Hello lovely Flow friends,
There is nothing more fantastic than resolving a knot of tension in your body yourself, I know I tend to develop tension in my upper back, and its such specific spot that with in 5 minutes of using my cork massage ball, the knot has undone and life is back to normal.
Myofascial massage is a wonderful way to allow your body to let go of built up stress and tension.
We are a complex web of connective tissue, and today we dive a little deeper into the fascia, which is often misunderstood for the important role it plays.
"Massage is not a luxury, its a way to live a healthier, happier life ”
What is fascia?
The term fascia is from the Latin word meaning “band” or “bandage” Fascia is the infrastructure that holds us together and gives us our shape.
Fascia is a web like structure sometimes so fine it literally looks like spiders web, sometime so robust that these fibres presents more like a strap, like the iliotibial band (ITB) of the outer thigh.
These fibres of fascia are made up of mostly collagen, giving the fibres a stretchy texture, but they’re also very tough, again using the ITB as an example, the ITB has the tensile strength of soft metal! Fascia also suffers when we are dehydrated.
According to body worker Emma Simpson,
by nature, fascia is designed to be elastic and move freely with muscles and bones.
But stress, effects of aging, injury or work-related repetitive movements can cause it to lose its natural elasticity and become shorter, tighter, and more dense or thickened.
If it is restricted, muscle contraction is also restricted, and tightened fascia pulls our muscles and skeleton out of proper alignment. Consequently, this can cause pain (AKA knots) discomfort, and postural changes.
Fascia surrounds and holds every organ, blood vessel, bone, never fibre and muscle in place, fascia also has a complex network of nerves, which makes it almost as sensitive as our skin.
Flows favourite massage points
How to use the cork massage ball or peanut
Figure out which area you are going to target, place the ball or peanut in that area.
Self massage is an intuitive practice, so you can just allow your body weight to press down on the ball, while the fibres gently relax and release, or you can slowly move back and forth if using the peanut, and also massaging side to side if you are using the ball, to help break up the knotted areas.
You should feel a deep pressure, but it shouldn't feel sharp or really painful, if it is, just work around that spot instead of directly on the area, note to self* if you are cringing, that's a good sign to back off a little.
1-3 minutes is an ideal length of time to work a single area, make sure to drink lots of waters after your massage session to keep your fascia nice and hydrated, and if you can, have a hot bath or shower after your massage session, to sooth away the last of the tension.
My hope is that you enjoy a few quiet moments of rest and relaxation, while getting rid of the issues in your tissues, and enjoy the post massage endorphin release.
Sending much love and blessings, till next we meet.
Hollie x
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