The fascial web is a pervasive web of connective tissue with a rich sensory nerve supply, which is always giving us information, always coordinating our movements and transferring force all throughout the body, says yoga therapist and author Ellen Saltonstall in this free download.
It is vital to the health of the body, and the more we can learn to nourish and release tension in this web, the more we can keep the body strong and mobile and address movement limitations.
Ellen further talks about the Bodymind Ballwork method, a self-care technique that she has refined to release tension in the fascial web and sustain and restore our full range of healthy movement.
The fascial web holds tension, Ellen notes, because it responds to the chemical stress levels in our body. The myofascia has both contractibility and elasticity, and it is important to learn how to release tension in the fasica and so we can change the texture and the pliability and the elasticity of our fascia.
Ellen discusses the principles for how to facilitate myofascial release with the ballwork approach. She describes the pathways through which the pressure of the ball creates a nervous system response to foster overall relaxation and release.
In addition, when applied the right way, the pressure of the ball can create stretching and release in particular parts of the body to release tension in e.g. the shoulders and neck. So we can direct the effect to a particular part of your body, but also get the overall relaxation because of the way the nervous system responds to that pressure.
Ellen shares insight into how this approach to self-care helps foster greater embodiment and give us a powerful tool for prevention. When we are more aware of our body, we can catch and address small problems before they get to be big problems, she notes.
She further discusses the use of myofascial release for injury prevention in yoga or for dealing with issues that have already occurred.
Typically, there are certain parts of the myofascia that have been stretched a lot, other parts have been strengthened because of our habitual movement patterns, she notes. That can create an imbalance which might play out later as an injury.
So, if we can balance the body out by doing a myofascial release technique, we can ensure a more even distribution of use of the body to heal injuries or prevent them from happening in the first place.
Also check out Ellen’s course on YogaUOnline: Yoga & Myofascial Release: The Bodymind Ballwork Method.
