About Fascia or Connective Tissue
Fascia is all the rage these days in the bodywork world. In fact, in November of 2007, the second facial research congress was held at the Harvard Medical School. We in the bodywork field were elated to attend an entire conference about the research that's happening on fascia!
So, what is it? Fascia holds everything in your body together. Every single part of every part of you is wrapped in fascia. It surrounds every bone, organ and muscle. Your tendons and ligaments are actually thickened forms of fascia.
The reason that fascia needs to be addressed is because it can become damaged, stuck, torn, or dried out. Because it's everywhere in the body, it's also all connected . That means that when one area of fascia is not in its optimal state, it can compromise the body at that spot or maybe somewhere else in the body. A useful visual is to picture a tee-shirt hanging on someone's body. If you twist the material in one place, eventually, it will begin to pull the entire shirt.
There are many approaches to how to work fascia, some very intense, such as Rolfing, and some very gentle. Some people may gravitate towards certain approaches and Tamar actually uses a variety of approaches. It is also possible that certain parts of peoples' bodies may respond better to one approach or another. It's even possible that the same area will respond differently on different days. Unlike massage, fascial work addresses every part of the body because it is all connected and it is, in fact what connects everything. It is usually done with less lubricant and is often slower than massage. The benefits can be to free up restrictions in the body that are causing pain or tension or reducing your ability to move freely.