I know that most people don’t even know what fascia is…
That’s why I have been talking about fascia on my blog here and also in Florida www.integrativesoulandbodywork.com. There is so much new information coming out about the importance of fascia and how much the quality of its health determines how we are feeling and living.
If you haven’t ever had a visual of this living tissue, I have found a great youtube clip that I would like to share here:
Fascia may not look like much to you, but this material is what enables you to support your bodies in everything that you do. This continuous fabric of life envelops all the organs, bones, muscles and allows communication and nourishment so that we can exist. This is very exciting that we are now looking closer at and understanding the importance of fascia in our everyday living.
Sharon Hartnett LMT, CST
(740) 966-5153 in Columbus Ohio
Certified Advanced Craniosacral Therapist integrating Structural Integration and CST to help you feel aligned on every level!
Lately, fascia is being touted as the new integrative approach to massage and bodywork. I am so happy to hear this news as Dr. Ida Rolf developed her work in organizing the human body back in the 1920’s, and it’s finally getting the notice it so much deserves. Since that earlier time, students who had studied with her over the years, trained, interpreted and opened various schools enabling this work to spread and improve healing for those fortunate enough to find this approach to evolutionary change. If you google, you can find the Institute for Structural Integration, The Rolf Institute, The Guild for Structural Integration the anatomy trains work by Tom Myers, and some new curriculums popping up with Massage Schools everywhere. Even more exciting, the valuable benefits of healthy fascia as experienced through Structural Integration, Craniosacral Therapy, and Myofascial Therapy is now being backed by scientists and clinicians alike. It’s thrilling for us Fascial workers who have been doing this work for years that fascia is now being recognized as a holistic system that can improve your life when optimized for efficiency. It’s time to discover and understand the potential of health and wellbeing within the global web of connective tissue.
So now do you want to know more about Fascia?
Fascia has been part of our body’s since the beginning of humankind. It has been the glue that holds us and connects us together. It is made of extracellular matrix containing: collagen fibers which contribute to structure, elastin which provides elasticity and ground matter which allow transport of material. Without it, we would be a pool of bones, and dried up parts lying randomly on the ground.
So why is it that we are just beginning to learn about it now?
Living with a healthy fascial relationship within the human body
While fascia is the living stuff that sets our three dimensional shape and form, it is not easy to see with its transparent silvery quality. For the most part, it has been dismissed as a major player in our health system until now. Fortunately, in the last 80 years, the word has gradually gotten out by manual workers that layering, spreading, balancing, and lengthening the connective tissue improves the overall sense of health. When it is in a restful state, the fascia stays hydrated, able to use its elements of viscosity, plasticity and elasticity to give us a strong yet bouncy movement throughout the body. It also nurtures the muscle spindle firing, and enhance nerve ending firing. The internal wisdom of the human body has distributed the fascial tissue with the correct amount of characteristics to keep us organized and functioning fairly well into our later years.
So What Does This Mean For You?
It means that not only is there experiential testimonials to the benefits of fascial work, but if you research on google, you will also see that the medical field is learning and verifying the positive results that clients have been feeling for years. In my practice I have helped many hundred of people by listening to the intelligence of their fascial body. With Dr. Ida Rolf’s teachings, many of my clients have completed the original 10 sessions. They walk away with a lighter, springier step as the pain disappears. For clients who are more interested in gentle touch, I tend to focus on the Craniosacral Therapy side of things. But along with working with this semi-hydraulic system, it is also necessary and practical to work with the fascial diaphragms and restricted areas as well. It is through the softer manipulation of tissue that chronic pain and dysfunction release easiest. If you are interested in finding more freedom in your movement and a spark in your spirit, check out fascial work by a certified massage therapist in your area. You’ll be happy with the results!
For more questions, Sharon Hartnett LMT offers a free 15 minute phone consultation to those in the Columbus, Ohio area.
It’s been almost a year now since my neck surgery. I had a bone spur pressing into my spine and was in excruciating pain. There were not many options, so I made the best decision I could and went in for my first surgery ever to replace my disc.
After the first week or two, I felt very weak in the neck, but the pain was minimal. I said goodbye to my pain medications and hoped to feel back to normal quickly. Well, that did not happen. The doctors say it may be 6 months or so, but it can take longer. And I am here to tell you that if you want to feel better, it is up to you to take responsibility for your own self care. Once the surgery is done, only you can find the best healing plan for you.
