Years Ago, Dr. Ida Rolf discovered that as we grow older, our fascia thickens and our body loses its natural flexibility. She was a great innovative pioneer in understanding the physiology of manipulative medicine way before her time. She knew that if we could touch into the fascia and re-hydrate, reorganize and lengthen that tissue, that the body would heal itself. Today our knowledge of fascia has increased multi-fold, and the door is still wide open for so much more learning on how to live more fully in wellness and vitality through touching into the Fascial System.
Touch
Mere mindful touch in itself can be very healing. Massage is well known to increase the endorphin and serotonin chemicals which in turn help reduce pain and regulate mood. Clients have a body experience of this when they finish a session and get up feeling more stress free and relaxed.
Focused work on the fascial system takes this work to an even deeper level. Because the facial system is an all encompassing network of connective tissue that contains the organs, muscles, and bones and holds this all together, it makes the perfect conduction system to transmit healing throughout the whole body at a quick speed. When a Structural Integration Therapist or a Craniosacral Therapist touch into the fascial system, it sends new information rapidly across this vast network of this interconnected web, allowing a new dialogue to release adhesions and their impacts, as well as opening the body to self-correcting measures.
So What Does this Mean to You?
It means that because you are a whole person, that a massage therapist that is experienced with fascial work is going to be able to help create global change within your body. Imagine if you would that underneath your skin is a wetsuit of connective tissue. But it doesn’t stop there, it delves into the deeper wrapping around everything, shaping your form and allowing for communication. When one place gets distorted or out of alignment, it pulls on the very fabric of your physicality out of balance and proper functioning. The good news is that by addressing this fascia from a superficial perspective down into the deeper levels through a series call the “Recipe”, that your alignment could be re-established and with a some good Craniosacral work, your nervous system can balance and help you to feel healthy and optimal again.
Pain Go Away!
When You Think about Massage Again, ask if your therapist knows about Fascial Work.
This type of bodywork has the same benefits as a Swedish Massage and more… the benefits are actually longer lasting.
Just a quick note on the deep feeling and sensing of the work: While the work may be more uncomfortable at times than light effleurage strokes, pain often will resolve itself much quicker and often disappears completely. For more information, check out the Upledger Institute for a therapist near you.
At some point in our lives, most of us have faced some type of medical challenges.
Who hasn’t at one point or another faced an illness or an injury of some sort?
In my practice, I have had clients walk in with a variety of ailments, diseases and physical pain.
I am not a doctor who diagnoses or prescribes, but with the art and science of touch, I have seen some wonderful results for my clients with massage and bodywork that have addressed their issues so that they can relax and breath easier. It’s clear to see that people facing medical challenges are looking for healing and pain relief and my job is to listen and use the many years of experience I have behind me as a licensed massage therapist to help them feel better in their body. My intention is support re-education of the body to help it remember its own healing abilities to self-correct. This can have wondrous benefits! When pain dissolves and the body is functioning with more ease and vitality, in most cases… mental and emotional health also reappears again. It’s difficult to live in joy when one is focused on physical pain. When the body feels better, it’s amazing how different life feels.
Some of the best areas of health that massage therapists can treat are neurological, muscular and respiratory. Especially with Craniosacral Therapy, clients see great improvement with neck and back pain, migraines, headaches, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, frozen shoulder, and pain associated with arthritis. What’s so great about Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is that it is so gentle that even clients who are facing cancer and treatments can enjoy this relaxing touch, as long as their doctors approve. On a deep level of contact, being held and connected with others is very healing in itself. CST as it worked wight the fluid around the brain and spine can promote profound change and balance. With massage and bodywork, you also get restored motion by release of restrictions that have been stopping the flow of your optimal functioning.
Massage may feel like a luxury, but really it is much more than that.
A note about insurance:
In most states, massage therapy is not covered by medical insurance like a doctor’s visit. However, some insurances that are more flexible, may offer certain allowances. Make sure you call your insurance company to see what type of benefits they provide. Massage Therapists can give you a receipt and any information that is required regarding your sessions.
If you live in Central Ohio, and have been looking to develop a healing relationship with a Licensed Massage Therapist and/or Certified Craniosacral Therapist,call:
Sharon Hartnett LMT
(614) 372-6598
*15 minute free phone consultation with any questions you may have.
It takes years to find yourself in chronic back pain.
Many people think back pain comes from pulling a certain muscle or moving wrong. Most likely your structural alignment has been out for a while and your muscle groups are not balanced. Back pain is born through the way that we habitually move our bodies and the consequences of our physical action then take on certain rotations, contractions and dysfunctional patterns. When the back begins to spasm, that is usually the tip of the iceberg that lets you know that you need help in healing prolonged unhealthy postural patterns.
Build a Holistic Plan to relieve back pain for overall health and wellbeing.
I know…I know… that most people want to find a “fix” and feel better immediately when their backs hurt. Who wants to live with back pain?
It is possible to go in for a massage session, a few physical therapy appointments, see a chiropractor or to get a prescription from your medical doctor to ease the pain. These can all be helpful. However, is this what is going to help you live pain free in the future?
