Back when I lived and played rugby in Hong Kong I used to see an acupuncturist in an office based in the middle of Hong Kong, Central. He was an Australian born Chinese, who learned his trade in Australia and practiced in Hong Kong. He was one of the best acupuncturist I had seen, and I had seen my fair share! In his waiting room, there was a poster that asked, "is your center, centered?" I always wondered what, exactly, that poster meant. I never asked the acupuncturist the meaning behind the poster - mainly because I thought I should be smart enough to figure it out on my own - but for as long as I sought treatment I always wondered what it meant to center your center. I realize this is all very riveting stuff but when you're twenty-three, living in a foreign country and having the time of your life, it is only during those quiet moments, waiting for treatment, that you have the time to ponder all the big questions like, is my center, centered? As well as age old questions like, who am I playing this week? What extra training sessions should I do? And a personal favorite of mine, what day is it? As the years went by I finally figured out exactly what day it was, but from time to time my mind would still drift back to the one unanswered question, "is your center, centered?"?

I'm now thirty-five, happily married and father to a beautiful baby boy. Nowadays I find myself pondering big questions like, what should I cook for dinner? Does Aiman need his nappy changed? And did I remember to record The Daily Show? Yes, the pace of life has slowed down somewhat, but it is in this slowing down that I finally began to find the answer to the question posed over a decade ago - is my center, centered?

Immediately after the surgery on my back I couldn't stand for very long before the pain kicked in. I spent the first week after surgery lying in bed or on the couch, I would have to roll onto my side and push myself up with my arm just to sit up. If I needed to stand, I would have to take a breather in the sitting position then squeeze my abs to brace my back before attempting to get to my feet. Unable to do much lying flat on my back, I practiced squeezing my abs in a bid to build strength in my core, when I started walking again (which was more like a slow shuffling), I made an effort to pull my shoulders back and squeeze my abs while I walked. I began to notice that I was actually getting stronger, so I practiced squeezing my abs while driving, sitting, lying in bed and during just about every other activity I did throughout the day. I knew if I was going to make a full recovery I needed to exchange old bad habits for new good ones - trust me, after you have major back surgery you are starting from rock bottom and I had nowhere to go but up!

One of the new habits I got into was squeezing my abs during just about every kind of physical activity I did. I have made significant improvements in my posture and my lower back is much more supported - all from just squeezing my abs - I did not do a single sit-up or crunch. The many benefits of a strong core are what have caused me to be such an avid supporter of a regular yoga and pilates practice. I believe that all athletes - particularly young athletes - should work yoga and pilates into their regular training regimen. I know this might be a tough sell ... I remember being a young man in a big city and the last thing I wanted to do was sit in a yoga class harnessing my chi, but if all athletes viewed yoga and pilates as just another aspect of cross-training I know they would be stronger, more balanced and less prone to injury.

It took me over a decade but I finally understand what my acupuncturist's poster meant. A strong core is essential to an injury and pain free body -- it only took a debilitating injury, years of pain and major surgery for me to finally center my center. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and start working on centering your center. Now focus and start squeezing those abs!

1. Restructures and realigns your skeletal system. 2. Improves balance and body awareness. 3. Decreases muscle soreness and relieves joint stress. 4. Corrects muscle imbalances. 5. Improves circulation.

Just to name a few..

If your anything like me, whenever I hear or read anything about mind, body and soul, I'm always a bit skeptical about what's being offered. Despite my skepticism, I've always been fascinated by the small amount of our brain power we actually use and how certain tribal people have the ability to meditate themselves into a trance and walk over hot coals without being burned. Controlling the mind has always been connected to controlling fear or behavior both positive and negative, but connecting the body to the mind is something I had never experienced and was really surprised when it finally did happen. I was not expecting or looking to find that connection and when it did happen, I felt like my mind and my body had always been in the same room but never got close enough to actually meet. I knew once it happened, that I was in uncharted territory and I was excited to charge on and learn more.

How did it happen? The best explanation I can give is that my mind and body finally met after hours of self myofascial release! We all have tight, knotted muscles all over our bodies and we just don't know where they are and what affect they are having on our posture, the way we walk, exercise, sit and sleep. They lay silent beneath the skin continuing to tighten and negatively impact our skeletal structure until you reach down one day to pick up the newspaper and your back goes out ... sound familiar to anyone?

Self myofascial release gives all those tight muscles a voice and finally a way for your body to speak to your mind. I promise if you spend hours rolling around on odd sized balls from your head to your feet, your body and mind will meet! They will build a relationship and share a common goal - releasing tension and allowing you to live a more active lifestyle!

Combine this with a level one yoga or mat pilates class or, if you have a chronic muscle problem like I did, start with a restorative yoga class and I can assure you that you will notice a difference in your body almost immediately!

It's time to get connected...

My practice of self-myofascial release began with me rolling around on a baseball, a softball and your garden variety 4" PVC pipe! I know it doesn't sound too sexy, and at the time I didn't feel too sexy either. Truth be told, it took months before I got into a regular practice of self-myofascial release. For me, like most, rolling around on hard objects just didn't sound right and was definitely not in the mainstream, so I didn't give it much time or thought. It was not until I had tried everything, spent a ton of money and was living in constant pain that I started regularly practicing self-myofascial release.After suffering with sciatic and neck pain for years, I had run my body into the ground. Finding a trigger point (i.e., a tight muscle) was not hard to do, I just needed to sit, stand or lay on a ball and I was on a trigger point! My self-myofascial release practice started by doing just that, I would place a ball on the ground, lay on it for a couple of minutes, breathe deeply to relax, wait for the muscle to release then move to the next spot. After the first week I could feel my pain decreasing and my mobility increasing. As the weeks went by I was able to roll on a ball from my neck down to my low back and I could feel my body changing. As the months went by my body and mind were getting better aquatinted - the daily rolling out was connecting them both. I finally knew where I was tight and what I needed to do to release the tension.My collection of balls and odd shaped rollers grew with my need to gain access to deeper trigger points. I also bought a "Theracane," the green hook shaped object that is great for releasing tension in your neck and shoulders. Some of you may be wondering why I don't have a foam roller, which is known as the prop of choice for self-myofascial release. The foam rollers were simply too soft for me and provided no real benefits. My problems were deep tissue and the foam roller is better for soft tissue problems. For the same reason I don't use tennis balls for self-myofascial release, which is another common prop recommended by physical therapists.Despite my large collection of balls, rollers and other devices, I always felt there was something missing. There were very few products that were geared specifically for self-myofascial release, and those products that were on the market, were simply too soft to effectively activate and release my trigger points (i.e., foam rollers). It was this absence of effective self-myofascial release products that led me to develop Bula Balls which consists of five balls of varying sizes and firmness specifically designed to activate sensitive trigger points. But until Bula Balls are out on the market (which should be in the next few months!), you should get started with your own practice of self-myofascial release. Use whatever props work best for you, if tennis balls and foam rollers get the job done, then that is what you should use. But, if your like me, you will need something harder, such as baseballs, softballs and PVC pipes to really see the benefits of self-myofascial release. So head down to your local sports store or raid your kid's toy box and get started. Your body will thank me for it!