Recovering after Spine Surgery
What worked for me
My body had gone out of alignment from a combination of factors. I was a little overweight, I didn’t pay the best attention to my posture while I was working on the table with clients, and my body type wasn’t balanced. So even with the surgery, I needed to form a plan to feel better longterm. I have focused a little on each one of these, but I do make my own personal plan where to spend most of my energy to accomplish a more holistic sense of health and wellbeing.
What I found that worked:
Positional Release
Physical Therapy
Healthier Diet
Exercise
Basic Stretching
Massage, Craniosacral Therapy, and Structural Integration
Yamuna Balls and Rolling
Finding a gentle traction machine to use at home.
Find a chiropractor with a good reputation.
Most of these, you may have a good idea how to follow and do. But I want to talk a bit about Positional Release because rarely do you hear about this form of therapy and it helps wonders. It is so easy and comfortable that you might be surprised at how great the results are and how you feel afterwards.
With Positional Release, all one has to do is put the body into a comfortable position to release pain and dysfunction. If you go see a Massage Therapist, he/she will listen to your body to locate a position that will activate nerve reflexes to relieve pain. As the musculature and joints are stimulated, the body frees up and more range of motion and easier movement become quickly apparent. At the beginning, it is very helpful to see a massage therapist who can hold the positions and teach you how to do this yourself. However, as you start to get a sense of how this works, it becomes something that can become part of your daily practice, like a mini yoga routine without the work.
My favorite way to do Positional Release to support my neck and body is to lay in bed every morning for about 30 minutes and practice what I preach. I will go into spine rotations and prop myself with pillows so that I feel into my discomfort and a minimal threshold. If you use a scale of 1-10, you might want to start with about a 2-3 noticing a little resistance however you place your neck. It is important to listen to your body and make sure you are not resting in anything more painful than that. Movement into a position should be slow and mindful. Once a position is established, just rest there for about a minute or so, while sensing the discomfort either arising or diminishing. If it is too much, move away from it until you do feel comfortable. In my experience, I often lay on my belly and prop the pillow and turn my head at different angles and just rest until I find more ease in my neck.
At the beginning after my surgery, I was stretching and doing exercises, but it was too much. This positional release on a daily basis was gentle enough and has finally started to give me the freedom in movement I want again. It also helps me to trust my body’s own healing mechanisms and work in a range of comfort.
Positional release techniques are often used with other healing interventions that focus on soft tissue. It is great for surgerical aftercare, headaches, postural issues, fibromyalgia and general flexibility. It’s so easy to do and it is empowering because it is something anyone can do at home without any problem.
This January, my first year after surgery will be complete. My neck is feeling much better. The muscles are more balanced and looser. These days, I look at my current health by constantly listening to my body. It is always an ongoing process to stay in self care as it easy to get off-course with the busy schedules so many people have. But our health begins with us and it really is important to start from Within.
Anyone who has undergone surgery, my heart is with you. Listen to your own inner wisdom and the freedom rests there!
Lately I have been getting calls asking if Structural Integration (SI) work is the same thing as Rolfing®.
So in order to clarify this, I have decided to write a short post on the subject. I hope this helps.
The Rolf Institute® blossomed as Dr. Rolf’s students began to branch out her work into the community and eventually throughout world. The original pioneers of this work called themselves, “Rolfers®”. The school and all its teachers did a great thing in expanding her education and healing work outward. As with most types of bodywork however, the work began to evolve and different practitioners created their own new approaches to her foundational template. Thus, the spread of this craft based on fascial work sprouted new wings and took off in different directions. Currently, there are many schools, some who keep with the 10 series as Dr. Ida Rolf taught, and others with different formulas. These new practitioners call themselves “Structural Integration” Therapists because they attended the newer schools Also, the “Rolf®” name belongs to the Institute. But- what is similar is that all Structural Integration is originated from the original 10 series. The goal is to create better structural alignment and functioning and ease of movement for the clients.
