Episode Transcript
[00:00:11] Hello, and welcome to deep in your practice. I am your host, Lauren Leduc, owner of True love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And today we're going to talk about deepening your practice through the knowledge of fascia. I love yoga anatomy, and to me, fascia is one of the most exciting things to study because we're really just starting to, to find the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what fascia is and what its function is in our body. And it's very, very yogic in its nature. So we'll talk a bit about the myofascial system, about myofascial release and its connection to yoga. And I also, at the end, want to invite you to an upcoming workshop that I have a holiday myofascial release and restore at True Love Yoga on December 15. So first, let's talk about what the myofascial system is. What is fascia? So, fascia is a connective tissue that surrounds our muscles, bones, organs and nerves, and acts like this big web throughout the body. So it connects everything in the whole body. When I say it's yogic, it's because it truly is the system that brings union into our body that connects absolutely everything. So it surrounds muscles, bones, organs, et cetera, but also is within it. So to give you a visual, think about an orange. An orange is surrounded by its peel. So take the peel off and you'll see kind of the skin layer that's around the orange. And then you can peel the individual segment so that skin layer around the orange and then the layer around each individual segment is like our fascia. And then that same substance that's flowing within and creating these tiny little segments within the orange segments is also like the fascia. So it connects and protects everything in the body. So fascia is responsible for maintaining structure, providing support, and also allowing smooth movement throughout the body.
[00:02:15] So that's fascia. And then when we talk about the myofascial system, we're talking about this combination of our muscles and our fascia. So, yes, the fascia is really a part of the muscles, and it's inside the muscles as well. We're talking about both of these systems combine together. So when your fascia becomes tight or restricted, which is typically due to a lot of reasons, dehydration is one of them within the tissues. And that can be caused by injury, immobility, by different ways that we use our body. By age, it can cause discomfort, it can limit our range of motion, it can cause a lot of pain, and it's very interesting, because this myofascial system is all connected. Tension in one part of the fascia can affect lots of other parts of the body that leads to this interconnected tightness or pain. So just because you're feeling pain in one area doesn't mean that that is sort of the localized issue that could be coming from a completely different place in the body. So it's very, very interesting how truly connects everything. That being said, healthy fascia looks relaxed. It has this wavy configuration to it, and it allows for sliding and gliding of our muscles of this really smooth movement. Hydration is so important for this fascial health. So hydrated fascia equals this proper gliding. It equals structural integrity. And it offers protection, too, for every system in the body. Dehydrated fascia leads to joint compression, restricted blood flow, impaired nerve transmission, and increased inflammation. So when this tissue is dehydrated and dysfunctional, it causes what we might call knots. We call them adhesions in the body, which are tender spots, sometimes painful spots. And when we're able to get into them and create a sense of release, it can alleviate a lot of pain in the body. So what is myofascial fascial release? It's a hands on, perhaps prop based technique that involves applying gentle, sustained pressure to specific areas of the body to release tightness in the fascia. It helps hydrate the fascia and create overall health well being, and brings the structure of the fascia back to a healthy place. There are many ways to, quote unquote, release the fascia. We can do that through a regular yoga practice, by moving our body through range of motion, through any mindful movement, actually through things like massage and acupuncture and cupping. So I'll say when I'm talking about myofascial release here, what I'm going to be referring to more so self myofascial release, which is using tools and even using your own hands to apply gentle pressure. Two specific areas to create this sense of release and calm in the body as well. And it does a lot of great things, like increases range of motion, it reduces pain and tension in the body. It can enhance recovery after physical activity. It can also be a great addition to your warm up before physical activity by creating better conditions for strength training in particular. And it also can promote relaxation and stress relief. So, especially. Well, all layers of the fascia really have a lot of nerves running through them. But the superficial layer, which is closest to the skin, has these nerve endings called ruffini, and they help turn on the parasympathetic nervous system. So they help down regulate the nervous system and can create this sense of calm and release and stress relief. So typically, when we're using props or hands to apply this pressure and create a sense of release, it's a very, very gentle. We don't have to go super deep to get quite an effect from it. And I love this aspect of it. To me, it's very yogic. The number one principle of the eight limb path of yoga is ahimsa non harm. So when we bring in these gentle techniques that help calm us, that help relieve stress, it helps bring us to into a state where we can feel more connected to the self. So we use different props in self. Myofascial release foam rollers might be one that you feel familiar with. We can also use yoga blocks. We can use these balls, and they make these balls in all different sizes. It can be something as simple as a tennis ball. That's what we have at the studio.
