Unwind Your Fascia and Regain Motion with Flossing

In the present day Brooke Taylor is on the weblog, together with Katie Mrazek to speak all about flossing. And as you in all probability guessed, this publish isn’t about flossing your enamel.

Fascia flossing. Of their publish you’re going to study all about Brooke’s expertise with flossing, the advantages, how & why you need to get began, & Brooke even put collectively one of the best q&a with Kaita to reply your questions.

If in case you have but to fulfill Brooke, she is the founding father of The Highway in Austin, the place Lauryn frequents for facial acupuncture & sound therapeutic. Brooke is magic and we’re so glad she’s again on the weblog to introduce us all to Kaita & fascia flossing.

Let’s get into it.

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At my acupuncture follow The Highway in Austin, Texas, I (selfishly?!) develop providers round therapies proven to assist me age properly, all whereas retaining issues via the lense of Chinese language drugs. I discover if I stick with this mannequin, the modalities assist the vast majority of my sufferers in all levels of life. Plenty of us spend our days sitting at a desk, creating tight hips, weak abs, rounded-in shoulders; we expertise strained jaws from stress and clenching, have stiffness, tech neck, previous accidents with scar tissue and adhesions, complications, poor sleep. We complain of dehydration although we’re guzzling water.  

Just lately, I turned thinking about how the fascia system impacts day-to-day life, ageing properly, and mobility. Studying Quench by Dana Cohen MD, Gina Bria) final yr highlighted its significance in hydration of tissues. Contemplating acupuncture makes use of the system of fascia to speak as properly, it appears vital to maintain this method optimized.

Fascia covers each organ and all varieties of tissue within the physique, head to toe (extra on this in a minute) – and it’s all related, holding our organs in place and permitting us to face up straight. Greater than this, fascia was comparatively just lately found to behave as a superhighway for each digital indicators (piezoelectric) and fluids, like a backyard hose that drips vitamins to the physique. Over time, fascia will get certain up from issues like sitting, repetitive movement, poor physique mechanics, damage or sickness, even being pregnant/childbirth. We really feel this binding in our our bodies as restricted mobility, aches and pains, and curiously, with ‘caught’ feelings. 

With elevated consciousness of how fascia capabilities and its significance (it has come a good distance from the times of being actually discarded), there at the moment are specialists who work with this tissue that can assist you ease ache and regain fluid motion. Enter ‘flossing.’ 

My private expertise with ‘flosser’ Kaita Mrazek started with a one-on-one desk session to discover the sensations and approach. I simply turned 58, I principally sit for my job, and undoubtedly really feel ‘caught’ – stiff, rigid, and weaker than years prior. Ouch. I used to be eager to see if she may create a shift with out me feeling overwhelmed or so sore I’d procrastinate going once more.

Kaita is a petite however highly effective dancer, yogi and pilates teacher who has the open, welcoming vibe of somebody who walks the stroll with out making you’re feeling such as you missed the bus. For my session, she has me lie on a therapeutic massage desk outfitted with a few straps so you may apply resistance with out your limbs flailing round. After a little bit guide evaluation, she begins the work of maneuvering limbs, sussing out the place they want ‘exfoliation.’ To borrow a time period from Chinese language drugs, in search of the place there isn’t a ‘circulation.’

The following actions concentrate on increasing the fascia across the muscle – Kaita guides you to have interaction your muscle groups to use stress as you progress backward and forward together with her assist. It’s bizarre that I’m nearly immediately trembling with some strikes – wow is that muscle weak! My thoughts is reeling, how did I get like this? (um, sitting?) She continues guiding the supported strikes, adjusting angles right here and there, till she assesses that there’s the free circulation she’s in search of with out exhausting the muscle. She strikes on, flossing from toe to go, limbs and joints.

The method may be intense – it’s not passive, I’m sweating however it is vitally doable, even for somebody as stiff and out of form as I’m. I didn’t all the time really feel what she described discovering in my first session – ‘oh this channel is tight, that is juicy,’ and so forth, however I undoubtedly seen it once I received off the desk. I felt taller, lighter … fluffier, my ankle/foot was resting on the ground fully in a different way – like its extra elevated youthful self.

I felt superb! 

The subsequent day, I felt a little bit like I had used each machine in a gymnasium, discovering all of the bits I haven’t utilized in years and giving them a little bit go. I rang her as much as say, ‘this feels so superb, I need to construct on this, so what’s subsequent?’ Day two post-flossing, I felt extra soreness. However that precise correct quantity the place you’re feeling such as you’ve finished one thing productive and are excited for extra. My physique feels woke up, alive, fired up! 

