Last week I had the fantastic opportunity to do the first round of teacher training with one of the best, and most creative dance physios in the world, Lisa Howell of Perfect Form Physiotherapy and the The Ballet Blog. I started following Lisa’s work about two years ago, and her rich repertoire of online resources got me moving again as a dancer in ways my other physios had never achieved! Fascia was the key. If you’ve read my story, you’ll know how important this organ was in my back injury and recovery journey. This blog is a condensed version of what it took me almost 5 years to figure out on my own and apply, and I hope it’s helpful to you too! Whether you dance, sing, play an instrument or just love exercise, fascia is for you!
Here’s what Fascia looks like magnified 25x. This organ is dispersed like a Michelangelo painting through your entire body, around and inside of your muscles, organs and brain tissue. IT also MOVES.
If you were watching closely, you would have seen fluid moving through the tubes. That’s why you need to stay hydrated throughout the day! No fluid equals no movement in the fascia. Did you see it split about midway through the vid?!? Your fascia is constantly rearranging itself to compensate, support, and feed the body information and possibility. If you wake up stiff and sore in the morning, that’s FASCIA at work! Or rather, that’s fascia NOT working. Without motion and fluids through the night, the fascia become sticky, and hardens against itself and your muscles and organs, squeezing them and inhibiting their movement. Here’s Lisa to explain it!
I’ve put the mobility exercises below for you to try. But FIRST, guess how else this sticky, scarring happens? That’s right! Aging and injury. The older you get and the more severe your injuries, the harder it is to “mobilize” fascia, but it’s not impossible and that’s why I’m nuts about it. For young dancers and children, there are scores of things we can do to keep their fascia mobile and healthy so they are fit for technique from the brain on down 😉 The Ballet Blog is an excellent resource, as are the Teacher training sessions 1-3!
Now, for those of you who, like me, are older or have had a severe injury, we have a much harder task ahead of us! I’ve seen real changes in my own body, though, with only a few exercises, and I wake up every day hungry to keep doing more. Here are the three videos I started with that convinced me I needed to attend the teacher training and get more!
If you’re looking for a simple but effective way to being your journey with feeling more, and being in pain less, try out the Core 6D breathing for warming up and cooling down your day.
Thank you Lisa and Sally for making it possible for us to have happier and healthier lives!