Yoga vs Yoga Tune Up®

I have a confession. I hate yoga.

Let me back up here. Hate is a strong word. I hate people who hurt animals/people, movies that make me afraid to go to sleep, and kumquats. I don’t enjoy yoga. Now, there are so many variations of yoga that it’s hard to keep track of. Ashtanga, Hatha, Yin, Power, Bikram, the list goes on and on. I’ve tried many of them, but I certainly haven’t tried all of them.

The thing is, I find yoga to be incredibly dull! As a bodyworker, I need to do it for mobility and flexibility to keep my body moving, but I’ve tried. I’ve taken so many classes from so many different teachers. I’ve done it at home, I’ve done it at the gym, I’ve done it at a yoga studio, but I don’t love it. I glance at the clock, wondering, “Is this over yet?? This is the longest 60 minutes of my life!”. I go through sun salutation A several times, growing increasingly bored. It’s horrible! (or maybe that’s just my ADHD in high gear, being left alone with my thoughts and having to focus on just one task). I have friends that are yoga teachers, and I love them dearly, but just like massage isn’t for everyone, yoga isn’t for everyone.

But aren’t you a yoga teacher, Rebecca?

Yes and no. I did not do my 200-hour yoga teacher training. I don’t have 20 years of yoga experience under my belt. However, I was intrigued when I first heard about Jill Miller and her Yoga Tune Up® mix. She was a guest on the Bee The Wellness podcast talking about her history as a yoga teacher and what led her to develop her process. Then, she started talking about her therapy balls. I had been dealing with a hip issue resulting from a sprained ankle months before, and nothing was helping long term. Massage, chiropractic, yoga, physical therapy, stretching, etc., I had this constant dull ache in my hip/glute. My breaking point was when I was driving down I-75 to visit a friend in Kentucky, and I had a lacrosse ball wedged under my hip to try and alleviate the discomfort.

Anyway, Jill talked about her Roll Model® therapy balls, and I knew I had to try them. After about a week and a half of rolling out with the Alpha ball every couple of days for 5 minutes, the pain was 90% gone. That was a year and a half ago, and I knew this was something different, so doing what I do, I set out to learn as much as I could about this not so new but new to this area modality and treatment.

Grab Your Balls

In November 2016, I traveled to San Francisco, CA, so I could do the training to become a Certified Roll Model Method Practitioner. In those two days, we talked about the benefits of the therapy balls. We worked over our bodies with techniques designed to alleviate pain, improve posture, and give our bodies the self-massage and myofascial release that traditional therapy tools (lacrosse balls, tennis balls, foam rollers, etc.) don’t effectively do.

I had already been thinking about the 70-hour Yoga Tune Up® teacher training in the back of my mind, but after I did the RMM course, I thought that would suffice. I didn’t have anywhere to teach, though, as I was still in my old office in Royal Oak, Michigan. But I knew it was one of those “one day I’ll do it” situations.

During this time, I had connected on Instagram with a teacher named Alexandra Ellis, and I loved all of her content and material that she was constantly sharing. And then the idea of YTU training came back into my head. When I saw that there was a training in June 2017 in Poulsbo, Washington, I decided to pull the plug and do it. And I am SO glad that I did!

First off, Poulsbo, Washington, is a beautiful place. Second, the training was fantastic and life-changing. After seven days of daily practice, the shoulder problem plaguing me for nearly a year, while not 100% gone, was about 85% better than it had been. My range of motion had improved, my external rotation was better than in ages, and I was feeling muscles that I hadn’t felt before. For the first time since I could remember, my glutes were activating! My posture was better, and most importantly, I had found a yoga class that I enjoyed.

So What’s The Difference Between Yoga and Yoga Tune Up®?

Yoga Tune Up® (or YTU) is a fitness therapy format built around the 3 P’s: pain, posture, and performance. This combination of yoga, corrective exercise, and therapy eradicates pain, improves posture, and enhances performance. Say goodbye to your sun salutations, long holding poses of downward dogs, and hello to shoulder mobilizing techniques such as boomerang, happy baby mini vinis, and propeller arms!

For more information on how Yoga Tune Up® might help you, check out our mobility classes and our Facebook page.

In good hands,

Rebecca Tamm, LMT