Over the years practicing yoga, I have discovered for myself a few bodywork approaches that are yoga’s best friends.

One of them is myofascial release technique – MRT.

BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST: WHAT IS FASCIA?

Imagine a very strong spider web.

Between the gaps in the threads instead of air, is watery and gelly-like substance.

When you pull on one end of this spiderweb, the whole structure moves.

Can you visualise it? If yes, you are very close to understanding fascia and the way it works. This three-dimensional fascia permeates the entire body, underlying the skin, surrounding our muscles, nerves, organs, blood vessels and bones. Research suggests that fascia even surrounds our cells. All these structural elements are held together and in place by fascia. It has a myriad of qualities, however some of the most important ones are flexibility and adaptability.

WHAT CAN GO WRONG WITH FASCIA, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT?

When one spot in the fascia gets injured or tight, it has an effect on the whole fascia structure. Like a ripple, it moves to a seemingly unrelated area. So, for example, an issue that originates in the foot or toe can have an impact on lower back health.

When fascia is traumatized, it hardens and tightens. This in turn can lead to formation of fascia trigger points, and those can be painful.

When the body is dealing with pain, it creates a protection response. It is not a bad thing in itself, however if the pain is ongoing, the protection response will over time limit the blood and oxygen flow to the area, increasing the pain and the toxin buildup in the traumatised region. Signals of pain are delivered to the spinal cord. This makes the muscles around the injured area contract so that the surrounding muscles are supported and protected.

When this process is allowed to continue, this becomes a vicious circle: blood flow to the injured area with contracted muscles around it, is still limited.

More pain signals are sent to the spine, and the protection buffer of constricted muscles around the painful spot, continues to grow.

Myofascial release techniques (MRT) and self myofascial release (SMR) are designed to intervene with this vicious circle, even/smooth out hardened muscular knots, and help fascia return to its natural state that is healthy, flexible, adaptable and fluid.

IN A NUTSHELL: MRT AND SMR ARE GREAT WAYS TO RELEASE THE MUSCLE AND THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE WHERE THEY GET TIGHT AND TO WORK ON THE TRIGGER POINTS.

As an additional and very important benefit, MRT helps the body to distribute hydration all the way to the deepest tissues. Even if you do drink enough water, often the hydration doesn’t get distributed through the connective tissue evenly. When connective tissue (which fascia is a part of) is chronically dehydrated, the structure of it changes and it becomes less smooth and loses its natural lubrication. This has a negative effect on the muscles that are supposed to be able to glide along the fascia with ease.

Working on fascia is also beneficial for changing some of the postural habits of the body that are not serving you. By manipulating the deepest tissues of the body, you can start to change those postural patterns so that along with a yoga (asana) practice, you can create a foundation for a really balanced body, complete with healthy connective tissue and an aligned, healthy physical “architecture”.

Below are a few simple practices that you can use to start your journey of exploring MRT and SMR.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

For these practices you’ll need one medium hardness double myofascial release ball that you might already have from one of my past retreats, or that you can order here.

Alternatively, you can use 2 tennis balls in a sock – this is not as effective as the myofascial release balls, but will do as a temporary solution.