Today I’ll write about something that’s been on my mind for the last year or so – the fascia. A not-so-often talked about but all-so-important membrane that permeates every organ and muscle within our bodies. It keeps everything held together. Do you ever wonder how everything in your body stays in place? Why we’re not just a big soppy sack of meat and blood? It’s because of this gelatinous fabric that extends from head to toe, weaving around our bones that our bodies have a coherent structure.

I learned about the fascia last year when speaking with a functional medicine doctor about the tightness I was experiencing in my jaw. She suggested I do some stretches to open up my hip – that the fascia in the hip is directly connected to the fascia in the face, and that some lower body work could release the pressure I was experiencing in my head. All of these seemingly disparate parts in the body are actually held in relationship through tension formed by this fascial membrane, and therefore pain caused in one place may be the byproduct of tightness on the complete opposite side of the body.

There is a developing science that studies the different patterns of the fascia and how it weaves throughout our body (see Anatomy Trains for courses and books on the subject). Just like the study of any other body system, analyzing the anatomical structure of fascia is very intricate. I started to read the Anatomy Trains book the other day and am finding it incredibly dense. However, mindful practices like yoga and Qigong are great for developing a first-hand experience and awareness of the fascia.

There is so much more to write about regarding the fascia. Learning about the ways that tightness originates and manifests within the body has been fascinating, and an incredibly healing process for myself. To learn that the pain I experience in my body is not happening in isolation, that it is often if not always connected with hidden tightness and traumas in unexpected places has been a humbling experience. Rather than try to fix or numb the pain here, it may be worth exploring and giving attention and care to that which is tight, there.