Product Description

A revolutionary method that teaches bodywork practitioners and their clients how to feel the inner logic of the muscular system. 

Each body has its own logic, its own language of release. This internal logic is at the heart of Body Rolling, an innovative technique that uses a ten-inch ball to stretch muscles, freeing restrictions in the body, increasing blood flow, and promoting healing. Body Rolling teaches "touch and tell" anatomy; you learn to physically find the origin of a muscle and sense what it feels like for that muscle to fully release. Experiencing first-hand the interrelationships in the muscular system comes as a revelation to most bodywork therapists. Body Rolling is an excellent treatment for a number of conditions, and it can re-teach muscles to move effortlessly and painlessly. It creates structural changes that are positive, permanent, and powerful, and that prevent new injuries from occurring. 

The author explains the underlying principles of her technique, shows how to get started, and gives instructions for basic side, front, and back routines. 

Detailed chapters focus on treating specific conditions such as lower back pain, neck problems, and the effects of aging. 

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #290265 in Books
• Published on: 1997-09-01
• Released on: 1997-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.com
Here's a workout with one big difference from all the others: it uses a ball. Among others, the kind of lightweight vinyl ball you often see stacked up in huge cages in toy stores (perhaps the cheapest piece of workout equipment ever). Zake, a yoga teacher and bodywork practitioner, began developing her techniques 20 years ago to help herself recover from a hip injury. She believes that rolling on the ball in various ways stimulates muscles at their origins, causing them to relax and elongate; at the same time, the gentle pressure increases circulation to the muscles and tendons. This in turn helps balance the body and relieve all kinds of painful conditions in the back, neck, shoulders, and legs, as well as improving the results produced by any other bodywork techniques. Body Rolling is structured for bodywork practitioners to use with their clients, and the anatomical language is somewhat technical. Still, the exercises are well illustrated, and there's no reason readers with a certain amount of fitness knowledge can't do these routines themselves. If you really get into it, you can order more flexible, reinflatable balls from Zake's company.

Massage Therapy, Spring 1999
A sincerely offered and thoroughly presented contribution to the field.

Review
"My first session was a joyful experience that left me deep in thought."
(Robert Calvert, founder, Massage Magazine )

"Most massage therapists and bodyworkers eventually wrestle with the nagging question, 'Is there anything that my client can do in between our sessions to help the work we are doing together last longer?' This book offers a simple, practical solution."
(Massage Magazine  )

"A sincerely offered and thoroughly presented contribution to the field. "
(Massage Therapy, Spring 1999 )

Customer Reviews

Not light reading - A technical book for correcting real musculoskeletal issues
This book is not a good intro into body rolling if you are a lay person. It is designed to present routines to be used as corrective exercises and for training her instructors.

For a good intro, buy the kit and the DVD and the newer book.

If you are really "motivated" and understand what the muscle origin and insertion is and are interested in rolling through and releasing various levels and layers of muscle tissue, then buy the book. I own both books, and unlike most authors, did not find any redundency between the two.

Your body will thank you
This is a technical book, as mentioned by the other reviewers. I am a certified personal trainer but I had to think pretty hard sometimes to visualise where I was supposed to be during the exercises. Due to that fact I also purchased Yamuna Zake's second book 'The Ultimate Body Rolling Workout' to fully understand the exercises in lay terms.

I cannot express enough how wonderful Zake's program is. For years I have been working out religiously at the gym but have seen more results in a month of rolling than in a year of cardio, weights and yoga. To think all this time I could have been way ahead of the game if I had known about body rolling.

When I studied for my certification I learnt about self-myofascial release to undo muscle spasms and relax muscles. Zake's work is an extension of that, but by using a ball instead of a foam roll, one can really work muscles that have ceased to function optimally. If you have cellulite you will finally be able to get rid of it as you massage over the connective tissue and break up deposits.

Not only are the physical benefits of body rolling impressive but your emotional wellbeing will be high. After a body rolling session, especially for the back, you are left with an amazing sense of relaxation and a release of all tension.

One can use sports balls to do this workout, however, I recommend purchasing a body rolling ball from yamunabodyrolling.com to get maximum benefit from the program. The balls are very durable and are made of thick rubber - they are much thicker than a regular inflatable ball.

So, I gave this book 4 stars out of 5 because of its very technical nature. However, I give the body rolling workout 10 stars for what it has done for me. Get Zake's second book and you will be very, very happy.

A breakthrough in self-exploration
This book is not for the person who wants an easy fix. But for anyone willing to put in the time it is just this side of miraculous. You will likely add inches and flexibility to your ribcage - increasing room for your lungs and other internal organs (I added 1-1/2 inches in 3 weeks). Your posture will improve, and as a result, you will likely add to your height (I added 1/2"). But best of all, you will look and feel rejuvinated. I have done yoga, weight lifting, walking, running - all the normal stuff. Body Rolling beats it all hands down for relaxing and energizing your body (and face - I added a face routine of my own based on the same principles.)

It helps to have a knowledge of anatomy, but, with one of the anatomy books she lists at the back, this can definitely be acquired as you work through the protocols. This will increase the time it takes to learn these routines - I found just working the back to take about 1-1/2 hours the first time or two. But now it takes about a half an hour. Additionally, in areas where you are very stiff, ie: the rib cage, you may end up very sore for awhile, requiring ice and heat, but stick with it, the results are more than worth it.