Rib Flare, Sticky Mid-Back, Shallow Breathing...
Feel way freer in your torso by rolling your intercostal muscles. InterWHAA?
Sometimes all we need to do to relax something it to touch it. If we can communicate with a part of our body by physically connecting to it, our brains can become aware of it and it’s the beginning of the conversation to heal it.
Some areas feel impossible to connect with—until they’re not. 😉 For example, these are your intercostals…read on for some nerdy anatomy. The video technique is below all that. 😆
They’re the muscles that knit your ribs together and allow the ribs to both flare and contract. Every time you take a breath, in theory your intercostals stretch in order expand the ribs and create space for the lungs/diaphragm, and as you exhale the intercostals contract, or flex, to expel all the air out of your lungs. This is for another newsletter entirely but the act of BREATHING is incredibly valuable to many of the systems of our autonomic nervous system. So we want to be able to breathe well.
Yes—anytime you roll your upper back, you’re effectively rolling over your intercostals, but you’re rolling on a lot of other things first. The most superficial layer is the lats, then you’ve got the trapezius, then the erector spinae, the rhomboids, the serratus…etc. It’s dizzying. The deepest layer is the intercostals and the most efficient way to access them is the front of the ribcage, coupled with the breath.
So I give you today, this super unique intercostal and diaphragmatic expansion technique on the roller.
This move is in this week’s most recent Rolling Class on Patreon, and it’s also a technique used in BOTH my masterclasses—Foam Rolling for Neck and Shoulder Relief and Foam Rolling for Hip and Lower Back Relief. It’s a game changer for mid-body mobility. Enjoy it and let me know what you think!
Join the Patreon for weekly class and tidbit releases and see you back here in two weeks for another FREE technique of the week!
Love,
Maggie