When we examine subatomic particles, we actually don’t find any solid or static building blocks for matter.  All we see are dynamic interactions, more similar to a wave than what we think of as a solid object.  As counterintuitive as it is, we now know that ALL MATTER IS ENERGY.  Physicists weren’t initially setting out to prove this, it’s simply what they observed through repeated tests and experiments.  As confusing as this is for our mechanistic, dualistic worldview, it is reality!  



The mystics from ancient times up through modern day in most Naturalist and Indigenous cultures agree on this point as well:  All physical matter is in fact an animated, dynamic event; an inseparable web of Great Spirit, or the Infinite Void.  

There are no fundamental building blocks of matter:  On the smallest sub-atomic level there’s only dynamic, moving energy!

There is no such thing as inanimate, static physical ‘things,’ and conversely there’s no separate energy or spirit.  It’s all one interconnected web, one unified event unfolding.  Science and mystical experience agrees on this!  Some vibrations are relatively more Yin (dense), such as rocks, bone, blood and tissue.  Some are more Yang (light) such as brainwaves, consciousness, light and sound.  The important point is that the universe is one dynamic, interconnected field.  


So when we wear a face mask, we are using an energetic barrier to protect our Wei Qi (protective energy), Lung Qi and Zheng Qi (upright energy) from Covid-19.  A mask can effectively block this viral pathogen because it is more similar to the vibration of the COVID-19 proteins which are relatively more Yin (solid) than brainwaves or consciousness.  There are more subtle energetic barriers which we can cultivate as well, through diligent qigong practice, meditation, and use of herbs or ritual.  These are important as well, and help to inform us when something feels out of balance, or when an exterior pathogen is invading our space.  This gives us a chance to ramp up our defenses and get rest, or whatever else is needed based on the specific energetic quality of the pathogen or the internal imbalance.  But simple measures such as wearing a mask when we know we are dealing with a respiratory virus which transmits primarily through breath is an easy and wise thing to do.


   A quality, well-fitting mask with a filter effectively blocks the energetic wave of the COVID proteins from being inhaled, exhaled or swallowed where they bind to our organs ACE-2 receptors, blocking or interrupting fluid metabolism.  Fluid metabolism is also a more solid, Yin event relative to Yang brainwaves or thought patterns.  So again, a mask is a more direct and immediately effective barrier against a viral pathogen than thoughts and intention, but how you feel and where you direct your intention is also vital.  


Interventions such as Acupuncture, Self-Myofascial Release, Qigong, Meditation and a balanced, moderate diet including gentle adaptogenic herbs can help to harmonize Yin and Yang balance.  We can use these methods to balance out any negative effects that may happen from the vaccine, to de-stress from the reality of living during a global pandemic,  to strengthen our overall immune response and become more aware of our somatic self, which has infinite wisdom to help keep us well.

This is what we mean by Integrative Medicine, as opposed to Alternative Medicine.  We can apply the knowledge and tools available to us through modern science, in synergy with natural healing methods instead of creating an artificial division.

Health, and homeostasis is really homeodynamics, because health and well being are in constant dynamic flux; nobody is too healthy to catch a viral pathogen all the time.  We can do a lot to boost our immunity and tune in somatically,  which is absolutely crucial, but it’s not the whole picture.  


The term ‘Alternative Medicine’ is kind of a misnomer; there is really only Integration, and Integrative Medicine.  The very term ‘Alternative’ indicates dualism and separation which is artificial and limiting.  

The physical IS the spirit; all matter IS energy.

It’s vital that you have regular practices which give you a chance to check-in with your body if you want to stay ahead of pain and injuries and fully heal from past injuries.  We tend to ask so much of our bodies, whether from inactivity and stress, or from intense activity (or an erratic mixture of both) while not wanting to listen to that stiff shoulder, tight back or tweaky ankle. Developing a solid self-care practice can give you a chance to check in, learn more about your body and movement patterns, and identify more subtle imbalances which can be shifted much more readily as opposed to waiting until something is broken and trying to ‘fix it.’​


3 Levels of Self-Maintenance:
1. Every Day
2. 1-3 Times a Week
3. Once a Week, to ~Once Every Month 



1. EVERY DAY: some low-impact movement forms like Pilates, Yoga, Qigong, Taiqi, casual swimming, hiking and climbing easy mileage at the cliff.  The emphasis in this level of self-care is on movement which gives you a chance to feel what your body is telling you, as opposed to telling your body what to do without listening:  INTEROCEPTION vs EXTEROCEPTION.   In reality, proprioception (spatial awareness) is always a combination of these two, its just that the emphasis is on interoception in these low-impact movement forms. Ideally you have a regular low-impact movement form to go through in the morning to get the day started in a more somatically engaged space. Everything else through the day starts to make more sense, and you begin noticing subtle shifts you can make through the day.  