She really helpful yet one more one-on-one for me, then we started our group flooring work the subsequent week. Quickly I began to floss at house. It might really feel fairly awkward at first, these aren’t strikes I’ve finished earlier than – it’s a must to concentrate on how the muscle is engaged. However with time, you begin to get hold of the sensations you now know will floss the fascia, and go along with it. She did point out flossing can uncover the place we’ve been compensating, so to concentrate on new ‘weak point’ that reveals itself. 

Probably the most thrilling half for me of flossing our Abdomen/Spleen within the Earth meridian sequence is how it’s affecting my tight jaw publish surgical procedure. With no direct manipulation of the jaw, the flossing on this meridian all through the decrease physique and stomach considerably launched rigidity in my TMJ. Kaita repeated the ground sequence for a earlier than and after of her personal face (see the publish on Instagram), and the variations are a visual launch of rigidity, a leisure of the attention space, and a glow. I’m trying ahead to exploring all of the channels in future floss classes.

Let’s discuss to Kaita to find the thin on flossing. 

Brooke Taylor: Hello Kaita! I’m loving all issues flossing, so let’s dive in! Are you able to inform us, what’s our trendy understanding of fascia?

Katie Mrazek: Ooh sure! Fascia is de facto having a second proper now. There are all kinds of particular instruments being marketed to assist your fascia. Foam rollers had been among the first on the scene, and now we’ve received fascia blasters and set off level stuff galore.

In my very own understanding of fascia, some of the helpful issues to know is that it’s a ubiquitous substance in your physique that gives interconnected, dynamic construction. It’s so pervasive that if you happen to eliminated your entire further components—your bones, organs, muscle groups, and so on. and simply left your fascia, you’d be left with a ghost-like however nonetheless recognizable you! As you fashioned within the womb, the fascia supplied scaffolding in your cells to arrange and fill in. It’s made up of principally collagen, which signifies that it’s a conductor.

My lecturers have theorized that fascia is definitely the way in which that qi travels all through your physique. When it’s gathered, it may be tremendous sturdy—like your IT bands. When it’s it skinny, it may be fairly elastic and pliable. It assumes totally different types for various functions all through your physique. I like to have a look at an orange for example of fascia. The thick peel is gathered fascia, however is similar substance because the pith—the connective tissue of the orange. When an orange you may see how the white pith organizes the fruit into sections, and throughout the sections there are smaller sections. You can even see the number of functions for the substance: as a protecting outer layer, to create segments, and to seal the inside sections so that they keep juicy. Our fascia is sort of much like this in some ways!

BT: The place does the time period ‘flossing’ come from, and why does our fascia want this work? Flossing is a time period coined by my buddy and collaborator, Bon Crotzer. After experiencing the work, and the way it transforms fascia, your physique actually does really feel flossed—as if the junk is eliminated, and issues are squeaky clear. 

KM: Your fascia may be modified, however not by the identical strategies that we use to situation our muscle groups. Some individuals really feel a shift via modalities like deep tissue therapeutic massage or Rolfing. These may be highly effective strategies, however they’re restricted as a result of they will solely tackle the superficial fascia—the stuff we will get to from the surface. Do not forget that fascia is so ubiquitous that it’s even offering construction in your organs. Think about when you have a surgical procedure, and you’ve got deep layers of scar tissue. A way like flossing makes it doable to get to the deeper stuff.  When flossing, you have interaction your muscle groups when you elongate them. This tugs on the fascia in a manner that reconfigures it, rehydrating it, and thinning it out the place it has gathered unnecessarily. It results in a extra lasting shift in your physique. 

BT: From statement, it appears like stretching – how does flossing profit fascia in a different way than stretching? And even muscle constructing like lunges? 

KM: The important thing distinction between typical stretching and flossing is that we have interaction the muscle groups and keep engaged whereas we elongate them. To me, probably the most interesting factor (to my doing-lots-of-things-is-good thoughts) is that fascia is a multipurpose motion—that means that it’s one factor we will do with a number of advantages. Busy people won’t really feel they’ve time to coach flexibility, have one other session for power constructing, one other for physique consciousness, and so on. However flossing is like all the things all rolled into one. As a result of we’re partaking our muscle groups whereas elongating, we’re conditioning the muscle groups themselves, like in power coaching. We’re additionally defending our joints, whereas reconfiguring our fascia which is usually the precise perpetrator in our mobility points. 

