THE PARTS MAKE UP THE WHOLE

Know Yourself

Have you noticed that something changed in the way we understand ourselves, suddenly everyone is talking about fascia. Knowledge of this inner world can evolve the way you stretch and how you hold your body in daily life, as you come to better understand the dynamics of your body. If you are curious to know more then please read on!

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR FASCIA?

The Organ of Oneness

When we look at something as complicated and intricate as the human body there is too much to understand, so our minds tend to break things down into smaller, bite-size parts. In doing so we create divisions that were not there before, as such our textbooks are full of separations that don’t exist in nature.

Likewise since its beginnings the study of anatomy has divided the human body and organised things into inter-dependant systems; the nervous, digestive and circulatory systems for example. The musculoskeletal system provides support to the body and allows for movement, it is held together by connective tissue like tendons; which anchor muscles to bones, and ligaments; which connect bones to bones.

However, there is more to the story than taught at school, fascia is a different kind of connective tissue. It is like a spiders web, which weaves its way around the body, touching everything, connecting all the parts, so in that sense we are one.

What is the Fascia?

It wraps around muscles, bones and organs; it connects everything and at the same time protects delicate tissue. The fascia is both the binding and the glue that makes all our cells, tissues and organs stick together. It supports us and allows dynamic movement; as we move our muscles and bones move with us, slipping and sliding past each other. All the internal organs have an enveloping layer of fascia, which keeps them in their place but also facilitates movement. Did you know even when we are at rest our organs are moving? They have their own distinct rhythms, movements and pulsations to flush fluids in and out.

The superficial fascia forms an interconnected web just beneath the skin, wrapping around your entire body. It has are 10 times more sensory nerve endings than your muscles. They transmit somatosensory information to the brain: vibration, pressure, stretch and tension, as well as the location of origin. This gives us a mental image of our bodies and subconsciously coordinates movement. There are about 600 muscles and 206 bones in the human body, none of them move individually. When we run, walk and dance they all move together as one, even as we stand or sit the body adjusts to our posture.

What are Energy Lines?

The fascia is largely composed of the proteins collagen and elasticin, these form protein strands, which weave themselves into a mesh. If this all new to you, think of the white stringy bits in meat. The fibres of the fascia are a sinuous tissue containing ground substance (water). The fluids in our bodies distribute nutrients, contain mineral salts and also help to eliminate toxins. Collagen has been shown in experiments to be electrically conductive and it is well known that salt water is a good electrical conductor.

Ancient spiritual science identified “energy lines” running throughout the body. Different cultures gave them different names: nadis, meridians, sib sen. At the intersections we find the Chakras & Acupuncture Points. Together they form a network, a structural energy system through which vital energy flows. Fresh running water is clear but can turn stagnant and turn green when the flow is blocked, so too a blockage in the flow of vital energy will manifest as a problem in the body. Modern research has confirmed that there is a similarity, a convergence between the maps of the acupuncture energy from Traditional Chinese Medicine and the recently mapped Myofascial Pathways.

FASCIA HAS MEMORY

Upgrade Yourself

What you do with your body today actually designs the body you will have tomorrow! Your daily actions and movement (or lack of it) form a feedback loop within the fascia, which rebuilds itself entirely over a period of 6 months to a year. It is continually remodelling itself to best suit the demand placed on it. Your fascia is continually developing into the form and structure that is best suited to carry out your daily activities. Unfortunately nowadays that resembles an office desk and chair!
The fascia plays a large role in "muscle memory" as our sub-consciousness learns how to carry out daily activities without us having to think about what we are doing. The fascia remembers how to distribute forces along habitual lines of tension.
If we are immobilised following an injury, the tissues of the fascia will grow with uneven and crisscrossed patterns leaving a “scar”. The harmonic technique has been proven to activate tissue growth and promote the harmonisation fascia tissue.
Learn how to work through trauma on a physical level, recover from injury and unravel knots in your fascia. Either in person or online we can organise a one on one training session to give you some practical self-care tips in self massage and movement therapy.

CONTACT

A HEALTHY BODY

Is a healthy mind

And a healthy mind is a healthy body, both are intimately connected. What you think affects what you feel, and what you feel affects how you think. The limbic system and vagal nerve form a feedback loop between mind & body, like when you get a gut feeling, or butterflies in the stomach.

A healthy fascia facilitates movement, allowing the parts of the body to move freely and unimpaired, yet it is all too easy if you work at a desk and spend a lot of time sitting that the fascia becomes stiff as it adapts to support the position. So try to keep moving, even when sitting you can rock your spine to the front and the back and round to each side. You can shake your hips and wiggle your toes, just because the mind is engaged in work does not mean that the body has to inactive and sleepy. Repetitive actions such as physical work, typing, even playing sports like golf can cause inflammation or tears in the fascia. If your joints to become inflamed they will feel tender and sore, which takes away the pleasure in the activities you enjoy.

When your body feels tight the fascia may be knotted, twisted or locked, conversely to popular belief stretching can actually make it worse. Imagine a rope with a loose knot in it, what happens if you pull on both ends? First you must unravel the fibres before you can undo the knot.

Innersense offers you a unique programme combing body work with self-care training, to empower you to play an active part in your own wellbeing.

THE PERICARDIUM

Check in With Your Heart

As with all of the vital organs the heart is contained within protective sack of fascia. Surrounding the heart is the pericardium. It connects to the vertebrae of the lower neck, to the sternum (chest bone) and also to the pleura (the lung fascia). So shallow breathing can result in neck pain and a forward head posture from too much screen time could give you a pain in the heart.

Everybody is unique, we all have our own issues, but one thing we have in common is that if we release tension in one part of the body it will have a affect the surrounding areas.

I offer a combination of bodywork and movement, which promotes health and vitality.

BODYWORK

PROPRIOCEPTION

The Sense of Being Touched

Just under our skin all around our body lie tiny sensors called mechanoreceptors. Most are not actually in the skin or the muscles but in the fascia. These provide somatosensory information by detecting pressure, stretch, friction and vibration. They give us our sense of proprioception, the way that the body knows itself, its location, position and movement.
Mechanoreceptors give us not only our sense of touch but also our sense of being touched. The hands and face have many receptors and are thus particularly sensitive to touch.
I am currently working on an online course in self massage, anatomy and movement, designed to develop our Innersense.

SELF-MASSAGE