2. 1-3 Times per Week: Focused and specific Self-Myofascial Release, Trigger Point Release and challenging movement exploration. This is where you can shine a light on the aches, pains and stiffness. With this practice you give yourself a chance to go more into depth with the tension or imbalance that you may be noticing daily through your low-impact movement forms, and your daily life.  Use this practice and time to acknowledge your aches and pains, and work through them as much as you are ready, in order to clean the slate to be ready for upcoming challenges.  The intention at this level of self-maintenance is to consciously tune-in with the aspects of your movement and form which are less comfortable, in order to:

-RELEASE THE PATTERNS OF PAST INJURIES

-SHIFT PATTERNS WHICH ARE LEADING TOWARD FUTURE INJURY

-ADJUST YOUR HABITS OF POSTURE AND MOVEMENT TO BETTER MATCH YOUR ENVIRONMENT AND LIFESTYLE

Myofascial Release work gradually creates shifts in our structure and allows us to find new posture and movement patterns, so it's important to give a few days between sessions in order to reset your proprioception and learn to inhabit your 'new' form.  The fascia gradually remodels itself to match habits and posture over the course of weeks and months, and the brain/ neurological system needs to register the changes in fascial length and relationship of our bones and joints in order to build new habits and movements.   So while we can often find some immediate relief from pain and tension with trigger point release,  it takes time and consistency to see lasting structural change which your body and brain can make sense of.  That is why  doing a solid session of self-myofascial release at least once a week is so helpful.




3. Once a Week to Once a Month: working one-on-one with a Bodyworker and/ or Movement Specialist. This can be your favorite Acupuncturist, Structural Bodywork Coach (wink-wink), an Osteopathic Doctor, an expert Pilates and Gyrotonic Instructor, or a quality Physical Therapist.

There’s a wide time-range on this because some people like to work one-on-one frequently to stay focused, while others prefer to spread out their visits and work by themselves extensively between professional sessions. Both ways can work well, as long as there’s a consistent practice in levels 1 & 2 of self-maintenance.

These sessions ideally provide a non-judgmental space to look at your body and movement habits from a different angle. You know your own body better than anyone else, BUT we all develop blind spots where we can’t quite see or understand how to heal or move forward.  Oftentimes we have deeply ingrained habits and patterns which we have become experts at avoiding or ignoring (our bodies can be masters of compensation), even during conscious movement work and self-treatment. A good bodyworker will help you to see these patterns, while helping you to free-up the more stubborn or ‘stuck’ aspects of your form, and will give you some homework involving categories 1 & 2 from this list, to help you establish a more direct and self-empowered path of healing.

This level is still self-maintenance, because a good practitioner works with you and helps you to understand your body in greater depth. It’s best to use this level of assisted self maintenance before you’re injured, at the stage when you feel that “something is off” and you could use help figuring it out, although it also helps with healing from injuries already incurred. The real work is taking what you learn from a detailed session with a practitioner and implementing it into your daily and weekly routines in order to make lasting shifts by assimilating the changes into your body-mind network.

​Comment below about how you integrate self-maintenance practices into your life.

You have probably noticed the increased prevalence of the term ‘Fascia’ in recent years. Maybe you’re wondering what all the hype is about? Is this just the next goji-berry, fad-diet, conspiracy-theory BS? Well, it depends on how it’s used and applied. 

To say that a form of bodywork or movement is “Fascial” or “Myofascial” is to specify an intention, not a technique.
Any and all movement and bodywork unavoidably contacts the fascia, whether we realize it or not. To specify an intention with Fascial or Myofascial work is to acknowledge the unique properties of fascia, and the interconnected nature of the body, through the Fascial web, but to be clear, moving and pressing on the fascia is unavoidable. It’s the alignment with the pathways and tendencies of this web that makes bodywork or movement ‘Fascial.’

First, it’s important to understand why fascia appears as a recent discovery. The Fascial Web wasn’t deliberately obscured. It was simply ignored for the most part, due to the prevalence of reductionist thinking in biological science, and our tendency to isolate parts out of the whole in the search for clarity and knowledge.
In the quest to dissect and identify every part of the human physiology, we inadvertently removed and discarded the thin connective tissue (fascia) which wraps and connects everything. The surgeon slices through it to access the the muscles, bones and organs, and while good surgeons work WITH the directional fibers of the fascia, they’re mostly concerned with what’s under it. While reductionist thinking is certainly a precise and powerful tool which has allowed us to catalogue the cells, nerves, bones and muscles, at a certain point we see the necessity of looking at how things actually work together. Our somatic (bodily) awareness is not compartmentalized into isolated cells, bones and mechanical levers. 

