Jill Miller

That feeling you get when, I'm thinking about my husband, when, just think about when we walk the dog and I grab him by the scruff of his neck, you know, where that coat hanger area is, right at the base of the neck, the upper trapezius, and I just traction him right in that dowager's hump area. He doesn't have one, but you know what I'm talking about?

That feeling you get when, I'm thinking about my husband, when, just think about when we walk the dog and I grab him by the scruff of his neck, you know, where that coat hanger area is, right at the base of the neck, the upper trapezius, and I just traction him right in that dowager's hump area. He doesn't have one, but you know what I'm talking about?

Just like I would lift a puppy by the scruff of its skin. It feels amazing to have stretch in that direction. We just don't get it. So I try to do that using two balls in different areas of the body to also create that type of offloading traction rather than a compression traction.

Just like I would lift a puppy by the scruff of its skin. It feels amazing to have stretch in that direction. We just don't get it. So I try to do that using two balls in different areas of the body to also create that type of offloading traction rather than a compression traction.

I think you'd have to look into the cupping literature to see other benefits of what that offloading type of stretch does. And I haven't really looked into that.

I think you'd have to look into the cupping literature to see other benefits of what that offloading type of stretch does. And I haven't really looked into that.

During the pandemic, I was in peak stress, just like everybody else. I was homeschooling a five-year-old, a kindergartner, and a three-year-old preschooler who had never had a computer in front of their face in their whole lives. And all of a sudden, their schools were on Zoom. And we were pivoting our company and filming all this content. And it was so stressful.

During the pandemic, I was in peak stress, just like everybody else. I was homeschooling a five-year-old, a kindergartner, and a three-year-old preschooler who had never had a computer in front of their face in their whole lives. And all of a sudden, their schools were on Zoom. And we were pivoting our company and filming all this content. And it was so stressful.

I started to have – and also I was writing a book, of course, about stress regulation. And I started to have panic attacks, which is not – and that is not in something that I'm not used to. I definitely had panic attacks in my life. But this was horrible. Yeah.

I started to have – and also I was writing a book, of course, about stress regulation. And I started to have panic attacks, which is not – and that is not in something that I'm not used to. I definitely had panic attacks in my life. But this was horrible. Yeah.

and I had come across just some anatomical body part that I'd read about before, but sometimes a body part, especially when it's fascial topography, doesn't stick the first time, doesn't stick the second time, doesn't stick the seventh time, but finally the eighth time, I became fascinated by this particular area of the thoracolumbar aponeurosis called the lateral raft.

and I had come across just some anatomical body part that I'd read about before, but sometimes a body part, especially when it's fascial topography, doesn't stick the first time, doesn't stick the second time, doesn't stick the seventh time, but finally the eighth time, I became fascinated by this particular area of the thoracolumbar aponeurosis called the lateral raft.

So the thoracolumbar aponeurosis is the... the plane upon plane of flat epimesial fascia that is the tendon of your lats. It's the tendon of your external abdominal obliques, your internal abdominal obliques, your transversus abdominis, your erector spinae. There are also layers that... enveloped the psoas and quadratus lumborum.

So the thoracolumbar aponeurosis is the... the plane upon plane of flat epimesial fascia that is the tendon of your lats. It's the tendon of your external abdominal obliques, your internal abdominal obliques, your transversus abdominis, your erector spinae. There are also layers that... enveloped the psoas and quadratus lumborum.

So we have a layer cake of deep fascia on the back called the thoracolumbar aponeurosis, all right? And within this, there are these little seams where all of the layers of the thoracolumbar aponeurosis come together, and these are called the lateral raff or lateral raffae, if I'm pronouncing French correctly. Mm-hmm. So I wanted to see if I can massage that lateral raffae.

So we have a layer cake of deep fascia on the back called the thoracolumbar aponeurosis, all right? And within this, there are these little seams where all of the layers of the thoracolumbar aponeurosis come together, and these are called the lateral raff or lateral raffae, if I'm pronouncing French correctly. Mm-hmm. So I wanted to see if I can massage that lateral raffae.

And so what I did was I had these tools called gorgeous balls. And they're soft, inflated rubber balls. And the ball feels like a human hand. It's very grippy. And they're very gushy, these balls. And so I placed them on either side of my lower back, right about where the lateral raffae is. Where is that? Just above the... pelvic bones connecting to the 12th rib. So we had this little zipper.

And so what I did was I had these tools called gorgeous balls. And they're soft, inflated rubber balls. And the ball feels like a human hand. It's very grippy. And they're very gushy, these balls. And so I placed them on either side of my lower back, right about where the lateral raffae is. Where is that? Just above the... pelvic bones connecting to the 12th rib. So we had this little zipper.

This is where this lateral raft is. And I laid on my back and I had these gorgeous balls on the girth of my low back. And my sacrum was on the floor. These balls were on the sides of my low back, rib cage and head was on the floor. And I laid there and I breathed for many, many minutes using my diaphragm as an internal massage tool to reach my way into this thoracolumbar aponeurosis.

This is where this lateral raft is. And I laid on my back and I had these gorgeous balls on the girth of my low back. And my sacrum was on the floor. These balls were on the sides of my low back, rib cage and head was on the floor. And I laid there and I breathed for many, many minutes using my diaphragm as an internal massage tool to reach my way into this thoracolumbar aponeurosis.