Release Your Tight Calves In Less Than A Minute With This Triggerpoint Move
Here at mbg, we believe in Mindful Movement. In our video series, we’ll break down various moves designed to help you take care of your physical body and connect you to your emotional and spiritual self. Up today: how to release tension in your calves.
Minna Lee, blogger, personal trainer, and founder of Live 24k, is back with another self-myofascial release technique, this time for an oft-forgotten part of our bodies: calf muscles. Our calves help us walk from point A to point B, they ground us, they move us through our runs and propel us for jumps. Here's one way to show them a little more love.
You'll need:
- a yoga block
- a trigger point ball or a lacrosse ball
Once you have your props nearby, find a seat on the floor and extend your legs out in front of you. Place your yoga block on the shortest height, and place your calf on the block. With your leg extended outward, point your toe and put your triggerpoint ball on the point where your gastroc (meaty part of your calf) meets the soleus (slender part). With the ball on that point, lower your leg to the yoga block. It should already feel a little sticky as you start to bear weight on it—that's OK. If you want a quick visual for this setup, check out the video above. With your calf on the ball, follow the three simple and efficient exercises that Minna explains in the video.
To ease your body and your mind in five minutes or less, check out more Mindful Movement videos.
Lindsay Kellner is a freelance writer, editor and content strategist based out of Brooklyn, NY. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and psychology at New York University and earned a 200-hour yoga certification from Sky Ting. She is the co-author of “The Spirit Almanac: A Modern Guide to Ancient Self Care,” along with mbg’s Sustainability Editor, Emma Loewe.