Have you thought about the saying, “Mind over Matter”? Usually it comes up when you want to stop the body from doing something you don’t like or when you want to make it do something it doesn’t like. The upshot of this way of thinking is that the body is an opponent you have to outsmart. It’s like arm-wrestling. Both sides expend a lot of energy until one gives out. If you approach the kinks in the fascia with this attitude, the thinking goes that if you just pull against the resistance, it will eventually give.

There’s another way. Imagination. Introduce the idea to the body and listen to its response instead of applying force. If you approach the body respectfully and invite an exploration of the possibilities of release, you can avoid the its protective resistance to your idea of change. Meditators and practitioners of Asian Bodywork Therapy like Shiatsu, Acupressure, Tuina and Jin Shin Do® have noticed that intention has a profound effect on the movement of energy, which powers the movement of blood, which in turn has a profound effect on the condition of the tissues. So to enhance the flexibility of the tissue, you don’t necessarily have to literally pull on the fascia. 

By imagining the effects of a stretch, especially including the feeling component of relaxation and ease, you can enlist the body in achieving the outcome. 

Before you ask the body to change, imagine the goal and the feeling you are aiming toward . If you approach the position of a stretch slowly, listening to the body’s feedback to find the natural alignment and breathing into it, the opening can happen without resistance. This saves a lot of work.

The position of the stretch is not a goal to be reached by any means necessary. The stretch is a guideline, a pathway toward alignment . As you start from where you are, imagining the stretch rather than forcing it, , you are teaching your body how to get from where you are to where you’d like to be.

This comes down to the balance between doing and being. There is a natural alignment in the fascia that already exists and is part of the wisdom of the body.  We don’t need to create something new if we work with the potential that is inherent in our physical makeup. Sometimes outside assistance may be necessary to liberate adhesions caused by long time immobility and dehydration, but for the most part, the best effects come from gentleness and suggestion.

Want to know more?

In our last article we introduced the JingJin (tendinomuscular meridians) and the JingJin Stretches that combine these superficial meridians with yoga poses. An important part of the technique is awareness, so each stretch includes guided imagery.

          

  Coming in November, 2023

A Practical Manual

JingJin Yoga Fascial Stretches Combining the Asanas of Yoga with the Tendinomuscular Pathways of Chinese Medicine.  

Deborah Valentine Smith, L.M.T., Dipl. ABT (NCCAOM®), AOBTA® Certified Instructor, Authorized JinShin Do® Bodymind Acupressure®  Teacher

Barbara “Teddy” Piotrowski, R.N., B.A., Dipl. ABT (NCCAOM®), Board Certified Holistic Nurse, Shiatsu Practitioner, Certified Yoga Therapist, Meditation Specialist