Yoga Tune Up

As a writer I sit at a desk in front of a computer all day long. Even though I do my best to sit up straight and stretch now and then, by the end of the day my shoulders are tight and my back is stiff. I feel tension in my upper back and neck almost constantly. When I attended FitBloggin'10, I received an offer to try out this innovative self-massage kit and I couldn't pass it up, considering that I'm always looking for ways to get a free massage.


Enter Yoga Tune Up. From their website:

Yoga Tune Up® is a head-to-toe health and fitness system combining Yoga, Calisthenics, Corrective Exercise and Body Therapy in a way that heals damaged muscle tissue, increases overall strength, and bolsters the immune system.

They offer several kits to target different areas of your body, as well as full kit that includes the therapy balls and instructional CDs for all 5 target areas. I received the Neck & Upper Back kit, which included a set of two therapy balls in a mesh carrying bag and an instructional CD. After a long day at work, I quickly pulled out the balls and gave them a try using only the instructional booklet that came with the CD. The booklet contained illustrations of the positions and instructions on how to move to obtain the massage affect. Trying to do the moves without the audio instructions turned out to be a huge fail on my part, though. My placement of the therapy balls wasn't accurate and the movements hurt so badly I gave up half-way through the sequence.

I didn't want to review the Yoga Tune Up system without giving it a fair shot, though. So after a couple of weeks, I pulled it out again and tried it a few more times, this time using the audio CD for guidance. The sequence was much easier with the added audio instructions helping me to find the correct placement for the balls. When I was finished, I can honestly say that there was much less tension in my upper back and neck and I felt much more relaxed. Now that I know how to use the Yoga Tune Up balls and have seen the positive effects, I'll definitely be using the system more often. It seems to be the perfect solution for people who spend their days at a desk hunched over a computer keyboard -- people like me.

Disclaimer: I received a free Yoga Tune Up Neck & Upper Back kit. I am not, however, receiving any compensation for writing this post. The opinions shared here are solely my own, based on my personal experience with this product.