Ronald Nichols LMT

I do this often to release my back tension also! Great stretch!!

🦵 Resting your legs up against a wall places them above the level of your heart, which can make it easier for blood and other fluid in the lower legs to move back toward the upper body. This position may temporarily reduce the feeling of heaviness and mild swelling after long periods of standing or sitting.

However, the body does not simply "drain pooled blood" in five minutes, and this position does not treat the underlying cause of swollen feet. Mild swelling can happen after prolonged standing, heat, travel, or activity, but persistent swelling can also be linked to vein problems, medications, heart or kidney conditions, or other health issues.

To try the position, lie on your back and rest your legs comfortably against a wall for about 5–10 minutes while breathing normally. You can also elevate your legs on pillows if that feels more comfortable. Gentle walking and regular movement can also help circulation when swelling is related to sitting or standing for long periods.

If swelling is persistent, severe, painful, red, warm, or suddenly affects only one leg, it should be medically evaluated. Swelling accompanied by chest pain or shortness of breath requires urgent medical attention.

🧘 Child’s Pose gently stretches the muscles around the lower back, hips, and pelvis while allowing the spine to move into a comfortable flexed position. For some people, this relaxed posture can reduce muscle tension and provide temporary relief from mild lower back discomfort.

Research suggests that yoga and other gentle movement exercises can help reduce chronic or nonspecific lower back pain when practiced regularly. However, there is no evidence that holding Child’s Pose for exactly 60 seconds physically “unkinks” the spine or fixes the underlying cause of back pain. The response can also vary depending on what is causing the pain.

To practice Child’s Pose, kneel comfortably, sit your hips back toward your heels, and slowly lower your torso forward. Rest your forehead on the floor or a cushion rather than pressing it heavily into the ground. Extend your arms forward or keep them beside your body, then breathe slowly for about 20–60 seconds. The stretch should feel gentle, not painful.

For longer-term back health, regular physical activity and exercises that strengthen the core, hips, and back can be more helpful than relying on one stretch. If back pain is severe, keeps getting worse, follows an injury, or occurs with leg weakness, numbness, loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness around the groin, seek medical care promptly.

💜 Trigger Point… or Fascial Restriction?

That “knot” you’ve been rubbing for months…

What if it isn’t just a muscle problem?

Many people call it a trigger point, but in John F. Barnes Myofascial Release, we often find that these painful areas are manifestations of fascial restrictions. Fascia is a continuous, three-dimensional web of connective tissue that surrounds and penetrates every muscle, nerve, blood vessel, bone, and organ in your body.

When fascia becomes restricted from trauma, surgery, inflammation, repetitive stress, or unresolved emotional stress, it can create localized tenderness, tight bands, and pain that feels like a stubborn knot.

The common response?
❌ Dig into it.
❌ Rub it harder.
❌ Use elbows, massage guns, or aggressive pressure.

But if the fascial restriction is never addressed, the body often tightens even more to protect itself. You may get temporary relief, only to have the pain return because the underlying restriction remains.

✨ John Barnes’ Myofascial Release is different.

Instead of forcing tissue to change, we apply gentle, sustained pressure, rebound and allow the body to unwind and allow the fascia time to soften and release. As the restriction unwinds, pressure on muscles, nerves, joints, and blood vessels can decrease, allowing the body to move with greater ease and less compensation.

Sometimes the place that hurts isn’t even where the restriction began. That’s why in Myofascial Release, we treat the whole body—not just the symptom.

Your body isn’t asking for more force.
It’s asking to be heard.

💜 Healing happens when we follow the restrictions, not fight them.

Rowena Cua 💜
Expert JFB Myofascial Release Therapist
Trauma Informed Healing
www.bodymfr.com

Just give the body what it needs…