Fascia

Fascia is a tough connective tissue that surrounds every muscle, bone, organ, nerve and blood vessel in the body.

The word Myo means ‘muscle’ and the word fascia means ‘band’ (or connective tissue). Thus, when the terms myofascial yoga, or myofascial release are mentioned, it is usually in reference to bodywork techniques that targets the connective bands and spaces that are all around and within the muscle.  

MyoFascial Release Therapy

Myofascial release is a highly effective form of structural bodywork which seeks to create good function by undoing fascial restrictions, which may have occurred from injury, inflammation, as well as over time from poor postural habits or repetitive motion.

Therapist works using slow, steady pressure with minimal oil or lotion, locking into the restricted tissue until release occurs. Therapist may use subtle or indirect work, deep and direct work, as well as active or passive client movement.

Myofascial release creates greater mobility and function, relieves pain, gives new freedom to movement and a sense of ease and space within the body.

Yoga For MyoFascial Release

In Chinese Medicinal Science fascia is considered the bridge between the physical and the energy-Chi bodies. Similarly, Yoga philosophy teaches that indivisibly connected to physical form, there is a multi-layered body of subtle energy/prana that link us to an expanded field of consciousness.

One could say that this energy body houses our life force and connects to our higher consciousness, which, through it, trickles down into our physical body. Without an adequate ongoing flow of Chi/prana entering our body, we very quickly get lethargic, depressed or sick.

While some behaviors, actions, choices, attitudes, thoughts, conscious or unconscious), disconnect us for this life-sustaining energy, others (such as yoga), allow us to tap into this source energy in ways that encourage self-empowerment, healing, rejuvenation, growth, peace of mind and joyful living.

In the yogic system, the body is considered a mirror of our mental conditioning and disposition, as well as to the strength of our connection to our higher Self; with Fascia being playing an important part in this mirroring process.

 
But what does fascia actually do?

1. Like the body’s shock absorber, it cushions and protects all our organs, joins, ligaments...

2. Its flexibility allows us to safely move three-dimensionally.

3. Being strong and supportive it keeps everything in your body in the right place.

In a healthy, happy, well-functioning body the fascial system is strong, fluid and flexible.  Fascia is made of three main components: collagen, elastin, and a polysaccharide gel complex which is referred to as the ‘ground substance’ in myofascial release. Collagen and elastin work together to create a web-like formation of strong and flexible fibrils. The ground substance fills in the spaces in this web, lubricating the fibrils and cushioning the organs. These three aspects work as a harmonious system that ensures healthy movement, support, and protection of all body systems.

Why is Fascial Release good?

1. Fascial tension is oftentimes the culprit for un-diagnosable chronic pain. 

When the fascia is tight for a long time, it begins to put pressure on the nerves and blood vessels it surrounds and houses, creating symptoms of pain and poor circulation. Not only that, but these restrictions spread.

In addition to the tightness around pain sensitive nerves, the gel-like ground substance hardens, making assimilation of vital nutrients more difficult. The body starts working much harder than it needs to be to deliver essential nutrients to all organs and systems.

If this continues, the fibrils start to lose their elasticity and the shock absorption of the body becomes much less effective.

Releasing these fascial restrictions is the best way to bring the body back into its harmonious balance of strength, flexibility, and protection.

2. The fascial and belief systems are intimately linked:

Our internal state of being translates very easily to a body posture. When we continue to hold a certain posture over a long period of time we are inadvertently training our fascial system to mold to that position in space. This creates a feedback loop of posture and belief.

As an example, when fascial restrictions happen in the chest area, it becomes much more difficult to stay positive in the face of stressful life situations. When the chest is collapsed forward, it’s easier to default into negative defeatist thought patterns. When chest restrictions release, it is much easier to take a positive stance in our lives, both literally and figuratively.

3. When we allow the body to unwind, we connect more naturally to life: 

There are so many nerve endings (called nociceptors) resting in the layers of fascia in your body, that some consider it to be a sensory organ in and of itself. This sense is called proprioception, and it’s the sense we use to determine our body’s position in space.

Releasing the fascial system resets the proprioception mechanism, and trains it to be more attuned to subtle shifts in position and posture. This allows for quicker course corrections when unconscious poor posture habits creep up on us. This increased ‘sixth sense’ spills over into many life situations.

Incorporatng MyoFascial Release to Yoga

Myofascial release can be reached through yoga by:

- Holding asanas for long periods of time, 5 min to 20 minutes, allowing:

1) the ground substance to return to its healthy gel-like state and make that area more receptive to change in posture or unhealthy holding patterns, and

2) the release of a chemical known as interleukin 8, which is the body’s natural anti-inflammatory, with cancer fighting properties.

- Applying a little bounce, or a gentle rocking into the body. This motion starts to retrain healthy elasticity back into your fascial system, giving it proper flexibility and support, to maintaing a healthier level of shock absorbing properties, which allows the body to be less vulnerable to injury.

- Applying mindfulness and compassion: This Ahimsa-based approach will allow us to work with the body slowly, gently, and very mindfully until the first layer of resistance is felt. The key is to gently lean into this barrier until it relaxes naturally. Such an attitude, will allow us to move slowly and mindfully into the postures.

Our Yoga will become a dance that allows to enter into sacred and intimate relationship with our bodies; a relationship founded on love with the body; mindfully, patiently and compassionately communicating and co-operating with it.

Over all, understanding our fascial system is a great way to improve our relationship with our bodies, as well as to deepen our yoga practice. The fascia teaches us that everything in the body is connected, without exception. Getting to know this sense of connectivity from the inside helps to clarify that sense of connectivity in your whole life.

We are all connected, from the cellular level to the cosmic level. Discovering this connection can be one the most important realizations in one's life, and it can be found right on the yoga mat.