The Most Common Reactions to Rolling and What They Mean
Sometimes it’s hard to trust ourselves. In an age where we can look up anything and get the answer we are looking for whether it’s correct or not, it’s easy to bypass our own instincts and even lose touch with them completely. In fact, in the ease of getting the answer we want, we don’t have to trust ourselves - we can put our trust completely into some outside source and follow it so that we relieve ourselves of critical thinking, self reflection and intuition.
I digress. The age of misinformation is wearing on me, I think.
If there is anything we’ve learned though, from the war between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, is that we all, actually have authority over our own bodies, don’t we?
Having soft, pliable tissue is important. It’s how we prevent injuries, ward off aches and pains and assure that our bodies are moving and working efficiently. But how do we achieve this and how do we trust ourselves that we’re doing it safely? The most common fear I hear from people is that they don’t know whether they’re at risk of hurting themselves or not when they use a roller. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” they say.
If there is one thing I’m on this earth to do, it’s to tell you not to be afraid of your own body. If you position yourself to listen to it, the things it has to tell you could turn on a lightbulb and turn “I don’t know what I’m doing” into “so THAT’S what’s causing my knee pain!”
There is no ache in your body that won’t give you information when pressure is applied to it. Here are the most common roller sensations and what they mean:
You apply the roller to an achy spot and it makes you wanna barf.
If immediately upon applying the roller to a hot spot you want to retract from it, your roller is too firm. The spot likely still needs you, but it needs gentle, non invasive pressure. Meet your tissues where they’re at and if they’re really tender, a super aggressive roller is not going to make them soften. Try wrapping a bath towel around your firm roller to make it softer, or invest in a high quality squishy one. Soft, air-filled balls are also magic against sensitive areas.
You apply pressure to an area and it feels good, but it doesn’t change anything afterward, or maybe even makes it feel worse.
This was a, dare I say, devastating realization for me when I was struggling to heal a case of my own tenosynovitis, but sometimes bodywork is NOT the answer. If pressure from your roller feels productive in the moment, but no matter how much you work through it, it doesn’t change your symptoms, there could be a couple things happening:
What you’re working on is inflamed and needs rest, not to be pestered with pressure.
What you’re working on is not actually the source of your problem, something else is.
You apply pressure to a spot and it feels challenging, but also productive and sets off a “YES!” reaction in your brain.
This is best-case-scenario kind of feedback! This is where you want your roller to live. When you embrace the sensations that feel productive on the roller, you’re embracing change, you’re welcoming self-sufficiency and you’re becoming empowered to heal your own aches and pains. Seek out the sensations that feel like opportunities on your roller. Breathe and open yourself to them. When you feel like scampering from them, then one of the above scenarios might be happening, and that’s really good information for you to draw from.
Trust yourselves, friends. You know more than you think you do and if you take the time to be present in your body, in your mind, you will find the answer you need. I am here to support and guide your journey!