Fasciae Collaboration
Fascia Collaboration. Let’s learn about what it is, how to identify it, influence it to help our dogs, and share the love.
In September 2019 I will be one of the instructors at a joint conference of the IAAMB/ACWT and the NBCAAM. (It will be open to members and non-members. The link for info about it is below.) The conference, which will be in Seattle, will include half-day continuing ed workshops. The one I’ll be teaching is on experiencing Fasciae. We are calling it Fascial Wanderings. I’m already preparing for it and have a favor to ask of you that I’ll get to at the end of this article.
My ability to sense Fascial Wanderings developed over years. It’s like a muscle. The more you work it, the stronger it becomes. Before I started, I had a sense that there was something about it that might expand my capacity to help clients in my bodywork. I had no idea that learning it would be life changing and become the core modality of my practice.
My first hurdle was accepting that there was indeed movement of energy. Energy is not part of my Western cultural belief system; especially as a trained medical professional. So, 25 years ago I began to “play” Tai Chi Chuan. The practice focuses on moving the body to influence an orb of chi that flows through and around my body. I immediately was able to recognize the feeling of chi and learned to move it. This in itself shifted my relationship with my environment. I was simultaneously the doer and the seer. The second hurdle was discovering that we can feel the movement of energy within someone else’s body.
Fasciae means connective tissue. Fasciae, functions because of the ability of energy to flow through it. The energy I felt in Tai Chi is the same stuff that determines the health and vitality of fasciae. When it moves easily, the contents within it function. When it is restricted, function is restricted.
Energetic Fasciae is another way of describing the energy layers within and surrounding dogs. They connect through meridians, as slings, as referral and reflexology patterns.
When we palpate the energy of the fascia, we feel stillness when it is stuck. We feel movement when it shifts. It speaks to us. At different levels of pressure or intention we have different conversations.
We experience movements as they happen in the dog’s body and spirit. They tighten and relax, twist and turn. Motion is continuous. The body is constantly working to right itself. It is a perpetual quest to figure itself out. Why did I do that? Why did I think/act that? How can I compensate for this weakness? How can I realign my physical and emotional priorities to be in greater comfort? It’s a search for stability and safety.
I place my hands on a dog’s body and observe the movement within. Our energies join up. And my body’s energy synchronizes with whatever I am feeling. The dog’s body shares what it is doing by doing it. Fasciae work is the ultimate body language. I listen in and actively participate in the conversations.
Fasciae work impacts every aspect of the dog and his overall quality of life; because the dog is being influenced by my taking part in the conversation. With my support and gentle encouragement, the dog is directed toward restoring vitality to his joints, strengthening and enhancing movement of muscle groups, releasing blocks in neurological tracts and individual trigger points, and even softening his spatial envelope.
As I mentioned, I am preparing for the Fascial Wanderings continuing ed workshop at the Seattle conference.
Writers are taught to write from their own experience. I write, speak, and teach from my experience. And, I acknowledge that my experience, at least my interpretation of it, may not, cannot, be the same as yours.
So, this is my request: I’m asking you to collaborate with me. Let’s find out if our experiences are the same or different. With your help I will give a more informed workshop. If I quote you, you will be sited as an SME, a Subject Matter Expert, in my reference resources.
Please take a few minutes to write a description of how you experience your (myo)fasciae work and send it to me.
- What is your fasciae work?
- How did you cultivate your skill set?
- Have you become more adept with practice?
- When do you use it?
- Do you have a story to share?
- How important is it in your practice?
- Is there a definitive experience of working in the myo-fascia?
Please share your comments below on this blog. And send your more considered thoughts to me at Jonathan@petmassage.com. Thank you in advance. I hope to meet and speak with you in person at the conference.
CTA
- Get your introduction to fasciae massage in the PetMassage Foundation Level Program. https://petmassage.com/event/petmassage-foundation-level-program-june-27-july-1-2019/
- Learn more about working with fasciae with the printed and audio book, PetMassage Energy Work With Dogs https://petmassage.com/store/petmassage-energy-work-for-dogs-accessing-the-magnificent-body-language-and-body-wisdom-of-the-dog-book/.
- Find out about the IAAMB/ACWT-NBCAAM Conference. You can attend, be a vendor, be a sponsor. Learn more at http://iaamb.org/