Benefits in using Franklin balls: release tight muscles, increase sensation in muscles, benefit blood supply and elasticity of muscles, make you feel good too. When you use these balls to release specific muscles it’s good to know you are having a more generalised effect across all the other muscles linking around it. Sheets of connective tissue travel around and through our muscles so when you release one particular spot, it is flowing on through the connective sheets or fascia to benefit other muscles around it. This encourages blood supply, relaxation of the body and assists the flow of information between muscle groups.
Start at the FEET
Roll ball across surface of entire foot to wake it up. Slowly and deliberately, feeling the weight of your body into the ball. Let it move the skin and apply pressure to every cm of your sole.
Place ball under bones of at base of toes and roll slightly toward the arch. You will feel a bony ridge here and you want to be half on the ridge and half at the front of the arch. Rest foot over ball with toes soft and draping, heel on floor. Breathe and let all tension melt over ball. After at least one minute here, then press into and release the pressure on the ball 20 times. When you press into the ball allow the other foot to come off the floor so all the weight is on the ball and you are giving your foot a deep Remedial massage.
Repeat this same action in the full arch of the foot and then on the heel bone. Stay in the one spot for at least a minute, then 20 press and release. Keep the foot soft as you hold the position or you are decreasing the benefits. Take a little walk around and compare the two feet and ankles. It will feel springier and softer. At the very least this has helped your foot, ankle and calf.
Move to the BUTT
Lay on your back and place balls under flesh of the glutes, not tailbone or lower back, the glutes themselves. Vary the ball position every now and again, you mustn’t get a numb bum.
Movement options:
• Open out one knee at a time feeling ball massage across the glute as you do. Be relaxed in the movement and keep front of hips soft. Inhale as open exhale as close, feeling the heaviness of the leg in each movement. Control and softness are essential.
• Open both knees into frog position and hold for a minute or two. Breathe into front of hips and as you exhale feel your glutes soften over the balls.
• Practice knee floats and pelvic tucks with balls here.
When you are done, take the balls out and see how you feel on the floor once they are gone. Aaaagghhh!
Use the balls one at a time to deeply massage glutes as you move around on them. Let’s start with the right.
• Leaning on your right elbow place ball under right glute, left leg bent with foor flat. You can massage around your hip bone, around your sitz bones, straight up and down the line of the glute and any which way you like. Always stop and compare sides before you move to the left.
• You can try massaging the top of the ITB if you like, but a softer larger ball may be less brutal.
Time for the SHOULDERS and BACK
You can do many things, but let’s do a little sequence to get you going.
1. Massage up and down the muscles on either side of the spine. Work from base of shoulder blades up to base of neck. Work slowly and a little section at a time. If it is painful beyond uncomfortable, you may be irritating your muscles/joints so be observant and back off if it REALLY hurts.
2. Place balls at the base of shoulder blades, a little out from each side of spine, and lay on them. Hands behind head and slowly open and close elbows, keeping soft across front and back of chest as you move. After a few minutes of this lift arms up and circle them both around in the air, in differing movements.
3. Repeat these two actions for two more positions, balls between blades in the middle and at top inner corner of blades resting in that tight upper shoulder muscle, upper trapezius.
4. Repeat the up and down massage again, stopping at various points and holding position while you breathe in and out for 6 counts.
Remove the balls and lay down again for your reward.
Finally, the UPPER ARMS
Following the line of your arm bone you can release all the upper arm muscles and further assist tension in shoulders and neck.
1. Let’s think of the upper arm in three parts, side, front and back sections, just as in side, front and back of your body.
2. Start on the side of your upper arm and by lying on the ball roll up and down the length of the bone between elbow and shoulder. I like to bend my other arm in front of me to help support the position and bend your legs and hips to whatever side lay position is comfy for you. Keep the arm inline wih the body as you massage along it. This is all about letting go of tension, so don’t create some by the position you lay in, especially in the neck.
3. This will be tight and sore in places but bear with it, a wonderful shoulder release is on the way.
4. Do the same for the line down the front of your arm, you are rolled slightly forward on the arm bone. Roll up and down in short sections to release the stiffness. It will be most tight toward the end of the muscle, either up at the shoulder or right down near the elbow. Breathe and release, inhale and sigh it out.
5. Repeat the up down slide on the back of the arm, find those nasty tight spots and stay and hold for 6 counts again.
Please compare the two arms by resting on your back for a bit before you switch. Allow the body to feel the difference and give it a chance to learn how muscles can feel. As you can see these balls are perfect for self massage, so that will be $80 thanks!
You really can use them all over the body so these ideas are just a start.
Important: Breathe, let go, melt, soften, loosen and enjoy. The fantastic imagery of Eric Franklin can be applied in this work, all credit to him for these ideas and his approach.
