Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign hello and welcome to Deep in your Yoga practice. I am Lauren Leduc, your host and also the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And today we're going to dive back into one of my favorite topics, which is myofascial release and in relation to one of my other favorite topics, which is sweet seasonal living sometimes associated with Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga. So these two topics have been foundational in my yoga teaching this year. They're really what I'm nerding out about, what I'm excited about, what my swadhyaya or self study is all around this year. So I'm excited to continue sharing these topics with you. And today we're going to talk about in particular the deep and superficial front fascial lines and the energy of summer. So basically quarterly this year I've been really hyper focusing on specific fascial lines in the body and I'll talk a little bit about what that means and relating them seasonally and delivering that into my public classes so that students are able to refine their practices and find some really nice balance in the season. I have a whole episode on the myofascial system and what myofascial release is. So you're welcome to go back and listen to that for a little more background info. But just as a brief overview, the myofascial system is a system of connective and protective tissue that runs through the entire body. And myofascial is muscle and fascia together. So fascia you can think of as the this sort of gelatinous spider web that connects absolutely everything in the body. So it surrounds muscles, tissues, organs, and also goes through muscles, tissues and organs. It's highly sensory, it likes to be hydrated, and it helps us move with ease and helps our body maintain this beautiful structure and protects it. It has so many wonderful functions. When I'm talking about myofascial lines, or fascial trains they're called. This particular school of thought comes from anatomist Tom Meyers. If you want to really nerd out on it, definitely get his book Anatomy Trains. They are muscle groups that are connected together via fascia and they serve some sort of purpose together and they all affect one another as well. I have another episode on the spiral line and today's episode will focus on the front lines and there's a superficial front line which is closer to the skin and then the deep front line which is deep in the body. Also, I do want to talk a little bit about the energy of summer and how this all relates, at least in my mind, and how this can benefit your practice in this season. For those of you in Kansas City, I also want to invite you to my Radiate Myofascial release for Summer Workshop, which is June 8th at True Love Yoga. I'll talk a little bit more about that later. So. So today we'll be both understanding the body a little bit more and then awakening to the vitality of this season of summer. So again, fascia is a connective tissue that surrounds and links muscles. The superficial front line runs, as you can imagine, along the front of the body. So it connects the tops of the feet, the front of the legs, especially the quadriceps, the abdominals, particularly the rectus abdominis. So the six pack muscles, the chest, the neck or the scf and the scalp. And this line supports core integrity and postural alignment as well as energetic openness. We need this line for things like deadlifts and squats, for chair pose, for navasana, and for things as simple as walking. Now, the deep front line, or dfl, is a stabilizing central core line and it includes the the iliopsoas. So your hip flexors, your diaphragm or your main large breathing muscle, your pelvic floor, your adductors, as well as several other muscles. And it helps coordinate breath, pelvic lumbar stability, and emotional regulation as well. Many of the bandas lie along this line and las are energetic and physical locks in the body that we use quite a bit during a yoga practice. So. So the superficial and deep lines work together to help us stand tall, to move forward. So for walking and running, even to speak up, the neck muscles are involved here and especially to breathe deeply. So it's super important for nervous system regulation. So why do these lines matter in summer? In my mind, summer is associated with expansion and heat and expression and movement. So in Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, summer is associated with pitta. And pitta is fire. So the front body is our offering side. It's what we present to the world, it's what we share. And when these lines are restricted, we might feel closed off, we might feel hunched, we might feel fatigued, we might feel anxious, which is not hot girl summer, right? Or hot person summer. I hate anything that actually says girl in it. It feels really infantilizing to me, but had to throw that in there. But when these lines are healthy, we feel conf confident, heart open, mobile and radiant, which is in tune with summer's Outward flow. It's hot folk summer, right? So working with these fascial lines helps us release stagnation and embody this sense of vitality that I think we want to embody during this fleeting season where there's much to do, much to absorb, and a lot of fun to be had.
