Why Fascia Flossing might be your most efficient way to a healthy bod…

Alright the word is out. Fascia is buzzin. 

Roll it. 

Scrape it.

Stretch it. 

Gua sha it. 

Go to the spa to get it pressed and squeezed. 

Why Floss it?

Listen team...If you have heard about fascia and still don’t know what the heck it is, you aren’t behind! So much research still needs to be done, and comprehension in the science community could use an upgrade (eh-mm).

Stronger than steel per weight, the fascia is the OG scaffolding of your body, laid down like railroad tracks in your tiny embryo-wee-self. 

Simply said: Fascia is the connective tissue in your body. It links everything together - a silken web wrapping and weaving from the inner border of your skin, shaping shifting until it penetrates the bones.  It holds your organs in place, constructs the compartments of your muscles and sections off the parts of your torso and your appendages.

The fascia can be tiny and spindly (think angel hairs coalescing around and connecting tiny nerve endings, but it also takes the form of great sinewy sheaths. It uses a system of compression, suspension, and tension to hold us up … Like a tent without the stakes in the ground. It allows us to stand and move.

This extraordinary material in the body is made up of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid (sound familiar, you beauty product enthusiasts out there? Yep, healthy fascia could support healthier skin). It also transports fluids. The healthier and “plumper” the fascia is, the more hydrated our bodies can be, and flexible. 

But when it gets stressed, it gets tense, it dries up, gets sticky, immobile, knotty, and… you get the idea.

So back to what we can do to promote the health of it…

Other than a healthy diet, we are into “flossing” our fascia.

We have found working with fascia at its deepest levels using a new method I call “flossing” is an effective strategy to create health from within...

Ok.  Sounds good, but what is Fascia Flossing and how does it work? 

Flossing has two components that differentiate this method from traditional stretching …

*First is the Engagement (or an eccentric contraction)

*Second is the Elongation phase (moving instead of holding a position)

Engagement + Elongation make the magic combo to create the flossing effect on the fascia.

The engagement (contraction of the myo-fascia) activates the connective tissues + the elongation = a gentle tug on the tissues. 

This is where the internal exfoliation happens, any old brittle tissues break up and are flushed out by the lymph system.

Many folks tell us they experience Flossing as a way to decrease stagnation and blockage and to loosen up tight stubborn areas...providing a feeling of spaciousness and lift in energy.

Flossing out old, dry, plastic-like tissue helps us clear space, to then strengthen our muscles again (fascia can act as a tourniquet, compressing muscles, decreasing contractive ability and growth potential). 

(So) Layer by layer we attempt to exfoliate tissue that has become overly dense from an injury, over-use, or just life. 

Really, all we are doing is stretching like animals do. This is called pandiculating - moving with engagement and elongation. 

We can apply this concept to any area of the body! Where are you tightest? Where could you use a Floss? In class we focus on the major muscle groups and meridian lines that can become the most dense and tight - like the hamstrings, traps, quads, glutes etc. And with the help of our mapped energy lines, finding these areas becomes easy as pie. 

We are super active while we floss, so let this be your daily movement routine. It also pairs nicely with a 20 minute dance jam, a pilates sesh, a cycle or run. Do your cardio before or after? you ask… you can’t go wrong. Try both and see which you prefer. (I like to run first but I switch it up too). 

How many days a week should I Floss? Well, this is personal, I would try an every-other-day approach and then see where it goes. Then see if you are an everyday flosser (I know folks that can’t get enough!). Moderate how much engagement you use and watch your ranges! Flossing isn’t about how far you go, it's about how well you can stay connected to your body and really feel into the deep layers of cold, hard, dense tissues without being attached to a “look”, a shape, or what we have been inculturated to believe — farther is better (guess what, hyper-mobility actually causes scar tissue). 

We really think it's best experienced so give this work a try and have your first two classes on us. Sign up Here.

Here is what Vanity Fair thinks about Fascia Flossing.