My Unique Stretch Pole Method is a Bit Intense

Stretch PoleA stretch pole is a long, cylindrical object. The idea is to lie down on it with your spine aligned over the pole for exercise. Even though it’s called exercise, it’s simple and feels incredibly good. Just lying on the pole with your arms and legs spread out allows your body to stretch out with a gentle sensation, making it recommended even for those with very stiff bodies. Since many exercise methods are shown on YouTube, I’ll skip those here.—My own method is a bit intense.

First, place the stretch pole horizontally across your back, not vertically, and lie down. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your neck, interlacing your fingers, and bring your elbows together. Lift your hips off the floor. While in this position, bend and extend your knees, rolling the pole around the upper and lower areas of your shoulder blades. The key is to gradually open your elbows as you move the pole from the lower part of your shoulder blades towards your shoulders, and gradually close your elbows as you move the pole from your shoulders back towards the lower part of your shoulder blades. When you open and close your elbows, you might hear a distinct “crunch, crunch!” sound around your shoulder blades, but this is a sign that skeletal alignment is being corrected.

In other words, this exercise is a form of self-directed osteopathy. People with rounded shoulders or shoulder blades that feel stuck to their backs might hear louder sounds. Thanks to this exercise, the long-standing stiffness in my shoulder blades has loosened, and I can now rotate my shoulders much more freely. Recently, as they’ve become more aligned, the sounds have lessened (which is a little disappointing…!?). However, this may be too intense for people with very stiff bodies, so try it after loosening up your body with regular stretch pole exercises.

Super Simple! Lie Down with a Ball and Muscles Will Loosen Amazingly!

Next, let’s talk about the balance ball and tennis ball. I learned this method from a Pilates instructor, and it’s said to loosen muscles miraculously just by lying down. While some balance balls are large, around 70 cm in diameter, we’ll be using a small ball, about 12 cm, and one made of a slightly firm material. Exercising with a 70 cm ball offers a pleasant sense of relaxation, but with this small ball, you’ll experience a loosening that makes you wonder, “Huh? How is this possible!?” And it’s incredibly simple! All you have to do is lie down with the ball placed against you.

First, lie down with your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Then, place the ball against three points: your sacrum, the hollow at the base of your neck (the nape), and between your shoulder blades. Finally, sit on a chair and place the ball under your buttocks (pelvic floor). After holding the ball in each position for about 1 to 3 minutes, remove it, and voilà! The muscles around where the ball was placed will feel astonishingly relaxed and loose, as if they’ve “whooshed” away all tension.

My sacrum has always been stiff and prominent, and despite various exercises and chiropractic treatments, it hadn’t improved much. The first time I tried this, I was so stunned by the degree of relaxation, I thought, “What was all my previous effort for!?” Moreover, it’s said that simply loosening these four points along the spine can lead to a facial lift. Indeed, massaging the scalp, which is connected to the skin of the face, definitely lifts it. So, it’s only natural that loosening the entire spine down to the pelvis would lift the face. After all, the skin is a single continuous layer covering the entire body.

Discovering Natural, Effortless Standing with a Tennis Ball

Having experienced the benefits of these balls, I now use them on various parts of my body in different positions to loosen them up. For example, the back of the armpit, the front of the shoulder joint, the sides of the neck, the nape of the neck, the sides of the pelvis, and the inner thighs. Basically, I just place the ball where I feel stiffness, allowing my body weight to press into it. And since it loosens muscles and feels good while I’m just zoning out, it’s perhaps the most effortless exercise imaginable.

Now, for the soles of the feet, we use a tennis ball. First, stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Place a tennis ball under the ball of your foot (the padded part below the big toe) and grip it by curling your toes. It might hurt a little the first time. Next, place it between the inner heel and the arch of your foot and grip with your toes. This might hurt even more (!). But when you remove the ball, it’s truly remarkable. Your weight is evenly distributed across the entire sole of your foot, and you can stand effortlessly. Also, if your toes tend to curl, you should feel them extending. You might realize, “I’ve been standing unnaturally all this time.”

Lately, I start my mornings by loosening my body with these “three circles” before doing yoga or stretching. This allows me to practice yoga and stretching more effectively and deeply. Alternatively, on nights when I have trouble falling asleep, I do them in bed. When the body loosens, the mind seems to follow, and sleepiness naturally comes over me.

Indeed, loosening the body might be the first and most important step, even when strengthening it. If you try to strengthen muscles that are already stiff and misshapen, they will only become more so. Hmm, perhaps my motto for the rest of my life should be “to loosen.” That way, I won’t have to waste effort on anything…!