1. shiatsu massage pillow. (this is the one i have currently after having another similar one for a long time and eventually wearing it out), which is the best $30 i ever spent. it's great at the classic lower back stuff but i'm thankful that i've never really had lower back issues (VERY THANKFUL especially because my dad hella does and i worried i might be genetically predisposed to same) so i use it for a) hitting the insides of my shoulder blades + my trapezius while reclined against pillows in bed, b) massaging my (eternally tight) IT bands by lying in bed on my side with it under the side of one thigh and my body weight pressing into it, c) similar positioning to b but getting it to dig into my hip socket, the nexus of pain and pleasure in my body d) putting lengthways under my thigh and/or calf
2.
happy feet socks. long-time readers will know the last couple years i've had plantar fasciitis foot pain issues that have affected my running and i've made a bunch of changes that seem to have fixed things (chiefly almost always wearing slippers with arch support inside after spending my life barefoot and switching to a standing desk and also cutting out magnesium and calcium supplements, which i took for years and thought were helping a variety of things but idk maybe actually made things worse?!) and idk if these are like the magic bullet or just one factor or maybe do nothing at all, but i continue to wear them bc i really love the way they make my feet feel. at one point i remember i think n posting to instagram about the truest friend being someone who would do a kind of handshake with your foot, intertwining their fingers in between your toes, and these are that friend in sock form.
3.
acupressure mat with pillow. this is another thing i have been using for years and will probably continue using for the rest of my life. deborah tried it once for like 5 minutes and hated it and you have to be of the school that likes "hurts so good" kind of stuff, but omfg it hurts so good. it's great for if i have a headache or neck shoulder tightness (see 1) or any kind of garden variety physical ache that i could use a distraction from but also feels even more valuable in cases where i am emotionally unwell and know i should do breathing exercises or meditate but can't summon the willpower so i lay on this and enjoy the thousands of plastic spikes helping nudge me into being present in my body in the moment (while i listen to a podcast or watch a TV show, usually). at the end of a long session i love the feeling of peeling myself off the mat and sitting up and the nerves of my whole (also hole—thousands of tiny indentations) back sparkling with blood flow.