Real Life Woman Reveals How Rocking Relaxes Her and Relieves Her Pain

"This year, I don’t think I can decorate my house for Christmas,” Margery told a friend asking about her beloved annual holiday tradition. Just home from a day at her women’s clothing boutique, her back was aching once again. “I was in such excruciating pain,” Margery, who is in her 60s, recalls. “I’m a huge Christmas decorator and couldn’t even pick up a box. I wasn’t aware of how I would ever end the pain."

“As a former Division 1 athlete, I ran track at Villanova. It doesn’t matter how old I am, I still see myself as a 20-year-old when I’m playing tennis; I chase down every ball. I’m always overdoing it and later I suffer with pain in my back. Over the years, I’ve tried stretching away the pain, but I never felt any real relief. I would just tighten back up."

A worsening problem

“Then two years ago, after I became an empty nester, I opened up my store, Boutique Calia, in Bernardsville, New Jersey. I’m standing all day, which is not easy on my back and makes it ache even more, like I’m wearing a corset that’s so tight I can’t breathe. People suggested I try Pilates or yoga and my answer was always, ‘Yeah, that’s not for me.’ I didn’t have the time, my life is so busy! I have a high tolerance for pain and while I’ve taken Advil at times, I don’t like to take medications."

“I would come home from spending the day on my feet and the last thing I wanted to do was figure out how to make my pain go away. I ignored it until I was at the point where I couldn’t move. I would sit down and say, ‘All right, I’m going to relax, the pain will get ­better.’ And it didn’t. Meanwhile, over the years, it got worse."

“Last November, when I feared back pain would derail my Christmas decorating, a friend told me about Ready Rocker, a gift her pregnant daughter had received. It was created to help women rock their babies from any seat, but she had a hunch it might help me. I’m a person who will try anything, and it wasn’t a huge outlay of cash. So I decided to give it a try and ordered it on Amazon."

“The day it arrived, I put it on a kitchen chair and thought, Okay, what is this thing going to do? As soon as I sat in it, I rocked back and forth as if I was in a rocking chair, and it felt so relaxing. My first reaction was, Oh, my God, this feels like when I was sitting in my own rocking chair with my son when he was a baby. Such great memories came flooding back, and the rocking relaxed my whole body. I felt an easing of the tightness in my back, which immediately relieved some of my pain."

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Pain-free at last

“My husband walked in and asked, ‘What are you doing?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know, this is just the greatest feeling in the world. I feel so calm.’"

“Now I use the device twice a day­—in the mornings while reading my Bible, then every day when I get home from work. I rock for 30 minutes, often while doing my needlepoint. There’s just something about the way it makes my lower back feel. It loosens it up like a stretch so it’s not tight anymore. The pain is greatly relieved, and I am so grateful to then be able to get on with my day or have an easy night."

“I think it’s amazing, quite honestly. I love my days at my store where I talk with the wonderful women who come in. But it’s very difficult on my back. There’s nothing nicer than coming home, sitting down and having this on my back. I can relax and relieve my pain while I have a conversation with my husband and son, who are my greatest joy. I then feel like I could tackle anything! I was even able to decorate my house for Christmas, and I look forward to decorating again this year!”

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Rocking for health benefits

Rocking for health has a storied ­tradition

Even President John F. Kennedy’s doctor prescribed a rocking chair to relieve his chronic back pain caused by war injuries. The motion alleviates back pain by increasing the muscle activity of the back, say researchers in Industrial Health . But it’s not just for sore backs: Researchers in the journal Activities, Adaptation & Aging found that rocking three times a week for just 10 minutes at a time can soothe fibromyalgia pain .

The rhythmic nature of rocking also improves ­mental health

Report researchers in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias . In one study, nursing home patients with dementia who rocked an average of 101 minutes daily saw decreased depression and anxiety­—and their need for pain medicine was reduced!

Rocking can also lead to better sleep (and not for just babies)

University of Geneva researchers say a continuous rocking motion helps us fall asleep faster and facilitates deeper sleep. Why? Rocking increases certain brain waves associated with sleep. A study in Current Biology also connected rocking during sleep to improved memory .

Don’t have a rocking chair, rocking bed or hammock? Try the gadget Margery used at ReadyRocker.com/FFW .

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