If you’re new to fascia…

Fascia is far more than our connective tissue -

it is our largest sensory organ,

our organ of force transmission (said another way, how energy flows through our body),

and is the architecture for our muscles, bones, and organs,

and shapes our body moulded by our repeated behaviors.

Watch this 22 minute documentary by Jean Claude Guimberteau called, “Strolling Under the Skin,” which was our only footage of fascia in the living body until Dr. Guimberteau created more of it.

This video is a nice compliment to “Strolling Under the Skin” that uses footage from it, while also using a grapefruit to analogize functional unification.

Why haven’t you known about fascia all along?

Spend 45 minutes with Joanne Avison who unpacks why fascia has been left out of the anatomical history books. Be prepared to drop your jaw - it’s a drama!

I’ve watched a lot of singers give themselves jaw massages to release their mandible and free their movements using quite the force. It makes sense that the harder the tension problem the harder the massage, but fascia can defy our expectations because of its nonlinear nature. It isn’t logical - but neither is the body! We’ve only inherited the idea that we are like machines, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. Take a look at this short video that demonstrates the difference between newtonian and Non-Newtonian fluids and then test this out on yourself. I bet a soft touch will get that mandible moving more smoothly than a hard one, where you may notice you hold your breath and brace against your own touch.

Read more about fascia’s visco-elastic properties here!

What’s Newton got to do with it?!

Wait…did you say fascia was our largest sensory organ?

I did! Though it’s still controversial, as is any emergent scientific field, let researcher Robert Schleip explain the body-wide fascial net and its sensory properties.

Check out this talk (you can start at 5:55 to get right to the cool stuff), which demonstrates how a problem in one area of the body could show up as a symptom in an entirely different area.

Combine this in your imagination with what you learned about non-Newtonian fluids for a fuller picture.

There’s been a recent online mega resource for fascia research that you can check out here!

A new way to imagine the body…

Some of the biotensegrity thought-leaders put their heads together and recently published an article called, “Moving beyond Vesalius: Why anatomy needs a mapping update” that includes fascia, which is obviously quite the game-changer for the antiquated biomechanics. You can read that here.

Clinical Anatomist, John Sharkey has also published quite a bit on the subject and in this article, ‘Fascia and Tensegrity The Quintessence of a Unified Systems Conception’ he conjures an image of functional unification through understanding fascia and tensegrity as complementary systemic realities.

Watch John and Joanne Avison discuss ‘The Secret Network that Controls Your Muscles’ below and get a more contemporary perspective on stretching and what’s really happening.

If this is really ringing your bell, check out this informative and experiential workshop that I’ve taught several times for schools and companies all over the world!

You can also learn more hands-on techniques from Myofascial Release (MFR) Therapist Karen Burg.