BT: How did flossing enter your world of pilates and yoga, and the way do you synthesize it into your different modalities for max profit?

KM: Oh sheesh…this modality saved discovering me! My motion id is as a dancer first, and I’m additionally a licensed Pilates instructor, Yoga instructor, and also have a couple private coach certs beneath my belt. I had been educating motion for a number of years earlier than I used to be first launched to resistance flexibility in Santa Barbara, via Yoga Soup, the studio the place I nonetheless educate. 

I educated within the first stage of the Genius of Flexibility, began by a person named Bob Cooley. He linked such a stretching to the meridians of Chinese language drugs.

I wasn’t fairly able to take the leap into making use of it to my very own educating, however I continued exploring it in my very own physique and spending all of my free time getting a really feel for it by helping stretchers in Cooley’s technique. Then I discovered Stretch to Win—Frederick Stretch Remedy, which is a paradigm that organizes the physique into what they name the “fascial nets”—fascial pathways within the physique that present organizational construction.

The nets align properly with the meridians of TCM. I’ve gone via two ranges of their coaching the place I realized higher physique mechanics for my strategies, and extra concerning the anatomy and biomechanics alongside the fascial pathways. However I feel I actually embraced this modality and integrated it into my educating, once I co-founded an activewear model, Ghost Flower, impressed by TCM. Bon and I taught motion courses centered on self-flossing and acupressure. I prefer to suppose that we drew inspiration from each other and the varied motion practices we had each already educated in.

At the moment, I received actually into the 5 Components and utilized the theories to motion. I realized to narrate to the knowledge of Chinese language drugs—a medication that had beforehand been fairly opaque and esoteric for me. It helped that our guide was Dr. Dan Keown, a superb writer and physician. I may ask him questions that appeared actually primary, and he was in a position to hyperlink the bodily physique processes to the energetic descriptions I examine in Chinese language drugs.

What I really like most about flossing is that when you get it, you see how instinctive and pure it’s. Watch any animal and also you’ll see them have interaction their muscle groups earlier than stretching. Watch previous footage of Joseph Pilates or well-known yogis and they’re doing the identical factor. Pilates is very enjoyable as a result of you should utilize the springs to create the resistance. If I’m in a yoga class, I’m all the time secretly flossing my manner via the strikes, as a result of it simply feels higher for my physique. 

BT: I used to be immediately drawn to what you do since you incorporate a deep understanding of the meridians in keeping with Chinese language drugs. You amaze me along with your perception, from the energetics and pathways of the strains, their goal, and even feelings related to these meridians. I’d love to listen to the way you got here to review the channels in your follow, and the way this informs your fashion of flossing. 

KM: Aww thanks! I’m blushing, particularly as a result of YOU are a wealth of knowledge!! I feel that I study greatest via following the pursuits of my very own therapeutic journey. I’ve all the time recognized as an emotional sort of particular person, who reads the room primarily based across the feelings I really feel from others, so I related with the emotional resonances of the meridians most as I used to be studying about Chinese language drugs.

The 5 Components made numerous sense to me as a result of they pair the meridians into yin/yang and categorize all kinds of persona traits to 5 primary “varieties.” Just like studying about your horoscope, I began figuring out personalities and kinds described by the weather. I’m additionally very kinesthetic, so I realized quite a bit concerning the energetics of a meridian via my very own flossing experiments.

I nonetheless keep in mind flossing my quads (abdomen meridian) and fairly rapidly skilled that I used to be extra current, in a position to talk and hearken to others. I checked in with my TCM buddy, who validated that these are qualities related to the spleen/pancreas (which balances the abdomen meridian). It was such a palpable second that I began nerding-out on what occurred once I would floss a particular meridian. I extremely advocate retaining a little bit journal of notes in your personal follow. My fashion of educating makes an attempt to create a container for college kids to discover and add their very own private prospers primarily based on what they uncover. My request is to be prepared to have interaction with the method, be interested by what you uncover, even when it’s a bit uncomfortable, and grow to be extra discerning about what actually nourishes your physique, thoughts, and spirit. 

BT: How would you see somebody’s flossing efforts contributing to their anti-aging efforts for his or her pores and skin/look? 