Ida Rolf’s teaching: She found much success in this work because of the its wonderful ability to re-organize the connective tissues in the body which envelopes and contains all the working muscles, organs and just about everything within. Dr. Rolf established her 10 series “recipe” to be the foundation of this work to address the body from a superficial level to down deep in the core of the body. By focusing on a certain area of the body each session, the body learned how to let go of certain dysfunctional patterns from one week to the other, until they whole body began to relate to itself in a very new way without the habitual stresses from before.
What is the difference between Structural Integration and Rolfing?
®
At Lighten Up Therapies in Columbus Ohio and Johnstown, Sharon Hartnett practices Structural Alignment with the basic 10 series as originally taught by Dr. Ida Rolf. She works with the same idea of moving from superficial to deeper, but perhaps with a lighter touch. Communication is key with an ongoing dialogue to make sure the client is comfortable and able to move through the changes well. Connective Tissue massage (fascial work) is beneficial too and may be requested also in hourly sessions. It’s also helpful for people who want to continue their massage on a regular basis.
There are different schools out there and “fascial” work seems to have taken root and is now being taught in regular massage schools. If you are interested though in the “original” series, make sure you ask to see if the work is the same. There are many Structural Integration Practitioners such as Sharon who have not veered off the original intent and have helped clients discover positive change. Dr. Ida Rolf created her work a certain way based on years of experience with great results. The recipe works!
Wishing you the best of finding the best Structural Integration Therapist for you in your area
* This is based on my opinion after conversations with other Structural Integrations who have studied at a variety of schools. If there are other opinions, please add to my blog.
For the most part, people work hard in so many parts of their lives. It makes sense as our work supports us, gives us a sense of accomplishment, and allows things to get done.
The Opposite of Work is Doing Nothing. How do most people perceive “doing” nothing?
Do you know how to relax and receive the wonders of life? Is it difficult to empty your thoughts and sense into the wholeness of your life? When you try to relax, do your thoughts tell you that you are lazy, you need to get moving, or are being self-centered by doing nothing.
In life, good health means being able to integrate opposites into balance. If you work alot, then rest a lot. If you aren’t active, then pick up an activity that brings you joy. But for those who have overactive thinking and doing, it is helpful to learn how to slow down and take a break. Allow the nervous system to relax and balance the whole entire body. Massage, Craniosacral Therapy, Structural Integration and Energy Therapy can all be helpful in discovering new ways to break old patterns of “overdoing”. A Licensed Massage Therapist can help you to unwind, settle down, feel more deeply, and find more balanced footing. When you learn to relax, the whole world becomes your oyster. You are able to receive the fruits of your labor, it’s easier to see all the support and love that is coming your way, your cells get to take in the nourishment they need in order to stay healthy.
Massage is touch that listens and does… it integrates and provides rejuvenation.
What if you stopped thinking of receiving with any judgement? Wouldn’t it be nice to take in what your mind, body & spirit call for? At Lighten Up Therapies, we offer a variety of different treatments with a focus of Craniosacral Therapy in order to help you feel optimal in your daily living. Craniosacral Therapy is a light touch of bodywork that focuses on the brain and the spine through palpation of the Cerebral Spinal Fluid. By monitoring the cranial bones and other areas of the body, and with a gentle holding, Craniosacral Therapy can reduce stress and help you to find your center again. Craniosacral Therapy is easy to add in with Deep Tissue Massage or Energy Therapy.
Stop Working So Hard. Life is a precious gift and no regrets are necessary when it comes to your health and wellbeing.
For a free 15 minute phone consultation, call Sharon Hartnett LMT…
When stressed and feeling in pain, it is not easy to experience life as a miracle.
However, when we acknowledge our present and touch into our hearts, we melt into that glimmer of the the Divine. Sometimes we feel it inside and other times we are reminded by observing others or nature or something that shimmers with light.
The body is a vehicle that reminds of the creation of the human spirit and the physical manifestation of life.
When we feel healthy and good in our bodies, we tend to feel more in touch with joy and peace. It is easier to feel deeply into the miracle in which we live.
Taking care of oneself through touch, good nutrition, healthy expression of the creative force – allows us to gather insight into the light within.
Touch helps us to remember~
When you are feeling disconnected, imbalanced, stressed or just off your mark, consider offering yourself the gift of transformative massage and bodywork. Touch heals and helps us to reconnect to the wonder of life.
