From The Trail Guide to the Body, “Humans are unique among mammals not only with respect to their extra-large brains, but also because of their well-padded buttocks. No other mammal has such deposits of adipose tissue in the gluteal region, and no one seems to know why we have them. It was thought that the buttocks gave us something to sit upon, but we really sit upon our ischial tuberosities. And for good reason: if we did not, the gluteus maximus and gluteal fascia would be compressed beneath us.” Guess what, folks, it is compressed beneath us because we have such poor posture that we sit, rounded and on the glutes, instead of upright on the ischial tuberosities. What to do? What to do?
On Wednesday, I talked about the anatomy and mechanics of the glutes and why it is important to keep them in check for buttock pain relief and health. First step?
Fluffy buttocks 101:
Fluff your buttocks using Yoga Tune Up® therapy balls for glute self massage. Stand at a wall with any size of YTU ball and roll over your whole buttock area. Pretend the ball is an eraser and erase the whole butt side to side, up and down, crisscross, explore outward toward the hip. It’s your booty. It’s your body. Hydrate the matted down, stuck, connective tissues. Check out The Roll Model for a butt load of ball techniques that will save you from the inside out.
So you now have a fluffy buttocks. YAY. Just as important is a strong buttocks. There are many things you can do to strengthen the glutes. This is one of the easiest and a great place to start. Buttock lifts. (see video below)
Enjoy your newly fluffed and strengthened buttocks!
http://youtu.be/m3sl3lL9QQw?t=8s
If you liked this article, read Get That Lazy Gluteus Medius In Gear!
Easy to do and so good for our bacs ans hips thanks
thank you! so often the back body gets ignored as we move always forward, forward racing to get to the next thing… and then sit once we get there! i’m going to be thinking about my glutes and inner thighs working when i go running tomorrow!
Something so simple and so effective!! After rolling glutes, the freedom felt during walking is spectacular. The smooshed booty is definitely a chronic condition of a sedentary lifestyle and I feel most people assume they have to just exercise to make it better. Rolling out the dough takes it to a new, and better, level of body maintenance!!
Thank you so much for this exercise! I did not even realize how tight my buttocks were until I first used a therapy ball …..!!!!! Amazing how long we can store tension without realizing it before it gets obviously painful…!!!
Very interesting read of how strong and fluffy both are important and seems like they can be achieved at the same time. As always yoga always call for balance in muscles and both these exercises to strengthen the glutens and then make them more supple have proved helpful. Thanks for this article. Heading over to your article about anatomy and mechanics of the glutes. Thanks. x
We never think about it, but it makes sense that if we were to sit more towards our gluteals, that the muscles would flatten out a bit. Like fluffing a pillow, the massage with the YTU balls is perfect to fluff the area; followed by Shin Jive and Butt Lifts, as in the video, and it really serves to strengthen, flush with synovial fluid and fluff. Thank you!
Love this sequence! Can’t wait to leave this desk chair, get on the floor, and put my butt back on my butt 😉
Thanks for the reminder–I’ve been firing my glutes all week maybe a little too much…Will be rolling my butt asap!
Prone backbends are really hard to do, people should be more excited about these instead of Upward Facing Bow!
If I don’t roll my buttocks enough, they get so thight and I feel it in my knees.. Thank you for sharing this is a great article!
I love the visual of using the ball as an eraser. Such a great way to find all the nooks and crannies in the pelvis. And a good reminder why it is important to get off our butts!
I love fluffing the butt!!! As someone who sits at a desk all day, the butt fluffing ball work has worked wonders at keeping my glutes strong, helping to counteract the sitting. Thanks for the reminder to practice the shin jives!!
I used to tell that I had tight hamstrings, but during my Level 1 YTU teacher training, I discovered that maybe it was more a strength deficit in my hamstrings and a psoas stiffness that cause me trouble with my leg extension and my lower back pain. One of my trainer during the level 1 make me realize that when I activate my tubular core and contract my butt and hamstrings, I can increase my leg stretch !!
Can’t wait to see the result of integrating those exercises in my routine !!
Thank’s !!
This is a fun exercise. You can do it when watching TV! Also helps strengthen the leg muscles.
I love the shin jives! I will have to bring them back into my hip repertoire!
This reinforced how ball work can help with extra tight hip rotators (mainly my glutes) that have been glued in position for years (classical dance). I roll them out but hadn’t quite connected just how much the balls can help their glued short/tight shape!! Thanks.
I love the combo of the shin-dive and buttock lifts. Sometimes it seems like we need to go BIG to strengthen our buttocks, but these easy exercises can be performed anywhere, almost anytime. I’m anxious to try them out following a good butt fluff with the YTU therapy balls.
Great title! I of course had to read it for the title alone, but really love the little set in the video of shin jive for internal/external rotation combined with the lift for hip extension. So simple, but effective!
I’ve had tightness in my hips and flexors. Plan to work with this and see if it helps.
Thank you for sharing. “Fluffy butt” is one of my favorite expressions for now. As opposed to mainstream “rock-hard’ butt.
I’ve been “fluffing” my butt before a hard lower-body workout, and I think it helps me to activate the gluteals better. Thank you for the suggestion!
I’m intrigued by this fluffy butt idea which I first heard presented by Jill in a training last week. But I’m also confused…. Fluffy and strong is ideal? “Fluffy” meaning long muscle fibers, no adhesions, hydrated, flexible? As a massage therapist in the fitness-obsessed land of Colorado, I treat clients with rock-hard butts. I’ve always had the intuition that they should soften their butts – my first guess was to exercise less, but no one wants to hear that! Now I know that my clients can continue their butt-strengthening activities as long as they stretch and ROLL those important muscles, too.
Until I began to make my butt fluffy, I would treat lower back and hamstring tightness by working those areas directly. Using techniques like those described above, not only is my butt getting fluffier, but so are the muscles above and below is, and they are much less painful as a result.
For Lisa Mills:
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your question! Unfortunately, it is truly difficult to offer a sound opinion or advice without knowing way more detail about your movement history, your lifestyle, your practice and a myriad of other factors. I would leave this one to your GP and/or a Physical Therapist. Find out what is going on with your knee:) Pain is a red flag so don’t ignore it.
Thanks! I really like the shin jive, feels good. But I noticed that when I then went to squeeze knees together and start the thigh lift, my left knee hurt. The pain was a small spot just to the left of the kneecap, where a small hollow forms when the leg is bent at about a 150 degree angle (have I got that right? I mean almost straight…). Perhaps I need to do some stretches on the front and side thigh muscles first?
Thanks for sharing a a wonderful sequence to warm up the hips and ease the hip flexors – perfect for the upcoming winter months.