Fascia fascination. Organ of tensegrity, suspension and more - the Interstitium
The creation of layers serves as casing and compartmentalisation for the development of the appropriate organs and systems, contains body water for storage and physical suspension and organisation; and it is with the amazing system of free sliding and moving layers that we can move within a bulk organic structure through the leveraged momentum of the masses - which is organically more energy efficient than moving the masses.
The actual capacity of the facial tissue is to provide uninterrupted structural resilience and vascular connections by adding layer to a layer in need of extension in movement, similar to a periscope
The sliding filaments, layers of fascia from around the muscle to the muscle's fiber
system at a larger scale, however, with a collagen capacity to reshape its force absorption within a structural net accordingly over the entire mass of the body. This is what allows for the sustained variety of movement of the organic tissue within the resilience of the fascial tissue in function to hold a movable structure. Muscle cells may be pumps, but only fascia through interstitium structurally enables direction of the forces - the physical movement - and communicates with the neuroses system.
Fascia threads through all soft and hard tissue - as a mobile structural network. Disruptions within the system is what we usually experience as physical pain, often related to the lack movement capacity.
Personal Structural Integration provides therapy and somatic management education related to such pain.
The back pain, in mjority cases is injury to thoroculombar fascia
To Ida Rolf and her work we can assign today’s popular and scientific fascination by fascia, and the ongoing amount of research on the subject, out of which I would most definitely recommend research produced by Dr. J.C. Guimberteau.
Dr. Rolf, through her scientific work, theorized that fascia acts with the characteristic of an organ because of its autonomous function to respond and create support. However, we see it today as a multifunctional membrane much in service to our neuroses system which is performing to satisfy our structural demands in response to our functional needs. Recently, in 2018 it is recognized as part of a new defined organ - the Interstitium.
Here, hear. Listen up - it's the news! From egg and zygote, a splitting cell in multiplication is creating layers, to embryo, be it a ectoderm, mesoderm or endoderm - as we grow and we take on more and more space - we are existing always only in layers. That is Interstitium!
Within a differential perception of human anatomy, we start perceiving fascia as 'white' collegen tissue that we usually see on the muscle outline as the white of the muscle. However, fascia is actually everywhere as a multipurpose structural encasing for every form within our body purposed to provide all connecting eclosment. It is a cylindrical and double layered active housing contributing, by cross tensegral capacity, to concentration and vector of the forces needed to be absorbed from outside or that need to produce work from inside. It is an amplifitre, a relator, plasticity based physical memory, a translator and interpreter of movement and the form we experianced in a physical world and in space form our first second. That is the enviroment we contain in - the space of our body, and out - the space around it.
From integrated perception, as a membrane, fascia does the same work as throughout sensory membranes do to our neuroses system in relation to the environmental waves. For example in the way the retina in the eye transfers light waves, or the eardrum transfers the sound waves. So does the fascial network with respect to three dimensional forces in the relevant space of our mass – within and with whom which we move and obtain our physical presence and whatever action we have intended. Including be it just breathing, blood flow or cellular renutrition needed to produce any of these movements integrated. With respect to integration do note that it would be incorrect to claim that retina or eardrum aren’t part of the fascial network – and also that both are effectively participating with our proprioception and maintenance of physical balance.
There is a very important point here – and that is – you do not need to know about the retina to see. In the same way – you do not need to know about physics to feel physical forces and the physic through our bodies. In sight, focus helps just as in balance special awarenes will formulate movements. Structural integration is empirical knowing and learning of physics which sustains us and provides us with more or less energy as needed. It is something that should be taught in schools alongside our science classes.
Once a person experiences the vertical line of balanced posture and how the forces contribute to body in movement from its structure – the person experiences a similar energy differential as when in the case she or he holds 4m tall wood beam at 90 degrees vertical upright against the ground, versus holding the same beam against the ground at 30 degrees. The benefits of that difference educates the person to the forces or situations that work negative against calculus. Something as beneficial as that does not become unlearned. Just as brushing your teeth before sleep. It becomes a lifetime process.
Rather than just being body work, we are indeed talking about the education when we talk about Structural Integration and of a direct experience of natural forces within or around us and hence the transition and translation of energy – which never disappears but only transforms. Yet, despite everybody knowing this from their general knowledge, and from Big Bang theory to search for the Higgs-Boson particle this is practical physics, yet rarely who pays attention to where the energy goes. Space is energy and all energy comes from space; and most importantly - goes back to space. If you lift a hammer above your head and hold it there, the energy you used is there where the hammer is now, and even you may think you don’t see it or feel it - if you do however drop it on the nail – you’ll see it put that nail into the board. The Structural Integration teaches about your space, space teaches you about the energy.
The tool, educator and therapist is gravity. With 10 sessions of Structural Integration you are reminded of the relationship with gravity and left to your space, which is also your time, the lifetime to explore – as from a macro perspective we observe larger mass' gravity and forces, and from micro perspective we observe bio chemistry or polarity, bio magnetism or gravity forces of micro elements – that form shapes, starting with one atom to stretch of periodical table. The same applies to thoughts as every scan will show you that thoughts are shapes of waves. Strictly scientifically speaking - a wave – just like a sound or a light - is an oscillation accompanied by a transfer of energy that travels through medium, a force, and therefore it is recognized equal to energy i.e. the work as physical unit, a movement of force through a mass or space. If we learn from children, we know that work is play. And as I like to see it, the more energy there is the more play.