-When we consider how our our consciousness relates through our body, it’s the connections that are arguably most important. 

-We don’t ‘see’ individual muscles in our mind map.

So if there is one biological system that represents this interconnectedness, it’s the Fascial Network. Fascia connects every cell in the body, and it distributes strain through broad bands and slings, using tension and compression to transmit mechanical input, and it’s important to note that this aspect of mechanical tensegrity actually works independently from the central nervous system. But the Fascial web is also rich in nerve receptors, especially the Ruffini and Golgi receptors (which DO relate directly with the central nervous system), sensing pressure, stretch and vibration, thereby giving us our spatial awareness.
The fascia responds both immediately to mechanical pressure (faster than the CNS) and over time, laying down thicker layers of directional collagen fibers in response to repeated stress and strain over weeks, months and years. Fascia is NOT a problem or pathology which we are trying to remove, but the patterns which we develop through habit and repetition can become pathological, keeping us locked into chronic tension, lack of adequate range-of-motion, and leading to chronic injury.
When we practice Myofascial Release in a Structural Bodywork context, our intention is to release harmful patterns of adhesion in the Myofascia (muscle-related fascia), and encourage a more responsive, resilient and supple quality in our fascia. 

This is where conscious myofascial movement comes in.

I’m not talking about a specific brand of movement (although “Anatomy Trains Slings In Motion” and “Functional Range Conditioning” are both excellent movement forms if you’re looking for something highly specific and precise), but simply taking what you learn and feel during the Myofascial Release work and gradually applying it to your favorite movement forms can yield great results over time.
It’s best to start with a simple, controlled movement form such as foundational Pilates, while avoiding anything that has too rigid of dogma, as you need to be able to adapt, shift and feel what’s happening. The point is to tune in with your body and see what it’s telling you.

Notice the connections from the feet to knees, knees to hips, hips to shoulders, spine through the fingers, and sacrum to occiput. Holding a subtle inner core presence, tuned in with your breath, allows you to activate the long, more superficial slings of myofascia which guide you through bigger movements.
As you practice in this way on the mat, you cultivate more functional body-awareness, and your fascia gradually becomes more supple, elastic, and responsive. Your comfortable, useable range opens up, bringing new options for movement which may have caused too much strain or instability before. I’m not talking about end-range flexibility, I’m talking about USEABLE RANGE. We want to encourage supple and elastic movement through a comfortable range. 
The emphasis when we’re moving with the Fascia in mind is on suppleness, resilience, and integration of the whole body. We can develop this ‘skill’ of body-awareness, and gradually refine our movement patterns. There’s no immediate fix, or one-size-fits-all approach to posture and movement. It’s dynamic and adaptable, not static and isolated. 
This is a physical, visceral and somatic practice. One of the great things about working with the Fascial system is that it allows you to feel constant, direct feedback and know if what you’re doing is working or not. You don’t need to place faith or belief outside of yourself. It’s quite the opposite: it’s using your somatic awareness and direct experience as a feedback loop to gradually develop your form in a way that allows you to connect with your environment in a more complete way.
This somatic awareness becomes less of a cerebral concept, and more of a presence. That’s when it starts to really connect into more challenging situations, whether that means at work, at the crag, in the water and on the trail.

I've really only just scratched the surface on the science and the current body of fascia-based research in this short blog post. My intention is to present just enough information to understand the concept, without ‘front-loading’ too many concepts and theories, but I encourage you to look into recent fascial research.
The Fascial Research Society (fascialresearchsociety.org) is a good place to start, along with my group and individual online classes for your own personal exploration into your Fascial Web.

^Deep Front Line. Image Credit: Tom Myers, Anatomy Trains

^Photo Credit: Ryan Moss

^Superficial Front Line, Anatomy Trains

Moving up the myofascial meridians from the inner core into the shoulders, and out the arms, we connect the inner core through the spine into the Deep Front Arm Line (DFAL), and the Superficial Front Line binds with the Superficial Front Arm Line (SFAL) through the Sternal and Pectoral Fascia, all the way out through the fingers.

The Deep Lines fine tune our posture and articulation in response to the wave's constant movement, and generally have more involvement when using a small hand-plane, which can be felt as increased force in the lower back.  We are also shortening or engaging the Deep Front Line and the DFAL when the arm is swept back along side the body, while rolling the shoulder slightly in to direct the flowing water down through the venturi made by the subtle flexion at the inner core.  On a side note, this is the same body position used to track away from a cliff when BASE jumping, so these myofascial meridians also connect us to the air (which is just another form of liquid).

