them, and  most importantly I love all these Non-Things and I know you and your loved ones will love them too.   Here they are, my favorite Non-Things 2014

Link to My Favorite Non-Things!

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Eduardo Martinez.

Pema Chödrön on Powering Down and Deep Connection

"The best spiritual instruction is when you wake up in the morning and say, 'I wonder what's going to happen today.' And then carry that kind of curiosity through your life." Pema Chödrön

Pema Chödrön is one of those forces of nature that will exert its force on your spirit even when you are unaware of her presence.  Last week I saw her beautiful face in many of the feeds and radio/tv shows I follow.  These are the gems I keep hearing from Miss Pema: Curiosity.  Connection.  Space.  Awakening.  Depth.  

Then I ran into the above  Bill Moyers’ interview from 2006.  This is when you know you are in the presence of wisdom, her words are as relevant now as they were then.  See what jewels she got for you.

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under Spirituality, wellness and tagged Pema Chodron Spiritual technology meditation.

Eliminate Surfaces and conquer clutter

As true as gravity will keep your ass from floating in space, so will empty flat surfaces accumulate clutter in your home or office.  That is because clear surfaces provide unstructured, hook-free, often-vertically-unlimited storage. If you don’t believe me, go ahead make a clear surface–table, desk, counter-top, or even inside a drawer–and see how long it takes for it to get cluttered up with all varieties of stuff: unopened mail, brochures, dog leashes, pencil sharpeners, etc.   Our brains seem to be telling us "don’t know where to put this crap, stack it on that table, sure you'll get to it soon."

Here is another truth that will help you deal with this issue, clear surfaces tend to be magnets for stuff we don’t need, use or even want. These clear surfaces are especially useful for holding stuff we don’t want to deal with. Why do you think that “to table” something means to postpone the issue?

If you are looking to de-clutter and simplify your home, try removing a surface or two–one less end table, even one less dresser.  If this is too much for your cluttered mind, create limits on the surfaces you have by adding a small tray or small basket to collect your precious I-don't-want-to-deal-with-this stuff (hint...smaller the tray, the smaller the clutter).  Without easy places to deposit and pile stuff, we often find ourselves compelled to deal with it (or toss it on the floor, I guess, but tripping on it will force you to deal with it).


Posted on October 10, 2014 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under cleaning, design, inspiration, Living spaces, Organization and tagged storage organized spaces organization office organization office clutter.

Feminist: it isn't the word that matter, but what is behind it

When at the age of 23 years I entered he workforce and finally witnessed with my own eyes and heart how women were treated by their male co-workers, my feelings towards the word Feminist totally changed.  I'm going to let Emma Watson do the talk here…


Posted on September 28, 2014 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under inspiration, Pop Culture, Spirituality and tagged Spiritual Feminist Inspirational.

Archetypes Made Easy

We all wonder why we are attracted to certain stories, certain people and certain patterns.  This human inquisitiveness - regardless of culture, race or religious - about our own behavior, tendencies and thoughts drives us to create and to study guiding methods.  Archetype analysis is one those methods.  

I think of archetypes as our energy companions.  You know these archetypes very well, they are the characters you love or despise in fiction or real life. Since studying Joseph Campbell's work, this type of pattern analysis has resonated with me, and coupled with Yoga it has made a huge impact in how I use my intuition.  Archetypes are our stories in the quest for bliss.  According to Carolyn Myss, my go-to Archetype guru, 'we are continually scanning our world for patterns, particularly in people, because we know intuitively that if we understand someone’s behavior patterns we understand how she relates to herself, to her life, and to us. We understand a person better, for instance, if we know that she is essentially an Intellectual; that explains, for example, why she loves foreign films and biographies of great historic figures.' Ms. Myss calls Archetypes "the language of our soul."

Each one of us have archetypes idiosyncratic to our patterns of behavior.  These archetypes allow us to connect intuitively and on a deeper level to ourselves and to others.  Ms. Myss suggests that 'once we engage and begin to honor the language and patterns of our archetypes, a transformation begins not overnight but over time' (patience people, patience!).  She insists that by listening to our Archetypes we can step into our purpose, into a life more balanced, and friendships and relationships that fit with more ease and less effort. 

How do you get started?  Well there are tones of classical-psychology books on this subject, but If you want a fun way to ease yourself into this study, visit  Archetypes.com and take their quiz.  You can watch the video below to see if this is for you.

Warning! (don't resist warnings please, all tools come with them) when you embrace the language of archetypes you will immediately begin to notice patterns of synchronicity and coincidence appearing on a regular basis and sometimes dramatically so. 

Share your quiz results with me, I'll share mine.  


Posted on September 8, 2014 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under inspiration, Spirituality, Pop Culture, wellness and tagged archetypes yoga behavior.