unwind & Block Therapy

What is Block Therapy?

Block Therapy is a fascia decompression method using their Block Buddy, Block Baby and Block Paddle. Participants use their body weight plus one, two, or all three of their tools at a time to release stuck tissues in a myriad of positions.

The results achieved from fascia decompression using only your body weight, breath and blocks is impressive. Definitely worth checking out their success stories!

A different philosophy

old way: body as machine. all humans are the same. X pain = Y cause.

new way: every body responds uniquely to its physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual environment.

Block Therapy is part of a growing number of modalities that treat humans as individuals with different movement patterns, injuries, and experiences that result in the way their body moves without pain (or doesn't).

Is unwind Block Therapy?

Block Therapy is done with a Block Buddy, Block Baby, or Block Paddle to enable fascia decompression. So no, but unwind is a fascia release method.

Melanie is a certified Block Therapy Instructor, however unwind body works is entirely its own method with its own tools and reset, release, and replenish framework.

Just as chefs train at the Cordon Bleu to receive education about proper techniques and the science of how to combine ingredients properly with heat to create the desired effect, Block Therapy Instructors learn about fascia, cause sites, proper breathing techniques, and numerous positions to release one or muscle groups at the same time using blocks and your body weight.

Just as no two pastry chefs making the same recipe will produce the same results (as any reality TV baking show demonstrates), so it is with Block Therapy Instructors. Love isn’t Hansen so her Block Therapy-style classes will be similar but not the same. 

Some key differences:

Unwind Body Works	Block Therapy(TM)
Four blocks at once in each position	Typically one or two blocks, sometimes the paddle
Nervous system calming practices before class begins.	Explanation of fascia and decompression before class begins.
Guidance to find just enough sensation (but NEVER pain), your breath is your guide. Stay within your limits.	Guidance to make friends with your pain, your breath is your guide. Stay within your limits.
Positions are balanced left and right, upper and lower body to avoid spinal torquing. The side benefit of targeting more areas at once is efficient and effective.	Positions tend to be targeted to a single muscle and single sided (e.g. working only the upper quads one side at a time), sometimes double-blocking with using two of Buddy, Baby, Paddle.
Positions held longer(~4 mins each). No maximum when practicing solo.	Positions held ~2.5-3 mins each in class.   No maximum when practicing solo.
Guided imagery and invitation to create heart-brain coherence with an even brath paird with a comfortable emotion.	Guidance about which muscles are being released, common pain cause sites, and referral sites. Knowledge about anatomy and benefits of tissue decompression.
Tools: two large foam (un)Blocks + two mini foam (un)Blocks. Rolled up towels and pool noodle segments provided in-class to substitute.	Tools: usually one wood Block Buddy or Baby, sometimes double-blocking with both &/or the Block Paddle. No substitutes provided.

 

How unwind came to be

unwind developed from Love adapting the positions to the needs of her body, which doesn’t like single sided releases because of damage in her spine and SI. She started using four blocks at a time instead of one or two, combining single BT positions into unwind combos.

the (un)Block came later - Love also wanted wider tools to be more stable when using up or tall and when using four at once. They're gripper for stability and can be used more easily up against a wall. She needed lightweight tools to travel with that still did the job. 

The large (un)Block is narrower to accommodate Love’s short waist in the belly position. They’re hypoallergenic because Love occasionally gets sneezy with certain wood species in the BT blocks and is allergic to rubber latex found in other blocks and balls. They're less intense because they're foam and because they're wider on the edges. 

The Peloton rounded versions were still heavy and too big. 
The lululemon waterfall versions were just weird.
Lacrosse balls are very pointy, oddly heavy for their size and too intense.
In 2024, Love wondered if she could do better - enter the foam (un)Blocks(TM).