Tennis Balls
Have you ever heard of laying on Tennis Balls to help alleviate pain in your body?
Well, let me tell you, it is a FANTASTIC, easy and inexpensive way to gain balance back into the body.
Here is how it works:
- Start with two tennis balls
- Ideally in a tube sock (to control them and keep them the same distance apart)
- Lay on back
- Knees bent
- Place balls gently under the body
- Place in a mirror- like fashion (meaning wherever you put one on the right put one in the same spot on the right)
Start slow... try the balls for 5-10 minutes your first few times, then get up and walk around to be sure you are 'taking' them well, and your body feels good. After a few days of getting used to them, linger on the spots that 'hurt so good'... my sessions last anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours! It depends on how hard I worked that day,
and how tight my muscles are... it is all up to you...
I always do something else like watching a movie or reading a book when I do this exercise so I don't get bored- for if you are bored, you won't do it!
What is my story with Tennis Balls?
A few years ago, I began struggling with hip pain. Over a few months time it became worse and worse, periodically bringing me to tears with the pain. Despite seeing professional bodyworkers and seeing my chiropractor regularly, I still could not 'kick' this ache in my hip and it lingered for over a year...
Finally, I decided to try laying on tennis balls. I first came up with the 'sacrum pattern' (seen in chart below), placing the balls on either side of the triangular bone at the base of the spine in three positions. This simple layout, done for about 15 minutes a day, perhaps a twice a day if needed- in only a few days, took care of the hip pain I had been in for over a year! I now regularly lay on the tennis balls and have come up with many more 'patterns' to use, depending on what is bothering me. I find myself living in a pain free body the majority of my days now, thanks to the
tennis balls!
We carry them with us everywhere, we each have a set in the car to make those long drives like being in a day spa- we keep a set by the bed and a set in the living room for watching TV. We highly recommend carrying a pair for long airplane rides too... give them a try, and you may just be AMAZED!!!
What have my clients experienced with Tennis Balls?
The most dramatic case I helped was a friend who had back surgery 16 years ago where she had her lumbar spine replaced with a metal 'ladder' of sorts. In that 16 years, she has not had a moment completely out of pain. She said
the worst is first thing in the morning and it was hard to get out of bed.
I suggested she lay on the tennis balls in the 'sacrum' and 'erector spinae' patterns for 15 minutes before she gets out of bed. She found that these simply relaxing 15 minutes spent before her day started gave her 6 hours of complete pain relief! Six hours, on the first try... and it was the first time she was out of pain in 16 years!
It is now 5 years later, and she still uses her tennis balls every morning, and still is getting her 6 hours of relief! I urge her to lay on them again in the afternoon to get another 6 hour 'run' but you know, hectic days in this modern world don't always allow such luxuries...
Feel free to print out the images below for reference, and please send me your feedback!