When any illness or pain calls you to bed, it is helpful to take the time to inquire into your self-care. Ask yourself, “How am I eating?”, “Am I sleeping well?l”, “Do I get enough exercise?”, and “Am I dong whatever I need to do to feel healthy and vital?” Do you realize the importance of putting your health first?
With our busy lifestyles, there are not many people who can answer yes to all of these. So if you want to feel better, it is important to begin to prioritize your health. And realize- that it took you some time to get into illness and/or pain and it may take a commitment to long-term exploration to re-connect to your wellness.
As a Craniosacral Therapy bodywork and healer, I do get a lot of people who come in for one or two sessions and they do get relief for sure. It’s easy to move into the back fascial tissues and relieve the tension there. The clients are happy for a while. But whatever relief you get there is most likely temporary, even with fascial work when it is only applied locally. From my perspective after 15 years in the business of relieving pain, in order to feel health success, the people who dedicate themselves to a comprehensive health plan are the ones who walk away pain free longterm and able to do the things that excite them. Clients who are proactive and even those who come in after an injury benefit best when they value their own health enough to do whatever it takes to find alignment on all the levels of their wellness. When we change our thoughts and bodies,we change the way we experience life.
So if you are facing chronic back pain, allow that be a signal to you that it would be a smart idea to holistically set your intention to creating a “health plan” to get better overall. Clean up your diet, decrease your stress, find an experience bodywork and commit to some long term goals to improve your sense of wellbeing. If you don’t care about your health, who will?
Life styles are based on the choices we make day in and day out. We are creatures of habit, so start slow and make small decisions that are easy to change. This is not an all or nothing situation unless you are very ill. You’ll be surprised if you pace yourself and find the right support team how much better you will feel!
For a local Upledger Certified Craniosacral Therapist and Structural Integration Practitioner in Columbus, Ohio, contact Sharon Hartnett
Call: (614) 372-6598
Locations in Victorian Village and Johnstown, Ohio
I know that most people don’t even know what fascia is…
That’s why I have been talking about fascia on my blog here and also in Florida www.integrativesoulandbodywork.com. There is so much new information coming out about the importance of fascia and how much the quality of its health determines how we are feeling and living.
If you haven’t ever had a visual of this living tissue, I have found a great youtube clip that I would like to share here:
Fascia may not look like much to you, but this material is what enables you to support your bodies in everything that you do. This continuous fabric of life envelops all the organs, bones, muscles and allows communication and nourishment so that we can exist. This is very exciting that we are now looking closer at and understanding the importance of fascia in our everyday living.
Sharon Hartnett LMT, CST
(740) 966-5153 in Columbus Ohio
Certified Advanced Craniosacral Therapist integrating Structural Integration and CST to help you feel aligned on every level!
Mindful Lifestyle Choices can help you to relieve pain and to feel better in your body.
I have been a Licensed Massage Therapist for about 15 years. After seeing and listening to so many clients, I have realized that what most people are searching for is to feel alive inside their own skin. When people feel healthy, they can participate in life with all the activities that make them happy. They feel interconnected with their environment, their relationships, and are full with an ongoing unfolding experience of self-confidence and self-empowerment. A truly embodied physicality feeds the brains and enables us to experience life in a creative and joyful way.
How do we Begin to Reconnect with Our Vitality?
It’s a Choice!
We start by reconnecting with our internal resources in a mindful manner.
Every single adult person who comes onto my table has offered to share their places of pain and discomfort. I have never had a client walk in and say,” I feel totally great without any stress or tension anywhere”. Even when clients who initially feel relatively good begin their Craniosacral Therapy or myofascial session, they begin to notice how the body holds tenderness, pain, numbness or some type of dysfunctional pattern as the work progresses. Being touched with mindful contact opens the door to a finer tuned sensory input. Whether we have encountered traumas, accidents, illnesses, or whatever… bringing awareness to our bodies and how they move will regenerate the fluid movement and tissues to bring us back to a healthier center.
How do our bodies get stuck or in pain?
One way to look at the origin of dysfunctional patterns of pain is to begin to realize that we are animals that like repetition.
As children growing up, we begin with experiential movements which if they are constantly reoccurring often turn into a gesture. If that gesture becomes a part of a person’s expression, it often turns into a habit. For example, if you were told to cross one leg over the other one because it is ladylike, you might start to do it regularly until it feels normal. This is how structural patterns begin. The problem is that whenever we delve into limited dimensional movement continuously in our daily lives, we start to loose our mobility in the other planes of movement. If we lose our awareness to even the smallest spaces, energy and fluidity can dry up.
What is it inside that is feeling in pain?
Most of us think that our muscles are what are sore when in discomfort. In actually, what I have found as a Structural Integration Therapist is that much of the pain that is experienced comes from the superficial connective tissue fascia. Perhaps you have not heard of fascia, so let me give you a brief overview because it plays and important role in finding a solution to resolving many health issues.
