Muscles, Bone, and Fascia: Touching all 3, Focusing on Each
When I am giving someone a therapeutic bodywork session, there are different ways I can "contact" their body. I can focus my point of contact on either:
1) Muscles: This is what most people expect when they think about getting a massage. There are superficial, middle, and deeper layers of muscle. My experience has led me to believe that releasing tensions in muscle usually feels great at the time, and sometimes, that may be all that is needed. But I often see that that release of tension does not last, for a variety of reasons.
2) Bones: Contacting the body at the level of bone is one of the main aspects of Zero Balancing. This type of contact brings the person receiving the session to a place of deeply experienced calm. People often say they feel "spacious inside", lighter, more patient. This kind of contact also releases muscle tension - and this release often lasts longer than that experienced with massage - and restriction at ligaments and joints, and can often bring more fluidity into fascia. Contacting the body at the level of bone requires a different type of touch and focus than contacting at the level of muscle.
3) Fascia: Fascia is found everywhere in our bodies - superficially, in the middle layers, and deeply. It interweaves throughout our muscles, and weaves into our bones. The kind of touch needed to focus on contact with fascia is a bit different from that used to focus on contact with bone, and quite different from that used to focus on contact with muscle. Fascial release can often spread through the entire body, bringing release to muscles and joints, and the effects are usually long-lasting.
On my Facebook page, Bodywork Beyond Massage, I have been posting excerpts from Karen Gabler's book, "Your Body's Brilliant Design". In her book, and in many of the excerpts I have posted, Ms. Gabler writes about many attributes of fascia. Please see my recent posts on this page, or Ms. Gabler's book.
A Bodywork Beyond Massage's Signature Session focuses on Fascial Release Therapy and Zero Balancing, and often includes soft tissue manipulation (which is basically like massage).