Who stretches/releases their abs?......Get the stress out!

Your whole body is under stress if you have any long term illness. And your mind/nuero system prob is too (but you knew that).

Did you know your abs "hold" stress? And can be a part of back pain.

When your upper body tightens up - neck/shoulders, so do your abs, but you dont think about it.

The fitness market is so focused on ab workouts, that they completely forget about ab release.

So release it and feel better:

While standing, shirt off, relax, hunch over forward a bit and suck in your gut. Make two fists and insert with pressure into upper abs right under lower ribs - of both sides. As you straighten out and up, simultaneously move your fists downward (eventually stopping above the groin area (lower abs)) while maintaining pressure against the direction of your abb muscles straightening out. I call this "muscle raking" or "muscle combing".

This can be easily done in the morning shower while lathered up to start your day. Ive done this for three years now, it just feels good. On the go? - Can do this in any public bathroom by just pulling your shirt up a little.- it does work better in the shower when your lathered up though.

There are other methods on you tube, but not as effective, I tried and looked, and then made this up combining other releases learned from clinicians. But this you can do on your own.

Other ways are slowly laying on a small inflatable 4" ball. There are extreme inhale/exhaleing methods, but again, not as effective as the way described - and more time consuming. I have done all when there is time- usually unwinding before bed.

sebreg said...
interesting, do you think this can help with ANS symptoms, if the diaphragm gets locked up and feels like we can't get a deep breath (ie, when one gets air hunger type symptoms)? Def need to try your method out, thanks for sharing.

If the diagram is mechanically "locked up", yes this will help, thats just deeper than the abs on the surface. Go slow with depth.

It might also help with vagus nerve issues in the abdomen area. Any nerve can get entrapped/ stuck in or around tight, sticky muscle.

As far as air hunger- depends whats causing it. I had some brief episodes of that out on mnt bike trails. To me it felt like my diagram and lungs were mechanically working, but my lungs weren't absorbing oxygen. My energy dropped completely too and I rode back very slow after bike-walking a ways.