Fascia is the systemic biological fabric that holds us together. This soft tissue wraps under our skin like a wetsuit and is continuous throughout the deeper parts of our bodies, shaping us from the organ level down to the very cells that make us up. In healthy fascia, we have unrestricted sliding mobility between the layers. It functions to protect us from outside invaders, to build stuff to keep our internal parts contained, is very responsive, and it acts as a powerful sensory mechanism.
The New Frontier in Pain Relief!
Why is fascia important in movement and health?
Fascia mostly consists of a protein called collagen, along with water, cells and ground substance. Healthy fascia is hydrated and has a viscous, semi-fluid and elastic quality to it. As people age, tension across the body will rigidify the fascia until it becomes glue like and it looses its elasticity. If the body is not consistently contracting and releasing water, everything tends to get thicker, especially if the body is acidic. That’s when it collect impurities, fats, proteins and can get caught up as toxins, while inhibiting the gliding healthier movements where fluids nourish the other systems of the body.
How do we stop the Hurting?
As adults, our bodies are made up of approximately 63% water. We need to stay hydrated. Fascia is responsible for organizing the fluids by its ability to compartmentalize into pockets. For good health, it is essential that we allow the fluids inside of us to reach their prospective destinations so that the body can be nourished. If the flow is restricted, the water can’t transport what is needed for metabolism to the inside of the cells. In cases where there is scarring, immobility, or inflammation or any type of trauma, this is the case.
Fascia as a system has the capability to limit and direct motion in the body. In fact, we are training our fascial system through intention on some level every moment of everyday to do this through how we decide to interact with ourselves and our world. The key to finding better health and wellness is to bring mindful attention back to the places in our body where we notice pain and/or amnesia. When this mindfulness is allowed to enlivened conscious awareness, we will awaken through the body’s own sensory abilities to reconnect back to the immeasurable intelligence and zest that rests within.
One way to do this is to begin to pay attention to exercise. Don’t just get on a machine and zone out, but instead bring your attention to the feet, the legs, the muscle groups that are engaged in the activity. Notice if the body is contracting and relaxing or do you overdo it? Through mindfulness, be curious about how the foot rolls or doesn’t roll on each side. Examine your relationship to your whole body slowly allowing it to do what it does, while gaining a more thorough understanding of where you feel aligned in the present moment or not. This is all about enlivening inter-connection within. Another course that complements regular exercise…most people have some knowledge of yoga. This is a great way to stretch the muscles and relieve stress on the joints. The poses help you to gently go to a limit for regeneration and keep you limber. With this, it is important though to find a good teacher who will guide you well. It is easy to do more than what is needed and you don’t want to injure the tissues, but instead find balance and strength. Pilates and Gyrotonics are great for core exercises. You can almost feel like you have been massaged after an hour session which develop core relationship as well as multi-dimensional exploration.. There are some other items that I’d like to recommend though which aren’t quite as ubiquitous, yet are very powerful in helping one to integrate the mind, body & spirit connection profoundly. Feldenkrais teaches us how to move in very deliberate yet easy motion to enrich the sensory system. Yamuna Ball rolling softly rehydrates the fascia and increases flexibility. Continuum by Emilie Conrad also has a similar foundation in its teachings, but also includes sound and more awareness to breathwork. These types of mindful exercises will change your life if you commit to at least 8 weeks of steady practice. The last two are especially easy to do at home or anywhere you go as long as you have the basic tools.
Structural Integration (SI) and Craniosacral Therapy (CST) are two modalities where you can visit a massage therapist to help you awaken the inter-dialogue of the body through fascial work.While all movement engages the whole body’s fascial layering, these two disciplines focus much of their bodywork techniques on this grand system of connective tissue. I believe that many people know this, but I want to remind you that fascia is a tissue that is alive. It is very responsive to touch and even one point of contact and enriched motion will transmit its effects globally. Because most injuries are fascial, a practitioner of SI and CST can touch into area of dysfunction and help the tissue to reorganize. For example, at points of scarring where the fibers have been laid randomly and in a disorganized fashion, while cutting off hydration, the tissues can re-learn how to soften almost by intention alone. But with a little extra support, amazing result often happen. I have used the most gentlest of touch to deep penetrating movement in order to help release old habitual patterns. The body will always tell us what it needs, and will help us to allow it to self-correct. People often feel more vital, happy and whole after receiving fascial treatments.
One last thing that I’d like to end with. While mindful exercise is a primary force in keeping us healthy, I also want to emphasize that not “overdoing it” is critical too. It is through rest and balance that the body maintains. So make sure to listen well to what your body tells you for your own health and wellbeing.
I hope this information helps you to understand that release from pain can be found by directly releasing restrictions in the fascia. Whatever you do, mindful awareness will always bring about better progress and results in helping you to feel optimal.
Massage in Columbus
If you want more information, about these treatments, check out: www.massageincolumbusohio.com or call Sharon Hartnett at (614) 372-6598.
Between earth and heaven
Feel the Embrace of the Sacred Feminine
Mary Oliver: “The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice —
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voice behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do —
determined to save
the only life that you could save.