[00:07:09] But I really like rad rollers, too. They're made specifically with this technique in mind. So they're just the right density for a really effective myofascial release session. And this can be done within your strength training routine, it can be done within your yoga practice, and it can also be done as something totally separate. For me, this has been kind of like the missing puzzle piece. In my own practice, I do a lot of things, but I really love my yoga practice. Of course, especially vinyasa and hatha yoga, pranayama practice, and meditation as well. I do a lot of hiking, and I also do a lot of strength training. So myofascial release has been what I feel like has been the missing puzzle piece. It brings this deep sense of release and calm to my body because I typically do veer toward more yang or intense practices. It's what feels good to me. I need to release the energy that I have in order to feel calm. So being able to combine the two has really been a game changer for my personal practice. So myofascial release and self myofascial release can be such a great complement or addition to your yoga practice. First, it's so great with enhancing mobility, so it helps hydrate your tissues, which helps improve your flexibility and mobility, which can make your yoga postures more accessible and can improve form. So just a little bit of time spent with your foam roller or with myofascial balls can really change the way a posture feels in your body. And it's really kind of fun to do a posture, then roll or use the balls on specific areas and then do the posture again and feel the difference that it can make, even just in a minute, of this enhanced awareness of this pressure, of this release. Myofascial release is so good for deepening your body awareness as well. So similar to yoga, it encourages a mindful connection between the body and the breath, promoting self awareness and awareness of these tension points as well. When I am leading yoga teacher training, one of the first things that my trainees learn is how to warm your students up. And we talk about in warm up, one of the main things is we move slowly and mindfully, almost as a diagnostic tool. We can notice how our body feels and then make decisions that support our bodies through the rest of the practice. And myofascial release is very much the same way. There might be areas of your body holding tension that you have no idea that it's there until you start using these tools and targeting these specific areas. And over time, you can soften this tension and create more of a sense of calm and freedom in your own body. And being so essentially self, myofascial release gives you the tools to receive, in a way, a full body massage or a full body release to release tension, to break up these adhesions in the body, to create more hydration through your tissues, to enhance your mobility, to increase the sense of sliding and gliding in your muscles, and to feel more at home and at peace in your own body. So what better time of year to explore this technique than the holidays? I'm really excited because coming up is my very first myofascial release workshop. So I have been doing a 55 hours training with yoga medicine, and let me tell you, it is dense. We go into every single little muscle and every trigger point, and I'm so excited to be able to translate that into this 90 minutes session that gives this beautiful, intuitive full body release. So it's December 15, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. at True Love yoga. And I'm sorry, this workshop is only in person. I might develop an online one soon enough, but with the props and tools, it's a little bit easier to teach in person right now. And it's a 90 minutes session designed for all levels. And we'll provide all of the props, including rad myofascial balls, which we'll have on sale as well. And what to expect from this workshop first is a whole body myofascial release. So I'll teach you how to use props to release tightness in your body for specific areas including the back, the hips, the shoulders, the feet, the hands really will cover pretty much everything. We'll combine that with some gentle movement and stretching to complement the myofascial fascial release with soothing and slow movements that will enhance your energy flow, your relaxation, and we'll end with this really nice, long guided relaxation that helps you absorb the benefits of the physical release and will hopefully leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed. And this will also give you a lot of techniques that you can take home with you and use to complement your own practice. So this is perfect for the holiday season. It will help you reduce your stress. It will be a beautiful gift to yourself too. It's really interesting during the holidays. Nature, the rhythms of nature, Ayurveda, all of these ancient systems are telling us that it's time to slow down, but culturally we're being asked to ramp up. It's like doing handstands in the middle of Shavasana. It just doesn't feel quite right. So yes, let's celebrate. But also, taking these times out to refill our cups to replenish ourselves is so super important. So we talked about today what the myofascial system is and how the release can support your yoga practice. We talked about incorporating myofascial release into your self care routine, especially during the holidays. And I invite you to join me for holiday myofascial release and restore again on December 15. And I definitely encourage you to go deeper into this topic. I'd love to have more episodes that go a little bit more deep into the facial system. I just wanted to give a bit of an overview today of what it is and how myofascial release can support you and your health. And I hope that this helps you deepen your practice. So thank you so much for joining me. If you have any questions, feel free to dm me. If there are any particular nuances or avenues that this topic could go that you'd like to hear, please let me know, and I'm happy to incorporate it into a future episode. Thank you everyone. Aum Shanti om peace.
