Jill Miller

Andy, so good to see you.

Andy, so good to see you.

I'm down for all of it. That's great. I'm so glad that you connected with what I was offering because I think what I did and do in the yoga space was very radical and, frankly, heretical back when I started teaching it. And not a lot of people got it. And it's really nice to see that it did finally –

I'm down for all of it. That's great. I'm so glad that you connected with what I was offering because I think what I did and do in the yoga space was very radical and, frankly, heretical back when I started teaching it. And not a lot of people got it. And it's really nice to see that it did finally –

find those people that it was meant for, and act as a bridge back and forth between training, pain management, yoga, self-care, and all those things.

find those people that it was meant for, and act as a bridge back and forth between training, pain management, yoga, self-care, and all those things.

Okay. So foam rolling has become the de facto term that is now used, I think, in most places that refers to self-myofascial release. So self-myofascial release as a category in the self-treatment space or recovery space is where you use and implement foam. which technically is called a stress transfer medium. So we're talking about rolling sticks. We're talking about foam rollers.

Okay. So foam rolling has become the de facto term that is now used, I think, in most places that refers to self-myofascial release. So self-myofascial release as a category in the self-treatment space or recovery space is where you use and implement foam. which technically is called a stress transfer medium. So we're talking about rolling sticks. We're talking about foam rollers.

We're talking about different balls, even pokey tools, like just single things that have knobs on them. So anything like that is a implement that is trying to influence tissue in a variety of different ways. These implements are trying to mimic somebody's hands, right? So this is something that you can do on your own. You don't have to hire somebody. You don't have to go out of pocket.

We're talking about different balls, even pokey tools, like just single things that have knobs on them. So anything like that is a implement that is trying to influence tissue in a variety of different ways. These implements are trying to mimic somebody's hands, right? So this is something that you can do on your own. You don't have to hire somebody. You don't have to go out of pocket.

You can do it any time of day you want, wherever and whenever you need it. So what are they doing? What are these implements doing? They are... sometimes compressing tissue. Like you said, they're inducing local stretch. So if I just lay on a ball or lay on a foam roller, I'm really just putting pressure into that local region.

You can do it any time of day you want, wherever and whenever you need it. So what are they doing? What are these implements doing? They are... sometimes compressing tissue. Like you said, they're inducing local stretch. So if I just lay on a ball or lay on a foam roller, I'm really just putting pressure into that local region.

But what happens if I stroke that implement with my body weight, either in a reclining position or up against a wall or in myriad other arrangements? What happens if I take that implement and I move it along the line of pull of a muscle or across the a pull of a muscle? Or what happens if I do a different type of compressive rolling?

But what happens if I stroke that implement with my body weight, either in a reclining position or up against a wall or in myriad other arrangements? What happens if I take that implement and I move it along the line of pull of a muscle or across the a pull of a muscle? Or what happens if I do a different type of compressive rolling?

What happens if I pivot the implement or pivot my body so that it creates traction and creates like a pinching sensation? What are all those things doing? They're affecting different stretch receptors in different ways, and they're affecting different layers of your body in different ways, from skin to deep. And one of my deep interests is in the fascial tissues that it annoys.

What happens if I pivot the implement or pivot my body so that it creates traction and creates like a pinching sensation? What are all those things doing? They're affecting different stretch receptors in different ways, and they're affecting different layers of your body in different ways, from skin to deep. And one of my deep interests is in the fascial tissues that it annoys.

What is it doing to those tissues? It's doing a lot of different things. So I recently wrote a narrative review of the scientific research on self-myofascial release. And there are a lot of things that these implements are doing to your body. One of the, I think, things that we can... almost all the systematic reviews can agree on is it improves range of motion very quickly.

What is it doing to those tissues? It's doing a lot of different things. So I recently wrote a narrative review of the scientific research on self-myofascial release. And there are a lot of things that these implements are doing to your body. One of the, I think, things that we can... almost all the systematic reviews can agree on is it improves range of motion very quickly.

So it's somehow dampening some of the sympathetic feedback into your body. So you can very quickly improve your sit and reach test or shoulder overhead or spinal movements or even jaw movements. It just depends on what is your target. What is your joint target? What's your tissue target? What's your intention? So that range of motion improvement is really exciting.

So it's somehow dampening some of the sympathetic feedback into your body. So you can very quickly improve your sit and reach test or shoulder overhead or spinal movements or even jaw movements. It just depends on what is your target. What is your joint target? What's your tissue target? What's your intention? So that range of motion improvement is really exciting.