The Superficial Lines build on top of our Deep Lines, and help support us through extension and length, and they help propel the bigger movements of swimming, paddling, and rolls or spins.

Rolling onto the side to stall out and hang in the hook of the wave engages more of the Lateral Line, activating the Quadratus Lumborum, Hip Abductors in the Trochanteric Fan, and the Intercostals in the rib cage.

​

^Lateral Line, Anatomy Trains

These analytical and cerebral concepts are great to study and slowly digest, but attempting to hold this kind of mental chatter while actually climbing or bodysurfing is NOT recommended!  While I'm isolating out one myofascial meridian over another, its important to remember that the body is much more subtle and complex than even the intricate connections of these meridians, and the amount of antagonist engagement or supporting tension, compression and extension happening from head to toe during any given movement is unfathomable.  These meridians I'm describing are just the most likely to be used the most heavily during these movement forms, and can help us visualize or feel these connections.
 
One of the main points of Myofascial Release bodywork and movement work is to gradually cultivate an awareness of the myofascial continuities in your body in a safe and controlled space, and then bring this awareness to our outdoor playgrounds.  
​
Locating active Myofascial Trigger Points which are often far away from the localized pain or tension, then calling for subtle movement and activation as the tension releases gradually reprograms our bodily awareness.   Instead of feeling isolated clumps of pain and compartmentalized movements, we start to feel an almost subconscious presence in our body, or a somatic awareness which transcends analytical, conscious thought.  We learn to move effectively with less force, using longer lines of myofascia, and generating movement without impingement or undue tension.

In my experience, this somatic presence allows another level of connection nature; our proprioception (awareness in space) is enhanced, so we can directly engage with the stone, water, air and earth without over-analyzing our experience.  This brings us into a more immediate, present state where we can step our ego mind out of the way for a while and learn from our environment directly  through our body.
 
-Brian Cork

 -HEALING HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE DIRECTLY ENGAGED AND AWARE IN THE PROCESS-

During a good acupuncture treatment you FEEL the connections happening through your body, and you feel changes happening, even if its hard to mentally articulate.  The entire process of Structural Bodywork and Rolfing relies on CONSCIOUS ENGAGEMENT AND AWARENESS of the myofascial system as the practitioner makes contact with different points and regions, encouraging release and lengthening in some areas or increased tone and engagement in others.  In Medical Qigong breath and awareness link together to illuminate imbalance or stagnation in the body and help to create the subtle shifts which lead to healing.
​
Yet still, a majority of people approach these forms of healing as a magical cure-all, in which the PRACTITIONER heals or fixes the PATIENT.   Many people expect a practitioner to fix them and all their problems while they lay on a table passively. In these situations we can usually temporarily 'disarm' or break up a pain-cycle, but there's no engagement in the process, and the issues usually come right back.  
The focus in this case is exclusively on the GOAL, NOT THE PROCESS.

Our modern-day culture is undoubtably obsessed with goals and finish lines.  It seems to go without saying for many people that if one achieves their goal, they won; end of story.  No matter the trade off.   This mentality works in a closed-circuit where people keep checking boxes and achieving material goals which confirm that they're doing it right.  

BUT.... Organic processes including the human body don't work in a world of isolated goals.  If we don't respect and appreciate the process in life then we miss the opportunity to learn and change.  THE HUMAN BODY NEEDS TO PROCESS THE EXPERIENCE TO UNDERSTAND IT SOMATICALLY.

Guiding people through self-treatment bodywork requires that they engage in the process.  Yes its challenging, and it can be uncomfortable at times.  But when you feel a change or shift happen, and consciously move through the process, then something amazing happens; you begin to understand your body.  It may not even make sense in words or cerebral concepts, but you begin to unlock an inner-sense and body-awareness which can be applied to everything else in your life.  When emotions are too much to process in the moment we store them as tension in our body.  When we release this tension we also learn to release and process the subconscious and somatic aspects of our thoughts and feelings.

 I find that guided myofascial work is a direct and effective approach in helping people find this awareness and healing in themselves.  People feel empowered as they learn to work through their chronic pain and tension.  They have the opportunity to slowly build up their skills each session, engaging in the endless process of somatic (body)-awareness.  The body is an incredible source of wisdom, and learning self-treatment techniques can help to open up this realm to everyone.  I believe that it is our inherent right to fully-inhabit our own body and learn to be present in our own form.  My intention with the guided myofascial therapy is to help people find this space and presence for themselves.