What is
Myofascia?
When you look at a steak, the
white marbling you see is really fascia. Its job is to separate everything from everything else, like
muscles from other muscles, skin from muscles, organs from muscles or bone. It's also a lubricant. It's
what allows everything to move easily and adjust as needed as you move. That's when it hasn't been
injured. Injured fascia is the complete opposite. It really is a Dr. Jeckle & Mr. Hyde contrast.
Injured fascia pulls in fascia from all over your body to try to protect itself and heal. Picture a giant
sheet of celophane throughout your body. That's what fascia is like. And here's the kicker: Fascia has a
tensile strength of over 2000 pounds per square inch. That's right, 2000 pounds per square inch. Nothing
in your body can resist that level of stress. Fascial release therapists call fascia "the organ of form",
because its pulling is what determines your stature and posture. Your body will eventually adjust and bend
the way your fascia is pulling. The end results are decreased blood flow, chronic tension, headaches,
malaise, endometriosis, fibromyalgia and the list goes on.
I've been doing myofascial release on myself and friends for years, without realizing
what it was, because I knew it worked. In 2002 I started seeing a therapist trained in
the Rolf Method of Structural
Integration. Ida Rolf was the doctor who discovered how important myofascia is and
how it can be manipulated to release adhesions and scarring, allowing it to unravel or unwind throughout
your body. In recent years, it's been proven that myofascia has a stretch reflex, just like
muscles. This means the only way to get it to relax and completely unwind is to use soft,
gentile techniques. This is why I prefer my techniques to Rolfing®. Traditional Rolfing
techniques tend to involve pain, sometime fairly significantly. Like I said before, I've been there
on the receiving end. Myofascial release is what allowed me to move again. I now believe I'll have all my
issues resolved soon, mostly due to myofascial release. In my opinion, it is the most powerful massage
technique there is. And every single person needs it. The best way I can describe it is, instead of
working the muscles, you work in between the muscles, separating them from each other. Every session
causes changes throughout your body for 48 hours or more. You can feel things moving around as you
stretch out. I can't say enough about it, obviously...
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