We've been focusing on the fascia / connective tissue in classes this week, and exploring how this interesting tissue has the capacity to give us elasticity and stretch, expand, glides and gives a feeling of melt... all leading, perhaps, to a particular quality of experience (more open, spacious, free?!)
A few fun facts about fascia :
This silvery webbing of material can be described as a fibrous, elastic, both liquid and solid, three dimensional collagen matrix that runs through the whole of your body
- in recent years, more has been discovered about fascia, and it is now considered an organ with proprioceptive (being able to sense where we are in space) and nociceptive (pain perceiving) qualities
- It's like a continuous webbing which runs through the body, and covers individual muscle fibres, bones and organs, and at the same time it's structure forms the connections between muscle and bone, organ and organ and muscle and skin.
- It provides the connectivity that allows communication and movement in our bodies as a whole.
- it's responsive, sensitive and malleable to the way we use and treat our bodies throughout our lives (for example, if we sit for long periods of time, it may become denser and tighter in particular areas, and through movement it may become more spacious and free, through stress it can become tighter)
- fascia changes in response to stress and load - you might say 'the fascia keeps the score' or the story of your life can be read through your fascia / the structure of your body
- it's elasticity gives us a sense of bounce and rebound against gravity
- it's capacity for glide and slide gives us our flexibility. It connects but it also has the capacity to spread and separate, just like the fabric of a t-shirt being gently spread open and widened. In spreading, it forms the moving bridge between and among organs, tissue and bone. We embody gliding when we move with fluid, dynamic movements like yoga, somatics, dance.
- it has capacity for 'melt' such as during long holds of positions, like during a yin yoga class. After a long, gentle hold, breathing steadily, fascia can respond with a soft, slow, melting sensation
- It has elasticity / tensegrity : when we walk, for example, our fascia is acting as an all-enveloping spring, with far more elasticity than bone, it allows us to move and respond with the least amount of muscular effort.
Why massage / roll?
(Thanks movingness.com for this great list!)
Fascia loves :
Hydration (think a sponge)
Movement (think water transportation)
Touch (think floorwork / Massage / rolling)
Slow stretching (think cats)
Bouncing (think jumping / dancing / running)
Fascia hates:
Static positions (sitting / slouching)
One sided work or workouts
Too quick stretches (it's slower than muscles)
Too deep stretches (it can become brittle or break)
Stress (it's one of our richest sensory organs)
I find the particular quality of experience to be one of intensity while actually rolling / releasing, and after one of "zing!!", feeling refreshed, more expansive, free and alive!
Here are 3 fascia release exercises, using a tennis ball or a massage ball. Tennis ball works quite well, perhaps one which is a bit worn in and has become softer (as long as it's clean! 😉) is better. The holy grail of release balls are 'Franklin method balls', available to buy online.
Fascia release for head, neck, back
Heaven for tight fascia and muscles perhaps more so after the massage than during! It can be a little intense, so adjust pressure accordingly and always work within a comfortable level of intensity) less is more with the effort level / intensity and tends to yield better results
Masticator - muscle of the side of the jaw
- begin lying on your belly
- bring your left arm to rest on ground over your head, with a bent elbow
- turn your head to the right, and lay it on the ground, resting on the side of your head
- place ball under broad muscle at middle - back of your cheek (the one that you might feel stick out if you clench your jaw)
- make some rolling / side to side / up / down motions, moving your head and jaw around the ball
- stay with a feeling of gentle pressure, breathing and melt
- you can adjust pressure by pressing down into elevated arm / hand to take pressure off, or release to increase pressure
- Pause for a few seconds before going to 2nd side, to integrate the sensations
Back of neck / occiput
Great release if you do a lot of computer work / looking at a screen
The occiput is the area where the base of the skull meets the neck. This is a prime area for holding tension and can feel quite tight and sore in many people, and lead to tension headaches... which may be relieved from this exercise!
-Lay a block on the ground, or experiment with a book or two
- Lie on your back, with the block under your head
- place the ball underneath your head, over to one side, at your occiput
- Explore the fascia on this first side by rolling, circling, moving side to side and up and down
- As before, move gently, slowly
- release ball and let your head settle back for a while to integrate sensations. Then repeat other side
Back
For this one, take 2 balls together into a sock, so that you end up with a peanut shape of 2 balls held together (easier when working down two sides of your spine!)
- lie on your back with your knees bent, soles of feet on the ground
- option to stand into feet, raise pelvis and place a block under, so you are in a supported bridge pose
- place both balls either side of your spine at your upper back
- you may wish to bring hands behind head and interlace fingers there to support your head and neck
- hold, breathe, experiment with rolling up and down, and melting
- use your feet to help you roll the balls gradually downwards, either side of your spine, until you reach upper glutes area
- release, lower down to lying with back flat on the ground, give time for the sensations to integrate
Take note of how you feel and anything else you notice! 🙂
