Woman's World magazine released a great article about Susan Homsey, and the Miracle Ball. Susan is an Elaine Petrone Method Certified Instructor from Mundelein, Illinois. She has had much success with the ball work and training others. You will find it in the August 25, 2008 issue. You can also view the cover here and the article here.
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Ever since the Miracle Ball Method Book came out I have received thousands of e-mails from people all over the world. There are questions and comments. They describe their own experience with the method; and, the struggles they have experienced with their body. No matter what country, what walk of life, the symptoms are consistent, the struggles the same and very similar to what I had experienced.

We live in a world of supersized, bigger is better and certainly more is better. We want instant gratification from something, anything and who wouldn't? I always tell my students if there were a perfect pill that did not have side effects, I would be taking it.

Maybe I am barking up the wrong tree. This method is not fast and it is not big. The idea of no pain no gain is not part of it. I do know that it works. My job is to explain that small movements can have a huge effect, slow changes can be profound, and less effort can give you sooo much more freedom of movement. It's not that I am in love with slow or less.. In fact, I am quite a TYPE A personality. But I like that the less I do, the more I get out of it. SO I do less and I keep getting more. This is a training. Don't expect it to be easy because it is small or slow. Allow yourself to be open minded and let your body do the work.

My mission is to explain this to others as I continue to grow in this work. It is different with the classes where a person is right there in front of me. To explain what to do thru e-mail there is more of a challenge. Expressing this on the DVD's or the CD's has been a challenge. Yet there is such a need but you can see that by reading the e-mails.

I made a commitment the moment I felt my first sigh of relief, from severe chronic sciatic pain that I would tell others there is hope out there. This is not my method but your bodies method to recover. When we were kids, if we were healthy our bodies did this naturally. Our bodies responded, adjusted, changed breathed easy and slept well. We woke up ready for another day. I am hoping thru this website to answer more questions. I will use a lot of the e-mails that come in each day and use the blog to respond. This way we can all see how similar we are and get encouraged. It seems like a simple thing to do. Just lay on these balls and breathe. But to Stop... to not do, to listen, and then to feel, is about as foreign as going to Pluto would be. So we need to talk about it.

When I say Stop, I don't mean be still, I mean to stop the fight that keeps the pain alive. Your muscles will let go to another place somewhat unfamiliar and then your journey begins too. I hope we can all be there for each other. I challenge all of you to share this with others. Most of my students have and do everyday. They can teach as well as I can. Once you feel it you know what I mean. The website will include emails from many of those that have shared their story. I hope they inspire you. They certainly have inspired me.

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What is the difference between the Elaine Petrone Method DVD and the Miracle Ball Method book?

The DVD is one class. Since The Elaine Petrone Method is not an exercise program, the pace is very different. We are not mindlessly repeating or imitating movement. As a result you will get more benefit by using one or 2 ball placements in one lesson, using the Body Formula explained in all the materials, than by placing the ball under many different parts of the body.

The Miracle Book Method book has many ball placements but explains that you should choose your favorite one and get more proficient at the Body Formula in order to allow your body's own alignment system to work.

We live in a society where we feel more is better. Some have expressed that they wanted many ball placements in each DVD. That would not be helpful. It would encourage people to get a lot of quick surface reactions. It would not give your body a chance to observe, and then change. The ability to create feeling in the body is what will begin to take the stress off chronically overused areas.

Each DVD hopes to give some insight into a particular part of your body. Again, unlike exercise, you should begin to feel reactions throughout your whole body even if you are placing the ball under one area and then taking it away to observe the muscle tension relief.

The Miracle Ball Method book, the DVD's and the CD's all have information to help you understand the method which is essential to getting lasting change. Although the ball feels good, that is exactly what it is used for. By using the Body Formula, the ball can help you feel parts of your body in new ways and then through the Whole Body Moves incorporate them into moving differently.

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ABOUT THE BALLS: Some commonly asked questions.

Why different size balls? Should the ball be soft or hard?

The ball is used to create a feeling. The size really doesn't matter nor does the firmness. If the ball is too firm then take some air out using the valve provided. If it feels too soft for you then make it harder.

I have learned over many years that the ball really isn't what gives you the reactions. It is in the Body formula. If the ball is too hard and hurts then by all means make it soft. It will not affect your progress. Harder is not better.

I offer different sizes because all of us are different. Sometimes a small woman may prefer a larger ball and a larger man many want a softer small ball between the shoulders. As they grow in the work they may want something different. Different parts of the body feel different with different size balls.

I made the balls soft in the Miracle Ball Method book because that is what worked best for most beginners. The valve provided can be used to adjust the ball as explained in the book but I wouldn't get overly concerned.

As far as those of you who don't like some of the colors...well that one is hard for me to comment on. We try.

I hope this helps.

Elaine

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