Looking for Great Gifts for Improved Movement and Health Maintenance?

Often, I suggest tools that help clients improve their mobility. Rather than a strict exercise regimen, I cycle through exercises to ensure that my body has to react to multiple movements across a 10-day period, including crawling, walking, and sport.

In addition, I source several of the exercises found at my trainer's website: PursuitPT.com

Some of my favorites are Bear Stretches and Foam Rolling. You can pretty much pick out a body part, follow the instruction, and feel improvement with his guided practice.

While tennis balls, golf balls, and Jacks balls are fairly easy to find when you need relief in your calves and feet, some additional tools include:

• Foam Rollers --For IT band, ribcage, and glute rolling

• Theracanes --For Muscle Spasm release where you find them

• Massage Guns --For IT band, subscapular, pectoralis, glute, quads and calf work

• The Miracle Ball Method --to gain greater extension for upper thoracic, hip, calf and glute work, alternated with tennis balls.

• Large Exercise Ball --Quickly releases the upper back from daily work stress, interrupting headaches and shoulder tension with "Snow Angel" repetitions in full extension--upper back, neck, and head support.

Using these tools for as little as 15 minutes a session in addition to a day of Yoga Stretches for 20 minutes can be the best gifts you give yourself this year. Enjoy! Rachel