Newsletter November 2024
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Hello Reader
This November newsletter explores the role of fascia in yoga and how understanding fascia can enhance your teaching.
As a Rolfer I work directly with the fascial system and it's a topic I often get asked about. It's a body system that has long been known to exist, but until the pioneering work of Andrew Still (the founder of osteopathy) and Ida Rolf (the founder of Rolfing Structural Integration), it was largely considered to be padding!
Fascia is fundamental to body movement and I find it an endlessly fascinating topic. As yoga teachers it's useful to consider both the effects of yoga asana on fascia, as well as the effects of fascia on yoga asana practice. Read more in the article below.
Walking home yesterday evening I was lucky to catch a wonderful firework display. November is the month of festivals of light around the world, and I wish you much light and cosiness as the nights draw in.
Keep scrolling for:
- Dates for your diary
- Article: Fascia and yoga practice
- Community news and yoga teacher Q&A dates
Dates for your diary -
- Q&A Zoom meeting
βThe next get-together for yoga teachers (CPD) is on Saturday 19th November at 10am π€β
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- BWY Foundation Courseβ
βOpen for late admissions until 19th December. Online course for yoga students who would like to explore yoga more deeply alongside their weekly classes or considering yoga teacher training.
Tutors: Andrea Newman and Tracy Harrisβ
βCourse information hereβ
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- Video recording
βBACK PAIN WORKSHOP - This workshop for yoga teachers took place on 26th October - recording now available.
βSubscribe to access the video recording hereβ
Article:
Fascia and yoga practice
What is fascia?
Fascia is the continuous web of connective tissue that surrounds and connects every muscle, bone, organ and nerve in the body. It plays a crucial role in determining flexibility, stability and ease of movement.
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Fascia gives us our biological shape and mediates the relationships between each part of the body within the whole. Fascia provides cohesiveness and adaptability in an individual human or animalβs body.
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Understanding how fascia affects yoga practice - and how yoga practice affects fascia - can help us as yoga teachers to refine our approach to lesson planning, teaching cues, and modifications.
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Fascia and stretching
One of the key characteristics of fascia is its plasticity, ie. its ability to remodel itself according to what the body does.
The fascial tissues gradually adapt to sustained and repeated stretching. So for example, if you play golf regularly, which requires a repeated asymmetrical movement, the fascia will shape different patterns of mobility and limitations in the left and right sides of the body.
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This is why itβs important to stretch both sides of the body equally in side bends and twists, and one reason why we need to pay attention to balance and alignment in practice. Over time, with a regular yoga practice, the collagen fibres in the fascia reorganise themselves according to how we practice.
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In practising asana we are telling the body what movements we want to be able to do. In repeating these asana, the fascia will increasingly adapt and create greater support and ease in making these movements.
In a yoga class, an understanding of the plasticity of fascia can guide us in directing students to hold or repeat healthy stretches, without pushing to reach a full range of motion quickly.
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By encouraging mindful, gradual and repeated stretching we can help students work within the bodyβs current natural limits, while enhancing fascial elasticity or support as needed. This process is especially beneficial for maintaining ease in everyday movement and preventing injury.
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Tendons and ligaments
The fascial system includes a variety of connective tissues, and this includes tendons and ligaments. Each part of the fascial network has a distinct role in movement and stability, and a shape and structure to match.
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Tendons connect muscle to bone via the periosteum (the fascial sheath covering the bone). The tendon transfers the force from the contracting muscle to the bone to create movement.
Ligaments connect bone to bone and provide stability and protection from excessive movement.
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Tendons and ligaments contain a lot of densely packed collagen, which makes them tough and robust. They also contain some elastin which gives them a small amount of elasticity to offer some βgiveβ to prevent injury during movement.
We need to work the tendons and ligaments to keep them healthy, but also need to take care not to overstretch them as permanent lengthening can lead to instability in a joint.
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Fascia and hydration
Fascia relies heavily on hydration for optimal functioning. Fascia contains a gel-like substance called βground substanceβ, which helps fascia stay pliable and lubricated.
