YOUR BODY ALWAYS TELLS THE TRUTH......PHYSICAL PAIN OFTEN COMES FROM EMOTIONAL TRAUMA

This weekend Fringe.yoga hosted the incredible Beta Lisboa for a yin fascial release workshop. Now being completely honest, I knew very very little about fascia and the importance of it in the body, until this weekend.

"By its action we live and by its failure we die." Andrew Taylor Still

I wasn't quite sure what exactly to expect from Beta's workshop and how she was going to link myofascial release and yin yoga but IT WAS SENSATIONAL. I felt like we went on a complete journey with the other yogis and supported each other in our individual experiences. We found where our scars and traumas have manifested inside of our bodies. Although I had to revisit (or perhaps, I was carrying it around with me the whole time) a lot of pain and grief I actually felt anything but exhausted afterwards, I bizarrely felt lighter and liberated. I acknowledged where I hold my tension and identified that as tissue trauma caused by emotion and difficult events in my life. One thing i was shocked by was how much tension I discovered underneath my caesarean scar and how thick the fascia had become there. Also, that my issue with grounding myself actually comes from tension in my ankles due to a lifetime of falling inwards on my flat feet. I always thought my hips were the problem and I just wasn't blessed with open ones but in fact I went into a very deep hip opener and realised my mind is the blockage there, my hips are happy to allow me to go deeper but my mind was afraid of the emotion that could be released there. It was so intriguing to discover so much about MY body. This vessel which we carry our souls inside deserves respect and love. Practicing myofascial release and yin yoga enables us to unblock the channels caused by the thick fascia and let the pranayama (breath and energy) flow freely though the body, therefore keeping our bodies healthy and our organs well nourished.

What fascia looks like in the body

 ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FASCIA;

• Fascia is connective tissue, "the glue that holds us together".
• Fascia is the most energy efficient material in the body and YOU NEED IT TO FUNCTION!
• All past traumas are stored in the fascia.
• When the fascia is affected by trauma, it can affect other parts of the body, even parts far away from the trauma.
• Chronic pain is most often resulting from an accumulation of excessive dense fascia and scar tissue.
• TO COMBAT YOUR EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL PAIN YOU MUST THIN THE FASCIA

The ability of fascia to glide and thus let you move is dependent on the amount of water in its ground substance.  Dehydration can decrease that amount of water—DRINK MORE WATER.

Going deeper into your emotions is very hard. It takes such courage to face what lies beneath. But the longer you hold onto that emotional pain the worse the physical result on the body is. In the breath work section of the workshop we simply breathed differently and used different techniques of movement and breath to stimulate the release of emotion and pent up trauma in the body. It was shocking how memories I had not even thought of for years came to my mind. Things I thought I had dealt with were still prominent in my body. After working through them and with the support of the other yogis and Beta, of course the trauma is still part of my history and in my thoughts but my body feels so much more open, released, lighter and I FEEL IN CONTROL! I know what I need to work on and I now know how to do it!

"The soul of man, with all the streams of pure living water, seems to dwell in the fascia of his body." 

Andrew Taylor Still

Just some of the emotional issues (in blue) that can cause physical problems (in red)

It is so important to be aware of what is going on in our bodies. To allow that knowledge to protect us against disease and pain and fill our vehicle with the energy and vitality it needs to carry us every single day. We are only human, we all experience pain, we all make mistakes so be kind and release as much of that trauma as possible to avoid carrying it around with you forever. BE THE FORCE THAT ENABLES YOUR LIFE TO BE AS FRUITFUL AND AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. Oh yeah, and DRINK SHED LOADS OF WATER!!!

So in my classes this week I am embracing the yin element of yoga that I have experienced this weekend. I will be using yin influences for the warm down sequence to counter balance activating the core, muscles and full movement of the body in the peak of class.

Working the ankles and grounding into the earth in a balancing sequence from Crescent Moon Lunge to Warrior 1 peaking in Natarajasana (dancers pose) we will repeat and activate with alternate rounds of Surya Namaskar A and B throughout. Finding discipline in our practice and noticing the difference when we hold the postures and when we flow through them. Noticing the change in the breath when the flow is more dynamic.

 

Ending our class with the Yin gentleness and the mindful meditation that Beta has been guiding us into allows that compassion for the body to overwhelm and release. Allowing all the tension to melt away and just gently falling into our calm breath and Savasana to finish yoga class makes for the perfect balance. Namaste yogis, have a fantastic week!!!

Raquelle xx

BIG HUGE SHOUT OUT TO THE WONDERFUL AND CARING SOUL @BETA_LISBOA (on instagram)

She is so full of wisdom and calm and made us all feel safe enough to bare our souls. We hope to have you back at fringe.yoga very soon!!

Shout out to all the fr'ogis who came to the workshop, thank you for your support and we hope you had as wonderful an experience as we did!