Specialist Ergonomics Advisor
The Mobiliser has helped me over the years with muscle tension, joint stiffness, bad posture, injury and recovery; but I have also seen it help reduce pain and create positive change to so many people who thought they would never get better. Although at times it’s been almost torturous (direct thumbs pressing on tender muscles), I know that the discomfort in using it during a session is much better than the days and weeks of prolonged pain I will experience if I don’t use it.
If you simply want to keep as healthy as you can be (prevention is better than cure), we ALL ought to be doing daily exercises for all of our joints, especially if you are particularly sedentary by the nature of your job or lifestyle… and there’s nothing better than a 15 minute getaway to just lay and be. You can watch TV, read a book, listen to music, have a scroll in insta, or just simply clear your mind and treat your body.
My advice to others would be; don’t wait until you are already stiff, sore, compensating and no longer able to do the simple things you enjoy before you start to tackle your mobility… You don’t just curl up like a prawn overnight, this is a slow and steady overtightening of joints pulled into fixed hunch postures which get trickier to undo. Maybe 15 – 30 minutes of daily Mobilising your spine can keep you upright for many more years than without.
You can’t beat the Mobiliser for daily maintenance for your body.
What is this wonderful machine you speak so highly of? I hear you ask…
Well, it is like a foam roller, merged with a massage chair, with a hint of being rolling pinned like dough in a bakery.
Not exactly a relaxing day at the spa, so why do so many people choose to be poked and prodded in such a manner and what is it doing for your body? That’s probably more relevant…
This is how my story went...
I remember 12 years ago, the invasiveness of the ‘bar’, especially over my pelvis as I set about my first ever go. Not painful, or even too uncomfortable, just… strange, like levitating on stones. Young, fit and healthy as I was, I felt a muscle soreness akin to post massage. ‘Keep going’, they told me… each day the movement felt a bit more ‘normal’ and the reaction lessened. After a couple of weeks, I was ready to up the ante. I followed the guidance advice until I was ‘pad free’ and experimenting with various positions to spot target areas of stubborn tension. For me, it is always the hamstrings… so sitting upright on the unit helps me get much deeper.
I don’t use the Mobiliser as much as everyday now but probably 4 or 5 times a week. Sometimes I need it more than others. It depends on my activity level, which sports injuries I am carrying in a given week, whether I’ve slept funny or whether I simply fancy a little extra treat… but it’s good to know that even with a week or two away from sessions, I don’t feel like I have taken any backward step. The positive effects of the mobiliser remain part of me.
This ‘massage couch’ sized machine is something you lay down on and at the simple press of a button, these super sturdy rollers with thumbs move up and down the body; without you having to move or engage with it. With a softening pad on there to ease you in; and depending on your level of flexibility, this will feel something like a gentle wave travelling up your body, or the day after a heavy gym session, or anything in between. But panic not, the staff will guide you how to fine tune the settings so you are leaning on the right side of those two extremes.
The idea of this kind of intervention is that you do this 15-minute session every day, twice a day (if necessary) and slowly notice how the deep pressure that first feels like you are bending and flexing around a pivot, eventually feels more like a gliding ripple. This is a good sign that muscles and soft tissue are starting to stretch and relax and become accustomed to this new level of movement; and therefore a good time to crank up the intensity. There are various ways to increase the pressure, all something your online consultancy, or a staff member in the store will talk you through.
The theory is that the longer you stick to this routine, the more imprinted the freedom will be for your joints, hence improving your mobility and postural habits; comparable to Pilates or a gym routine.
Eventually with enough progress and usage, you will be at an experienced level – which basically means that the soft padding which once lay beneath you to distance you from the direct roller contact is now gone, and your joints are now bending around a smaller apex with a greater range of movement – something we could all benefit from. This flexion for your joints causes a big rush of nutrient feed and oxygenated blood flow into some deprived areas and helps to squeeze out toxins, like soaking and squeezing a sponge repeatedly - hugely important for disc hydration, load bearing and general health of each vertebral joint - enough to bring about repair to areas which are otherwise laying stagnant and slowly deteriorating.
