5 Fascinating Facts about Fascia!
Did you know Fascia ........is the soft tissue (like a silk stocking) that circumnavigates in one continuous piece (yup there's no start nor finish) over every muscle, organ, tendon, ligament, bone, nerve fibre in your body?
Fascia has up to 8 times the resistance force of muscle strength thereby supports and protects muscles from tears and trauma.
Fascia fibres thicken (become 'gummy') due to chronic stress, causing it to tighten and limit muscle sliding action and joint mobility.
Too little movement AND too much excessive repetitive movement each cause 'gummy' fascia - so repeating the same exercises, action or stretch over and over may only be beneficial short term but have long term consequences to mobility and posture.
Trauma, injury or surgery (scar tissue) to one area of the body can impact an entirely different part of the body ~ think of yourself in a one-piece white shiny lycra toe-to-crown body suit (what a superb visual well done!) and tie an elastic band around a bundle of lycra around your LEFT knee....you will see the torsion all the way up, the midline pulls, and possibly creates issues with RIGHT 1st rib, shoulder or neck!!!
Fascia is influenced by mood! Recent discovery has shown fascia has memory, although nerve-poor, and emotions travel via the fascial web throughout the body...so if you're resting in a deep stretch or someone massages your glute it can bring up emotional memory embedded and facilitates healing! Yogis believe Fascia is the Atman of the body - 'the everything with no start no finish that which sustains us', our internal universe.
It is possible for you to break down scar tissue in fascia with limbering movements, foam roller and massage therapy. Correct breathing is key to having healthy fascia. Our diet also influences freedom of our fascia if we eat too much acidic foods (caffeine, alcohol, red meats) and not enough alkalised food (leafy greens), dehydration is also important because it improves the serous fluid between muscle and fascia for the sliding action and therefore joint mobility. Regular Yoga practice with a variety of movements and styles (flow, still holds, long deep holds and breath work practices), Sauna and massage therapy are also fun ways to say "hello I love you" to your fascia!
If you are feeling a bit 'gummy' check out in your Inspya Me Online membership the following videos - did you know you can do 1 day 24hr passes now for $9.95?;
Foam Roller & Release - Upper Body
Foam Roller & Release - Lower Body
Morning Limber & Spinal Flow
Core Setup 1 - Core Breathing
any Yin practice
Enjoy! Have a great week Yogis
