The Ultimate Body Rolling Workout: The Revolutionary Way to Tone, Lengthen, and Realign Your Body

You'll get "leaner, longer, and stronger," promises Yamuna Zake. "It's a workout, a massage, and a chiropractic session all in one." Body Rolling uses a 6- to 10-inch inflatable ball (purchased separately), which you slowly roll under different parts of your body from a range of positions, elongating the muscles, relieving tightness, and improving alignment. The principle is "creating space" in the body, reducing compression. You also strengthen your core muscles as you hold the positions. Zake and her able co-writer Stephanie Golden explain the theory behind the practice and how it benefits different populations, such as fitness buffs, rare exercisers, and people in physical and emotional pain. The book gives easy-to-follow instructions for specific Body Rolling exercises for the back, neck, legs, thighs, arms, shoulders, hips, abs, buttocks, and feet, with clear, helpful photographs. Steps are explained clearly, including goals, tips, cautions, and visualizations. (The only problem is that the book does not open flat easily.) Most routines are done lying on the floor; some are done in a chair. Zake, whose earlier Body Logic system grew out of her yoga teaching practice, created Body Rolling and has trained 600 practitioners. --Joan Price