This technique is going to use the foam roller long ways. We’re basically going to address the attachment of our skull to our spine and then the attachment of our pelvis to our spine. So to make things real simple, your head’s at the top, your butt’s at the bottom, and we’re going to loosen up both ends by using the ends of the roller.

Now my spine is not this long, so I’m going to have to scoot back and then scoot forward to get to the end of the roller right underneath the occipital ridge and then right at the top of the sacrum. So I’ll talk you through it. You’re going to come onto your roller, sit at one end, carefully and gently lower yourself down, and just enjoy it for a moment.

Just this position has benefits to you. Relax for a moment and let your spine experience that nice firm straight line. Turn your palms open to lift your chest.

Begin with a few rounds of pelvic tilting, flattening the lumbar curve into the roller, pulling in your belly, and then inhaling as you arch back to a neutral spine. This is a fundamental action in the lower back and it wakes up the abdominal wall. Coordinating it with the breath is also very relaxing to your nervous system.

So inhale when you arch and exhale when you flatten. Go ahead and do 10 repetitions of the pelvic tilt and then take your thumbs to the back of your head and find your earlobes. Travel behind your earlobes to find this big bone that sticks out.

It is actually one bone that goes all the way across and it’s called the occiput. We’re going to inchworm our way back. You might even need to use your hands until the very base of your skull or the occiput is on the end of the roller.

Have your feet nice and wide so you don’t have to worry about falling off the roller and turn your palms open. Relax your mouth and your jaw, maybe opening your mouth a little bit. Try to completely relax so you’re not tensing any muscles and then in almost a lazy lethargic way, roll your head to the left slow.

Allow your head to just hang to one side. Concentrate on your breathing as you come back through the center and make your way to the other side. It’s okay if your lower back is lifted off the floor or even if your ribs are sticking out a little bit and just go real slow and gentle side to side.

Now this technique is not for everyone. If it makes you feel woozy or feel a little dizzy, just slide right back onto the roller and skip it. Many people find it to be one of the most relaxing therapeutic techniques with the roller.

If you’re comfortable doing so, inch back a little bit further and really let that head hang down. We spend so many hours of the day with our head forward from the rest of our spine, so it’s very healing and therapeutic to the pressure between the vertebrae and even to the muscles of the throat and neck and face to just let that head hang. Now I love extremes so I go all the way back and really let it go.

I like to even open and close the mouth and stretch the throat, stick out the bottom teeth, and do all kinds of other unique things to help relax your neck and face. Take your time with that one and be conservative and maybe just start with this for a few weeks. When you finish working on the neck, inchworm your way down.

Sometimes you can hold the end and just slide and then find with your thumbs, once again, your bony landmarks, which are here your SI joint. S stands for sacro and I stands for iliac. It’s where your sacrum and your ilium come together.

It’s also where L5, your last vertebrae, attaches to your sacrum. Begin to drop your bottom and then curl it back up. Notice that I’m not just lifting.

It’s more of a curling action that pulls the abdominals in and tips the pubic bone up. Concentrate on your breathing as you inhale and drop your bottom down and exhale and curl back up. This is engaging your glutes to strengthen them and just bringing a good healthy relationship into your hips and into your lower back.

Unless you’ve worked out on a floor that has a hole in it, most people have never experienced this position in their spine before, so it can be very soothing as it decompresses and opens up that lumbar. Have your feet nice and wide. If you’re feeling comfortable and you want to be adventurous in the upper body, sweep your arms up and back and hold on to the end of the roller with your hands.

Now, even if you can’t get to the end and you’re back here or maybe even hovering up here, just do the best you can and over time it should become accessible. When you’re ready to go into a full expression of this posture, extend your legs out and keep your arms back there and you could just hold this position for a while. This is a very unique position in your spine and helps release the pressure that builds up in the different curves of our back and just gets our body in a different shape than what it’s used to.

It’s also nice to do with the knees or even go into the butterfly position, whatever feels good to you. You could even apply pressure to your thigh bones, pushing away, which gently tractions your lower back. That feels really good and creates space in the lumbar.

When you’re ready, bring your knees back together and very carefully just fall off the roller. Take your time getting up and maybe just be still for a few breaths as your spine has just been in a pretty intense experience.