OK, so you’re thinking “Nina’s lost it” but no, not yet. You can get a free massage each and every day of your life, if you get some balls. A set of these lovely rubbery colorful balls pictured below, which I found at Whole Foods’ Whole Body shop in Manhattan, but really, they’re everywhere. And if you can’t get these “professional” massage balls, two tennis balls or a dog’s toy ball of medium firmness will do. Mine cost less than 9 bucks for the pair.

I’ll add a personal note here, and why I bought these massage balls. I’ve been struggling with lower backache for the past six months. Part tension, part poor stretching (read: NONE) during my writing sessions, it got so bad I would need an intermediate position of excruciating pain each time I went from standing to sitting. Truly. And after just a week of serious, fully dressed-in-exercise-clothes-on-a-yoga-mat-self-administered-and-completely free massages, I’m as good as new. The link is to a series of moves to get you started. To get more, check out YouTube.

If you have delicate skin, you can use a tennis ball instead, it may avoid you some bruising. And if you’ve had back surgery, then I would check with a doctor before starting any new routine.

So here is a little mid-week gift from me to you, because it is true that we are sometimes the least kind to ourselves, in the struggle to make those around us more content.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2015 at 5:21 am and is filed under Friend's Corner.