However much water you drink, gentle movements and stretching are vital to keep the fascial tissue hydrated. When fascia is dehydrated, it can lead to discomfort and lack of flow in movement. This is especially important as we get older, when the body naturally becomes drier.
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Limbering sequences at the start of a yoga practice, including a range of joint movements, gentle twists, side stretches, and flowing movements, helps to promote fluidity in the fascial network and between fascial layers. Gentle compressing and releasing of the soft tissues gets the fluid moving.
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Offering cues such as βfind the ease in your movementβ or βallow the body to flowβ can encourage students to develop awareness of the hydrating effects of repeated small movement, which improves both the pliability and resilience of fascia.
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βAdhesions
An adhesion is an area where fascia gets stuck to other fascia, which then limits mobility and creates tension in other structures nearby.
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Adhesions can be caused by lack of hydration, a lack of movement in a particular area of the body, and/or surgery.
Adhesions are often reversible through regular practice of mindful movement with anatomical integrity, or through some manual therapies along with body movement re-education, such as Rolfing.
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Sensory awareness and proprioception
Fascia is rich in sensory receptors, which contribute to proprioception. Proprioception is the bodyβs sense of its position in space and the position of body parts in relation to each other and the ground. Without this information, we would be unable to move.
The dense network of sensory nerves within fascia makes it highly responsive to subtle changes in movement and tension.
When we stretch, particularly in an intentional way, and respecting our anatomical range of movement, the sensory receptors in fascia send clear information to the brain. This enhances body awareness and improves coordination.
Lack of clear intention, or moving the body with a lack of integrity (eg. twisting a knee joint), will not send such wholesome information. This will impair coordination of movement and increase the chance of injury.
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This insight into fasciaβs sensory role can be integrated into yoga teaching by encouraging students to approach poses with greater awareness and to focus on sensation rather than just alignment or depth.
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Cues such as βtune into the subtle sensations of your bodyβ or βnotice where you can feel the stretchβ help students connect with the deeper layers of their proprioceptive system, enhancing balance, stability, and control in postures.
For yoga teachers, this approach also reinforces the importance of emphasising ease, self-awareness and anatomical integrity, rather than pushing for extremes, allowing fascia to work to optimally.
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Practical application for yoga teaching
Through an understanding of fasciaβs unique function and qualities, we can give our yoga students a balanced practice that nurtures the health of this essential connective tissue system. This not only supports a deeper, more mindful experience on the mat but also equips students with tools for sustainable mobility and comfort in their bodies and better health in their everyday lives.
Fascia is the fabric of our physical being. It's interesting that new scientific research is just beginning to consider possible links between fascia and nadis and the meridians of Chinese medicine.
Promoting the health and function of the fascial system in yoga practice takes us towards a more ordered pattern of optimal health.
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Any thoughts, experiences or questions?
Community members - share in the online chat space or at a Q&A meeting. β
βFind out about joining the community hereβ
Essential A&P subscribers - see module 7 and add any questions about fascia to the Discussion Boards.
βMore about the A&P course hereβ
Community news
Online get-togethers
New community members are very welcome to join our Q&A meetings. We talk about all sorts of topics relating to yoga teaching, including class management issues, lesson planning, marketing, philosophy, aspects of anatomy. It's also fine simply to come along and listen in to the conversations. Email support@yogauk.com to request a free guest membership for one month.
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The next three Zoom Q&A meetings are:
Saturday 9th November 10-11am
Friday 13th December 1-2pm
Saturday 11th January 10-11am
Log in to the community hub for further dates, to say you're coming, and to get email reminders. Link from your Dashboard at yogauk.comβ
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Workshops
The intensive back pain workshop in October went really well. I'm planning some more of these that will be discounted for community members. Watch this space!
I'm also considering starting a fascia and yoga project to dive more deeply into the topic. I'll assess interest at the next Q&A.
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ββFind out more about the community hereβ
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Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to any yoga teacher friends or colleagues who might be interested in any of the content. They can sign up to receive newsletters to their own inbox at www.yogauk.com
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