Body Intelligence – Finding ease for the lower back, 8: the inner massage
by josefine | Jun 6, 2025
This last Micro Pause on the lower back program is a lesson in self compassion. It is also a lesson in giving your self an inner massage, a very practical form of self compassion. Why being kind to yourself matters the most: its all about the nervous system. A common misconception is that muscles become too short and that we need to stretch them out into their full length. Instead, muscles can be contracted or extended, and sometimes they get “stuck” in contraction. Stretching the muscles wont make them longer, what they need is for the nervous system to believe that its safe to extend the muscles. When we do the inner massage, we gently stretch muscles, then release them and in doing so we tell the nervous system that it’s safe to extend the muscles, resulting in greater relaxation.
Breathe and twist
A Micro Pause moving meditation with breath. We use the breath to raise our arms and move into a gentle rotation, shifting from side to side. A relaxing pause that brings balance to the body.
Wide legged spine circle with side stretch.mp4
A Micro Pause to help you give your lower back a gentle inner massage, and also gets into the hips, shoulders and the sides of the body.
Short unstructured shoulder movement
A Micro Pause to release tension in the shoulders. A guidance into unstructured movements of the shoulders. Unstructured because only then can we get into all the parts of the shoulders and the neck area.
