What Is Yamuna Body Rolling? : Diamond Willow Massage

What is YBR?

Yamuna Body Rolling™ (YBR) is a one-of-a-kind way to give yourself a relaxing deep-tissue massage while lengthening and strengthening your body from the inside out. Each YBR session creates an immediate feeling of relief from muscle tightness, producing a sensation of warmth and vitality along with greater freedom of movement.

The creator of Yamuna Body Rolling™, master body therapist Yamuna Zake, envisioned YBR as a practice that could empower her bodywork clients to take charge of their own well-being through effective self-care.

Melis Arik completed training at the Yamuna Studio in New York City in July 2008, becoming one of the only practitioners certified to teach YBR classes in Minnesota.

How does YBR work?

Yamuna Body Rolling is done by slowly rolling the body in specific patterns over specially-designed, four- to ten-inch inflatable balls. As a self-massage, the ball “replaces” the massage therapist’s hands; the weight and movement of the body over the ball stimulate blood flow and initiate the release of constrictions in muscle fibers and connective tissue.

At the same time, YBR strengthens the body by engaging the core muscles which hold the body in alignment throughout the movements. Moving slowly and mindfully with attention to the breath induces a sense of relaxation and ease in the area and calms and steadies the mind.

The combination of massage, stretching, strengthening, and mindful movement sets Yamuna Body Rolling apart from other self-care practices.

Who can benefit from YBR?

YBR can safely be practiced by most people of all levels of flexibility and strength. It’s a fantastic self-care practice that can benefit anyone who’s experiencing frequent or chronic aches and pains due to repetitive stress, postural distortion, or injury-related compensation patterns. Athletes and dancers, delivery drivers and carpenters, computer users and cashiers… YBR is really for every body, and can be effective for a variety of health conditions ranging from chronic pain issues, fibromyalgia, plantar fasciitis, and more.