Relax the Base of your Skull

Do you know that you'd probably love this?

Hey Rollers,

There are so many different techniques we use on the foam roller to relax the neck and shoulders. In fact, I have a whole masterclass devoted to relaxing the neck and shoulders because there is so much involved in this system. It’s true that to actually change the patterns that cause tension and pain, we need to address the system as a whole, rolling out each and every part of the shoulders and neck, then re-training them to position differently. That’s a whole other thing.

But, a quick-hit on the neck never hurt anyone. So, I give you—The Base of the Skull. This rolling technique is pretty intense and so restorative. I find that most of us, especially the daily screen-dwellers, hold our heads in a forward posture where the head is not aligned with the rest of the spine, but it’s jutting forward of it. In this super typical posture type, there are a number of muscles at the base of your skull that are GRABBING THE SKULL and constantly convincing it to stay upright. When this happens, because gravity is not working in their favor, the muscles have to behave as if the head is SUPER heavy.

These little guys were not meant for all this work, because there are a ton of different muscles in the chest, shoulders and neck that, when aligned well, help to hold up the weight of your head. When aligned less well, some of them have to work harder than designed for.

So, let’s get the roller on these little guys at the base of your skull and give them a chance to release their tension. This is about a 4 minute technique cloaked in a 13 minute video, because I want you to know all the things and I was feeling chatty. 😆

Last night while teaching our weekly, full-body foam rolling class, I had an unusual moment when I was STOKED that the class was being filmed so that I could upload it to Patreon for ALL your enjoyment because it was just feeling so amazing. Low and behold, I realized after class that forgot to hit record. 🤪 I blame the occipital technique above for relaxing me too much. So, no new foam rolling class today but hop over there for past classes and this week’s 30 Minute, therapeutic workout (inspired by barre). If you don’t know about the Patreon, it’s a magical place where you can give yourself as many DIY massages as you want and take your stress level to zero for only $10/month.

To recap, here are some buttons for things that are good for you:

Have a great weekend, my buddies! See you back here in two weeks. 💛

Love,

Maggie