KM: As a result of our fascia is sort of a super-intricate wetsuit, as we floss and convey extra stability to our kind total, we could have extra stability in our physique total. Think about your wetsuit has a little bit snag in it—that snag goes to tug all the things at the very least a bit out of stability. Flossing can convey stability to our entire construction offering the house for our organs to work optimally—this typically results in higher digestion and thus more healthy pores and skin, and that radiance from inside.

Stability additionally removes rigidity from locations like our forehead and jaw. For instance, for my shoppers with TMJ, I’ll typically work on their quads first—the large muscle group which is alongside the meridian that impacts the jaw, and we see their face change. It’s superb! One other sizzling subject recently is the lymphatic system, which flossing is tremendous supportive for too. The fascia gives the construction for the lymph, so shifting our muscle groups and fascia squeezes the lymphatic vessels in a manner that promotes motion of the lymph. 

BT: How do you transition from doing 1:1 to the ground classes? Do I should be a professional to be in a gaggle? 

KM: You do NOT should be a professional to be within the group! However it will be significant that you just perceive the idea of flossing earlier than leaping into a category. It might really feel like the alternative of what you’ve realized about stretching whenever you start, so it’s vital to offer your self sufficient time and house to really feel what it’s prefer to floss. One vital factor to recollect is that additional isn’t essentially higher. Additionally, you’ll really feel a unique sensation than you is perhaps used to feeling from conventional stretching, so its vital to construct new associations. Usually one to 2 1:1 classes is sufficient to get you on top of things.

BT: Are you able to floss with accidents? 

KM: Hmm…I feel that depends upon the damage. Sure to some accidents. For those who’re in an acute section of your damage, I’d simply relaxation and get to it whenever you’re extra healed. And all the time seek the advice of your healthcare skilled first!

For some accidents which are associated to strained muscle groups, or your physique out of stability, some centered flossing may be tremendous helpful. When my neck has gone out, or my shoulder feels janky, I personally flip to flossing. Flossing can also be actually useful for recovering mobility and breaking apart cussed scar tissue after you’ve been cleared to train following a surgical procedure or damage. 

BT: What about postpartum – is that this good for girls? 

KM: This may be tremendous useful postpartum! Once more, it’s essential to just remember to’re able to get again to train. After my daughter was born, I used to be chomping on the bit to get shifting once more, and actually, I in all probability ought to have given myself extra time to only relaxation and be a mother. I feel it’s vital to acknowledge the stress ladies really feel to “get their physique again” after having a child (or some variation of expectation like that). I feel that mode must be challenged. Your physique has numerous therapeutic knowledge that’s inherent, and it’s so highly effective to follow doing much less. 

That stated, when the time is true, flossing is a potent and fab solution to convey stability again to your physique. Particularly for the essential activation and assist of your pelvic flooring and deep belly muscle groups. 

BT: How do males profit from flossing?

KM: Identical to ladies profit from flossing! Haha! Okay, I’ll attempt to reply this by contemplating what widespread points that I see males for. Posture is a giant one—tight hips and again—particularly males who’re athletes or former athletes, they know they’re tight however don’t prefer to stretch.

Flossing is a multipurpose motion, to allow them to really feel sturdy and energetic whereas additionally addressing flexibility. I’ve labored with numerous golfers, and the distinction they really feel of their hips and shoulders after one floss session is fairly cool. I really like getting the textual content about how they performed their greatest sport ever after our session. 

BT: Any contraindications?

KM: Use warning whereas pregnant, if you happen to’re on any medicines that may injury your tendons, and when you have any fractures. 

BT: How do I get began? 

KM: Austin locals can ebook at 1:1 session with me at The Highway! For those who’re not native, I educate reside digital courses hosted via my web site, and have a handful of movies on demand so that you can pattern too. 

Thanks Kaita!

See you at The Highway! 

The Highway

4130 Spicewood Springs Highway Suite 101/111, Austin, Texas 78759

tel: 512-956-9980

e-mail: hi [email protected] 

The Highway reserving for Fascia 1:1

*Flossing at The Highway by appointment Monday and Friday and by particular request. Keep tuned for the subsequent spherical of small group flooring classes, and check out your one-on-one within the meantime.

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Remember to observe The Highway and Kaita on IG. She provides digital courses & you may ebook together with her, one on one, at The Highway.

x, The Skinny Confidential crew

+ verify this publish on sound therapeutic.

++ to listen to extra from Brooke, stalk her q&a on facial acupuncture.

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