Table Of ContentFirst Published in 2014 by Victory Belt Publishing Inc.
Copyright © 2014 Jill Miller
Excerpt from Move Your DNA copyright © 2014 Katy Bowman. Used by permission from
Propriometrics Press.
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the
publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-628600-22-3 (paperback)
978-1-628600-74-2 (ebook)
This book contains advice and information relating to health and physical well-being. It is not
intended to replace medical advice and should be used to supplement rather than replace regular care
by your doctor. All movement programs pose some inherent risk. It is recommended that you seek
your physician’s advice before embarking on any movement-based program, treatment, or exercise.
As with any movement-based program, if at any time you experience discomfort, stop and consult
your physician. The publisher and the author disclaim liability for any medical outcomes that may
occur as a result of applying the methods suggested in this book.
®
Victory Belt is a registered trademark of Victory Belt Publishing Inc.
Printed in the U.S.A.
RRD 0114
With deepest gratitude for my husband, Robert, who saw me as a “Roll Model”
for my students, encouraged me to bring my work to the world, and helped me
create a business that empowers people.
I wrote this book while pregnant with my first child, Lilah Iris Faust. She was my
muse, she filled my dreams, and she is now a loved and loving manifestation of
my commitment to self-care healthcare.
May you live peacefully and playfully in your body forever and ever.
“Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing
force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well.”
—Hippocrates
“The doctor of the future will give no medicines, but will interest his patients in the care of the
human frame, in diet, and in the causes and prevention of disease.”
—Thomas Edison
“Movement is life. Life is a process. Improve the quality of the process and you improve the
quality of life itself.”
—Moshe Feldenkrais
Table of Contents
Foreword by Dr. Kelly Starrett
Introduction
Chapter 1: A New Model of Self-Care Healthcare
What Is Self-Care?
How the Roll Model Therapy Balls Help with Self-Care
Recovery and Self-Care
Chapter 2: How to Use My Program
Your Movement Medicine Cabinet: What Are the Roll Model Balls, and How Do They Work?
Other Tools of the Tissue Trade
Who Can Roll on Balls?
When Should You Use the Roll Model Balls?
Where Is the Best Place to Roll?
How Often Can You Roll?
Pain: Differentiating the Good from the Bad
Chapter 3: Posture, Pain, Performance: Stand Up for Yourself by Getting on
the Ball
Surviving in a Body Built for You
The Bitter Truth About Modern Posture
What Exactly Is Good (Correct) Posture?
The Hidden Costs of Bad Posture
Boning Up Your Posture
Chapter 4: The Science Section: Fascia and Proprioception
Fascia: Your Seam System
Proprioception: Your EmbodyMap
Chapter 5: Know Your Body Better: An Embodied Orientation to Bones and
Muscles
36 Knead-to-Know Bony Landmarks
44 Knead-to-Know Muscles
Chapter 6: The Nine Essential Roll Model Ball Techniques
1. Sustained Compression
2. Skin-Rolling/Shear
3. Stripping
4. CrossFiber
5. Pin & Stretch
6. Contract/Relax (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation)
7. Pin/Spin & Mobilize
8. Ball Plow
9. Ball Stack
Chapter 7: Breath Reset
The Respiratory Diaphragm
The Stress Response
The Three Abodes of Breath
Breathing Strategies with the Balls
Chapter 8: The Sequences That Reset Your Body
What Are the Roll Model Therapy Ball Sequences, and How Do You Use Them?
Your Movement Medicine Chest: Tools for the Sequences
Check In/ReCheck
Global Shear Techniques for Core/Torso
Sequence 1: Global Shear Warm-up
Lower-Body Sequences
Sequence 2: Feet: Save Your Sole
Sequence 3: Ankle & Lower-Leg Treat
Sequence 4: Kneed to Knead
Sequence 5: Pliable Thighs
Sequence 6: Healthy Hips & Fluffy Buttocks
Sequence 7: Pelvic Funnel
Bonus: Pelvic Floor
Spine Sequences
Sequence 8: Lower Back
Sequence 9: Upper-Back Unwind
Sequence 10: Ribcage Rinse & Respire
Sequences for Shoulders to Fingers
Sequence 11: Shoulder – Rotator Cuff
Sequence 12: Shoulder – Elbow
Sequence 13: Forearms, Fingers, Hands, & Wrists
Neck and Head Sequences
Sequence 14: Neck Gnar
Sequence 15: Head, Face, & Jaw
Freestyle Exploration
Sequence 16: Front Seam
Sequence 17: Back Seam
Sequence 18: Side Seam
Chapter 9: The “Roll” of Relaxation
A Brief Tour of Your Nervous System
The 5 Ps of the Parasympathetic Nervous System: Sedate Yourself
Resting Tone Is Not Always Restful
The Chemistry of Touch Induces Relaxation and Well-Being
Chapter 10: Soul Rolling: When You “Knead” More Than a Physical Fix
Your Emotional Roller Coaster: Smoothing Out Your Edge
Become Your Own Self-Care Therapist
My Own Experience with Soul-Rolling
Chapter 11: What Next? Tune Up Fitness Corrective Exercise
Beyond the Balls: Training to Complement Rolling
Conclusion
Appendix
The Shortlist: Ball Benefits in Brief
FAQ
Roll Model Lingo: Glossary of Terms
Recommended Reading and Viewing
Acknowledgments
ROLL MODEL SUCCESS STORIES
Diane “V” Capaldi—Healthcare Reform Begins in Your Own Body / 22–24
Greg Reid—The Backbreaking Story of a Bodybuilder Who Rebuilt Himself / 36–39
Jennifer Jennings—Finding Her Way Back to Normal After Breast Cancer: Sidelining Side Effects /
47–50
Lori Wieder—Thirty Years of Numbness Reversed in Two Weeks: Healing from Knee
Reconstruction / 57–59
Jennifer Lovely—I Was Lupus, Now I Am Empowered: From Self-Medication to Self-Care / 74–77
Elizabeth Wipf—From MRI to Competition in Six Months: An Athlete Restores Her Slide, Glide, &
Stride / 107–108
Eric Johnson—Flipping the Switch on Pain and Proprioception / 116–119
Kelly Starrett—Hold Your Breath: A Blow-by-Blow on Beating Asthma / 162–167
Helen McAvoy—The Wrath of Scar Tissue: An Organ Donor Stitches Herself Back Together /
191–193
Tiffany Cresswell-Yeager—The ACL Tear That Wouldn’t Heal: When Surgery and Recovery Don’t
Resolve the Issue / 225–227
Rebecca Moss—Rolling Away Stigma, Shame, and Pain “Down There”: Pelvic Floor Self-Massage /
254–256
Carlton Bennett—A Soldier’s Losing Battle Turns Victorious / 269–272
Karen Kroll—She Shoots, She Scores! The Pain-Free Gold Medalist / 313
Lee Callans—Pushing Past the Breaking Point: A Hockey Scout Scours Out His Own Pain / 324–326
Amanda Joyce—Staring Chronic Disease in the Face: Stalling Scleroderma / 346–349
Joanne Spence / 364
Emily Sonnenberg—Rape, Recovery, and Reclaiming Center / 376–379
Sarah Court—A Lesser-Known Depression / 382
Carolyn Phillips—A Public Defender Learns to Advocate for Herself / 383–385
Lisa Highfield / 390–391
Sharon Alkerstedt—Reversing the Course of Obesity, Chronic Pain, and Diabetes: A Nurse Becomes
a Patient of Self-Care and Movement as Medicine / 399–403
Krystin Zeiger and Chloe—Extra-Special Subject: A Ruff Roller / 421–423
