Is there really a difference?  

When first encountering Block Therapy and that magical block of bamboo, people often believe their yoga block or foam roller is an adequate alternative. Let’s explain the differences between a yoga block and the Block Buddy or Block Baby, and encourage you to see, as we do, that there is no substitute for the effectiveness and elegant simplicity of this unique tool to propel you toward health and wellbeing.

A yoga block or foam roller is made of synthetic foam, mass produced from unsustainable petroleum products. The Block Buddy is a handcrafted therapeutic tool made from bamboo, a grass that grows 10-18 inches per day. Bamboo is an abundant and naturally sustainable resource.

A yoga block has sharp, pointed edges that can damage skin and muscle. The Block Buddy is  designed to beautifully fit into the contours of the body, to penetrate into the deepest layers of thick frozen fascia to melt through these layers deeply enough to go all the way to the bone. The Block Baby, a smaller version of the Block Buddy, is designed to fit into smaller spaces where the Block Buddy would be overwhelming or too intense, or for smaller framed people or children. Bamboo feels amazing on your skin as it dives in to the ocean your fascia.

A yoga block is designed to support the body during specific yoga positions, and is not designed as a therapeutic healing tool or to release fascia. We focus on reversing damaging restrictions in the layers of fascia or connective tissue that have been created from years of unconscious breathing, incorrect posture, injury, perhaps surgery, and the negative accumulation of stress and unhealthy habits. Fascia attempting to achieve stability can seal to bone with a force as high as 2000 pounds per square inch! Although some forms of yoga follow similar principles to rid the body of restrictions and improve blood flow to restore the body back to health and balance, Block Therapy is different.  Our methodology empowers the student to use the Block Buddy to seek out pain, and with diaphragmatic breathing, gently sink deeply to the areas of the body where we discover restrictions in our fascia, where we melt and release that powerful seal which is the root of much of our suffering. We focus on the cause sites of our pain and suffering, those areas of the body where the tissue can be incredibly dense. A softer medium like a yoga block or foam roller simply won’t penetrate to the same depths as does bamboo. 

A Yoga block or roller is designed to move quickly over the surface of the skin or muscles, whereas when we practice Block Therapy using the bamboo Block Buddy, we are taking time to slowly focus on areas of pain, then allow the Block Buddy to begin to penatrate into and move through to the deepest layers of fascia that have become powerfully sealed onto bone. Rapid movement will not achieve “melting” of the fascia, while slow pressure combined with deep diaphragmatic breathing will achieve the desired result of releasing painful myofascial restrictions. 

A very experienced massage therapist has said that Block Therapy is actually the one method that has worked the fastest to release myofascial tissue, it is the therapy that gets down into a much deeper level. And, because you are in control of the amount of pressure, Block Therapy empowers blockers to become “the pain-seeker” and take control of their healing journey. 

“Often, we just need to get out of our own way and treat the body with kindness and persuasive action, as opposed to force.”

                                                                            — Deanna Hansen, Founder, Block Therapy