[00:06:13] So there can be some common issues if there's restriction through these front lines of the body, maybe some imbalance. So those might be tight hip flexors. So for those of us who sit a lot, who drive a lot, the hip flexors are the front of the hip, the part that or the muscle that connects the trunk of the body with the legs can feel tight and weak. We might feel a shallow breathing because a lot of the muscles in these lines help the lungs fill and release with the breath. So we might feel restricted in that which can increase our stress levels. We might have rounded shoulders. We might even have difficulty accessing deeper emotions or even speaking clearly. The tongue is actually part of this line. So it's interesting how tension in the tongue and the neck might point to impedance of being able to speak freely, speak our truths with clarity. So mindful movement such as yoga and myofascial release can help address some of these issues in holistic ways. I'll also say lack of balance can happen because when the pelvic floor is not strong and soft, when the diaphragm and rectus abdominis aren't functioning properly, we're not able to fully balance, we're not able to move from our cores, and we can feel a little disconnected from our bodies because of that. So the good news is, are there are a lot of techniques that we can use to help improve any of these imbalances and to help these lines function optimally. And the myofascial release techniques, which are using foam rollers, balls, hands, even massage. Yoga can help hydrate the tissues and break up adhesions. Or you might feel like knots under the skin and improve neuromuscular communication. They can restore mobility in these key areas like the hips and psoas, the abdominals, sternum, neck and throat. And the benefits would include increasing mobility, deepening your breath, feeling a sense of emotional release, and feeling more regulated and safe in your nervous system. And we'll be exploring these techniques in my upcoming workshop in both the superficial and deep front lines with guided release, a little bit of flow to help integrate some of this release, guided relaxation and reflection. I'll add that some of these techniques can feel quite deep, especially as we're working with like the hip flexors with the abdominals. If you've ever received like an abdominal massage before, it can feel extremely vulnerable. But it's highly effective and will be holding really safe space for you to be able to explore this work. And I think it might unlock something in you to help you feel more embodied, more confident, more released within yourself. Before I get a little bit more into the workshop as well, I'll add that like I said earlier, I've been geeking out on these lines during my classes, and for the past several weeks I've been focusing on these lines. A little pull of the curtains behind the scenes. What I've been doing is focusing on specific muscle groups within these lines and highlighting them during my Vinyasa flow classes so that we can build more strength and integrity throughout our practice. And that's also included really breaking down specific bandas or locks in the body. So we've been utilizing the pelvic floor or mulabandha, to create more lightness and buoyancy and stability. In the practice. We've been tapping into Udiana bandha, or upward flying lock, which is in the abdominals to help create more strength, more integrity, more control. During the practice. We've been working on Jalandhara bandha or the throat lock. So holding the neck in a very specific way to create alignment, to create length and stability through the entire spine, as well as pada bandha, which is the footlock. So we are lifting the soles of the feet or lifting the arches and grounding through the foot in a specific way so that you can what we call root to rise in yoga. So root and ground through the feet so we can lift through everything else. It's been really fun to work in this specific way and I've seen it refine a lot of my students practices, create more interconnection as well, and then unlock certain things in the practice so that they might elevate to a completely different level physically and mentally because of this mind body connection that we've created. I've especially really loved working with this deep line because it's not that outwardly visible when someone is engaging or releasing through this deep line. But you can see it in their practice because of how graceful they are, how mindful they are, how much body control they have. So it's been really fun for me as a teacher to see these changes being made through my students. And I'll add that all of these classes are available on True Love, Yoga's on demand service. And you can also join live online anytime for anyone who is not in Kansas City if you want to geek out more on these lines and see how they can elevate and inform your practice in this really beautiful way. So again, I'll add that my Radiate Myofascial release for Summer Workshop is June 8, 2025 from noon to 2 at True Love Yoga. It's perfect for anyone feeling tight, depleted or stuck as summer begins. And I'll give you practical techniques, journaling prompts, gentle movement, and a nice long restorative shavasana to help integrate and incorporate everything that we do. You'll have a chance to reflect, reset and reconnect with your inner fire. I'll provide props for you and bring a notebook and pen, but we'll also give a 20% off discount for RAD myofascial balls if you'd like to invest in those for your own personal practice afterward. So I'd love for you to come. The cost is 35 True Love Yoga members get $5 off with the code workshop and I'll invite you to register now because these workshops fill really, really fast. So just a couple closing thoughts. I want to encourage you to explore your own front body this week through movement, through breath, through reflection. Maybe it's doing a few squats. Maybe it's doing Navasana or boat pose. Maybe you're holding planks and building up this beautiful inner fire, this strong inner core that helps create grace and fluidity from this beautiful place of inner strength. I'll also offer you this journal prompt. What would it feel like to expand into your full summer energy? What would it feel like to expand into your full hot folk summer energy?
[00:13:14] I want to thank you again for tuning in and please share this with anyone who might be interested in fascia and myofascial release or in this particular workshop or the classes that I've been offering. I think this work is so life changing and I'm obsessed with all of the beautiful results that I've been seeing in myself and in my students. So thank you so much for listening today. Have a beautiful summer. Om Shanti Om Peace. Until next time.