Fascination with fascia is completely justified
Fascia is indeed something fascinating, and worth further learning and discovering about. Structural Integration works with clients living a malleable myofascial system. The plasticity character of this organic functional tissue allows for wide requirements of demands for movement, including memory – that will help the body to grow stronger when such demand has occurred, or however demand is directing supply – more flexible, longer, with greater elasticity etc, etc. This is also how the environment develops from birth. Fascia is our organ of such communication to the demands of the environment.
The technique through 10 sessions assesses the fascial layers of the client and their functional state and where the imbalances are in the tissue and this helps the practitioner to determine where to work for more freedom of movement. The sessions take us to different layers of the fascial network.
Subcutaneous tissue, meaning “beneath the skin”, is generally made up of loose connective tissue and fat. Due to its structure, it serves as a thoroughfare for the nerves and blood vessels from the dermis to the muscles and also helps to protect the bones and muscles from damage. One of the functions for this tissue layer is to act as an insulator and to keep the body’s temperature stable. The layer is also called superficial fascia and most recent researches, especially those made by Dr. J.C. Guimberteau, are show that the layer plays an important role as a collagen framework of kinetic system, in both allowing for movement and communicating with the environmental forces and through its principle of tensengrity participates as initial point of encounter to so called Multimicro Vacouolar Dynamic Absorbing System, an organic sliding system that is a base for free leveraging movement within the vertebrates’ soft tissue.
Muscle fascia is a single, predominantly collagen, web of very strong but flexible and microcapillary connective tissue that wraps around all the internal parts of the body from head to toe, enwrapping the parts in “double bag” casings. It allows free flow of interstitial fluid. Fascia serves both as a tensgral casing and it reduces any friction thereby allowing muscles to move freely alongside other structures and organs. As it is the tissue that wraps around all the internal parts of the body, it can be found immediately beneath the skin in subcutaneous layer, around muscles, and even between muscle fibers and groups of muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels and organs.
The International Fascia Research Congress, not that long ago, included joint and organ capsules, muscular septa, ligaments, retinacula, aponeuroses, tendons, myofascia, neurofascia and other fibrous collagenous tissues as forms of fascia, inseparable from surrounding connective tissues. The function of the fascia is to maintain a fine balance of tension and elasticity. This serves to hold everything in place, at appropriate tension, while still allowing for smooth, unrestricted movement of each muscle group. Where fascia becomes restricted then the movement of muscle contraction would be restricted to the inhibition. It is also believed, with an ongoing research, that fascia serves to the nervous system as a kinetic force sensory tool within the body’s constantly maintained tensegral system, and that it also runs between the bone’s cell, i.e. that it is at micro level a substantial part of every cell’s membrane as a part of the facial network. In addition, it communicates with and translates movement from the environment, also participating in creation of language (from what is perceived as movement, for example “wolf moving toward us”, from the cringe of fear to gesticulation of warning, to the breath of sound – that will become eventually a memorized word).
With everything in mind from here above (due to fascia being a single piece of tissue encapsulating the entire body), through the body’s tensegrity principle – subcutaneous fascia forms a bodystocking and fascial network plays a major role in balancing the soft tissue organization and due gravity alignment in the body. Where there is a problem somewhere along its length, i.e. its tensegral distribution, this will affect and create issues elsewhere in the network along the chain of interdepended structural form of the body – which will reflect in postural alignment. As soon as there is dysfunction or pain in one area, the fascia adjusts and compensates for the purpose of keeping the body upright vertical in due gravity and works without causing the pain through shortening or tightening in areas where the muscles alone cannot hold the extra tension. Quite simply, changes in fascial network are resulted or reflected by postural changes.
Furthermore, to our neuroses system functioning as a sensory membrane for the sense of touch and form to body’s physical organization. Through its tensegrity capacity fascia is the key organ that allows the entire complexity of movement, holds our entire body mass for whatever purposed function we imagine - translates the experience of the environment that is in movement in a form of waves, physical forces and energies all translated into – what we see as - a biological experience.
As mentioned above at the beginning - many individuals will have occupational or lifestyle influences which affects posture for example such as sitting behind a desk on a computer all day, which will increase the shortening in certain areas of fascia due to this area being held in the same position for an extended period of time. The body will actually change the form, i.e. the structure to its function, as to reflect how it is being used.
Interstitium
Dr. Ida Rolf wrote her PhD on the continues function of the collagen network in body support acting as an organ of support. In continuum, after years of Structural Integration Practitioners claiming that structural fascial support network of the collagen filled with fluid mostly being water, in 2018 research, it was officially recognized as an organ and called the interstitium. Interstitium was instantly recognised for its function as an impact buffer reservoir in the movement and nutrition and communication transportation system.