Fascia -
What is it, why is it important to your health and that of your child and what can you do about it?
I sometimes feel like a broken record, but I don’t think I will ever get tired of saying just how much I love the human body and the way God designed it. My favorite thing about holistic health is the beautiful lens by which we get to look. Everything in the body is connected. The more we learn about one aspect of the body, the more pieces we get to fill in, and the better we can support healing in the body and thrive.
What is it:
Like a web, it wraps around all structures of the body, brain, and even oral structures. It was previously believed that its role in the body was limited but in recent years there has been much more understanding around fascia and how it not only provides form and function to the body but surrounds every part of the body down to the cell.
Why is it so important?
It appears that many of us, from the moment we are born, have some level of fascial strain and trauma. An important part of any health journey is addressing the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). ANS dysfunction is also a huge part of why many people have a breakdown in their resilience to begin with. It might be another root cause that affects their nervous system, but both in healing and in resilience, it plays a big role. The fascia is intricately connected with the health of your nervous system. The ANS relies heavily on the fluid in the connective tissue of the body.
Fascia also delivers structured water to tissues and cells and sends information such as sound, light, and electrons throughout our body.
When it all goes wrong.
Inadequate sleep, unmanaged stress, toxins, inflammation, and trauma (physically and emotionally) can negatively affect fascia. This often results in restricted and tightened-up movement causing dysfunction, pain, and other health issues. The trauma described is an assault on your physical system that your nervous system perceives as a threat. This might look different for different people and at different ages.
Both emotions, as well as toxins, can become trapped in the fascia web. When there is a trauma, toxin, or injury, the fascia will thicken in response, tighten up, and create areas of strain. When the fasical strain is unreleased it can cause issues with the nervous system, circulatory system, and structure of the body. This relates to how structure affects Function the way Function affects Structure. There is an integrated relationship within the body between structure and function. The body is always trying to get back to homeostasis, when something is off, the body will not work as it should. Our goal is to ask good, quality questions as we pursue how to help aid the body. The fascia is a huge piece that seems to have gone missing in many conversations, and remember “Healing is a process, not an event.”
“The health of every cell in your body depends upon its ability to receive nutrients and eliminate waste. If the fascia surrounding your cells have tightness or adhesions, detoxification and provision of nutrients for the cells suffer.” - Vibrant Blue Oils
What can we do about it?
Best place to start? We always start with the Foundations: Nutrition, Hydration, Movement, Sleep, Managing Stress, and Getting out into Nature. Healthy fascia needs sufficient levels of essential vitamins and minerals. Nutrient-dense food and proper hydration are the building blocks of a healthy body and this includes fascia.
Next work at having the fascia released. Once that fascia is released cerebrospinal fluid can move more freely. As cerebrospinal fluid flows it aids in detoxifying the body and brain. This should be a gentle, slow release with good deep breaths. There are several ways you can do that.
Get a yoga ball. Lying backward over this and allowing the body to stretch can be a really powerful way to stimulate a release. Especially for kids. Not only is it good for them from a fascia perspective but in a generation that is constantly hunched over, this can be a really powerful way to support their body in multiple ways.
MOVE.. Sitting or standing in one place for too long without movement the fascia will begin to tighten up, and then when you move such as reaching for something you risk creating a “runs” rip/tear. The more we move, the more we support all systems in the body.
As someone who went through the CFT, Training, I am a huge fan of encouraging everyone who can sit through a weekend training, to attend. As parents, there is nothing more powerful than being the one who is bringing a level of healing to your child. Being able to learn and understand more about this technique is powerful and will be a huge blessing to your family. The CFT approach blends Cranial Sacral Therapy with Myofascial Release therapy and is an incredibly gentle approach. There are many amazing practitioners as well that you can go see.
Vibrant Blue Oils is a new essential oil that is said to be very good at helping release fascia within the body.
Soma- Holistics has a great free guide on how to care for your fascia.