The F Word: My Fascia Journey So Far

Over the time we’ve known each other, I’ve been sharing the somatic practices that have made the biggest impact in my own life and, as a result, are now woven firmly into the fabric of A Handpicked Life. They’re an integral part of our live classes and workshops, our membership library, and increasingly, a valuable resource for the conversations that arise in our bi-weekly group coaching calls.

Seeing as my latest deep dive has been into Fascia Manoeuvres (you may have noticed!), I thought it was time to share a little more about where this journey has taken me and maybe stop you rolling your eyes so much when I mention the F -  word yet again!

I’ve worked with the body for many years, and bringing awareness to our physical sensations through a range of disciplines and techniques has consistently shown me its value. It can cut through the noise, give a more direct route into what is really going on, and help us navigate our way to alignment. Over the last year, fascia has become an essential part of that picture for me.

This continuous, web-like connective tissue surrounds and interweaves throughout the body and contains a rich network of sensory receptors. It is constantly responding to movement, stress, injury, habitual patterns and our lived experience. As your body’s living memory, it continually adapts and changes with your thoughts, feelings and movements as you navigate your way through life.

Although fascia has always been part of many of the practices I’ve explored over the years, consciously bringing it to the centre has changed the way I experience all of them.

My fascination began about nine months ago after experiencing an online Human Garage class. After experiencing a huge release and a kind of out-of-body experience that made me feel more embodied (I know it doesn't make sense, but then these pivotal moments rarely do — so bear with me), anyway, I was all in! During my training to become a Fascia Manoeuvres coach, I would often wake up in the middle of the night too excited to go back to sleep because there was so much to explore. The thought of four or five hours of playtime with my good mate fascia had me practically popping my teeth in and ripping my curlers out to get started at 3am — obviously kidding… although yes, the front one is capped, thanks to a bicycle accident at 16!

I talked fascia, listened to fascia podcasts, practised manoeuvres in increasingly ridiculous positions and generally managed to put almost everyone I knew off fascia for a while.

But underneath the obsession, something much more interesting was happening.

As I began working more consciously with this deeply wise organ, I started noticing things I hadn’t been paying much attention to. Old injuries became louder. Emotions surfaced. There were days of exhaustion and even nausea. I wasn’t looking for things to fix; in fact, I was in a pretty good place in my life and wasn’t expecting anything but to continue enjoying the physical benefits. However, my body clearly had other plans and it felt as though it was bringing things into my consciousness that had been patiently waiting to be noticed.

As is often the case with somatic practices, the invitation was surprisingly simple: don’t force it; listen. Stay curious about sensation without needing to attach a story to it.

The fascia manoeuvres principles of breathing deeply, moving slowly, counter-rotation, pinning and locking became ways of having a deeper conversation with my body. Sometimes I would find myself in some very odd positions, listening until something shifted. There might be a subtle release, a sense of space, an emotion or simply a quiet internal yes.

And perhaps the biggest gift of all has been how I feel in my body now. At 62, I have more spring, bounce, movement and life in my body than I ever have, and that certainly makes staying aligned easier to maintain!

I feel more grounded, more trusting of my intuition and more aware of those moments when I’ve drifted away from what serves me. That, for me, is where somatic practice becomes so much more than working on the physical. It becomes a way of staying connected to ourselves as we move through life — noticing, listening, reflecting and having the courage to make different choices when something no longer aligns.

Nine months in, I’m still fascinated. I’m still learning, still experimenting and still occasionally finding myself being reintroduced to parts of my anatomy that I haven't seen in a while! I’ve gained a few fascia friends and dragged quite a few old ones along with me too. One in particular being Mandi Claxton, horse woman extraordinaire, who I’ve been lucky enough to host workshops with over the last year. But I’ll tell you her story next time. It’s considerably more dramatic than mine and I don’t want her stealing all my space!

But I’m also increasingly convinced that consciously connecting with the body is one of the most powerful ways we have to explore our potential.

And so, I thought I’d invite you to experience a little of it for yourself.

Below, in the latest resources section, there are a couple of classes from our membership library so you can have your own experience of this practice and, if you’re local to Lewes, I’m also now running a weekly Fascia & Energy Reset class. All detail below.

AND

Coming soon we will be opening our membership again with our 28-day reset focused on the five main fascial manoeuvres, supported by energy medicine and neural reprogramming techniques to help integrate and deepen the practice! It’s a carefully crafted experiment (challenge sounds too much like going into battle!) to help you create a daily practice that will see you bouncing your way into your senior years, aligned and on track with your potential (How’s that for a promise!). Watch this space for more info very soon!

Perhaps, after all, there really is something to this F word…

Enjoy the turn of the wheel over the next week as we shift into Autumn, and we will be in touch soon!