The Foam Roller

Some predicaments can easily be avoided by simply going back the way you came. 

If you are lost on a trail, you can retrace your steps to the last trail marker, for instance. 

Spend too much money at the Costco? Same thing. Simply retrace those steps to the returns line. Then, try your very best to walk back out without looking around. (It’s that second part that’s tricky.)

There are also those circumstances that require forward momentum to break free from whatever sticky situation you find yourself in.

Those impulse bangs you’re cutting and simultaneously regretting; best get the job done then make an appointment with an expert.

That shade of blue that ends up being a bit brighter than the swatch after painting three out of the four walls; might as well finish it and then start again. (Unlike the bangs, this one actually grew on me. Sometimes it pays to finish a job that seems pointless.)

That half marathon you wonder why you’re running mid-race or the snake in the middle of the trail daring you to try and pass. Two words: forward momentum.

Then there are those situations when you can’t go back, yet you can’t move forward. And the harder you try to do either, the more stuck you become. 

Enter the foam roller. 

Yes, I’m referring to the seemingly harmless and simple piece of cylindrical foam that aids in the stretching of tight muscles.

Picture this, if you will. You are on the floor, rolling out your achy back on top of the foam roller. Then, during the backward motion, your ponytail gets stuck under the foam roller. And in an effort to free it, the bottom of your shirt gets eaten up during the forward roll. All of a sudden, you find yourself pinned to the floor by your own body weight. It’s not such a simple piece of foam after all. It’s a trap.

(I mean, this is what I imagine would happen. It’s not like I know this from experience or anything.)

So very often it’s a vertical motion that is required to free us from our horizontal snares.

You see, there are some situations when we need to hit the gas and keep moving forward. There are some instances when a U-turn is required. 

And then there are those times when we need to just be still and call out for help from above.

Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved.