Can fascia hold and
release emotions?
It is a common belief, especially amongst
body workers, that fascia can store
memories. Many body workers and their
clients have experienced the sense that
old pain and trauma is stored in the
body. When worked on manually, old
“stuff” can be brought up and eventually
released. A physical sensation may be
accompanied by a memory and, when it’s
worked on, the potency of the memory
may be eased along with restoration of
the body’s tissue function.
According to Paolo Tozzi, an Italian
osteopath writing in the Journal of
Bodywork and Movement Therapies,
memories in the body may also be
encoded into the structure of the fascia
itself. Most people believe that memories
are, of course, in the brain. However,
because fascia is so rich with nerve
endings, Tozzi explains that a neuro-
fascial interaction may be responsible for
the setting of a local tissue “memory”.Thus, touch or manual therapy may
“unload” the tissue, causing a change
in neural input to the brain, which may
trigger the memory.
Tom Myers has been involved in
bodywork for over 43 years. He is
the author of the hugely popular
Anatomy Trains and also lectures on
the topic of fascia. He responded to
Tozzi’s editorial, remembering the
many instances during his own career
where “touch has seemingly elicited
memories of traumatic events (and
occasionally simply pleasant ones).
These memories are not always of
consciously remembered events and the
exposure and resolution of these issues
can often involve dramatic emotional
and physiological responses, followed
by lasting relief from pain or somato-
emotional ‘weight’ and occasionally a
total change of course in life.”
However, Myers believes that
“memory” is not the best way to describe
what is happening within the bodyand suggests reframing the question
from “Can fascia store memories?” to
“Does fascia contribute to awareness/
consciousness?”
The experience of memory is always
neurological whereas emotional
memory, such as that invoked in deep
bodywork, is a fluid event — a change
in the body’s chemistry (such as an
increase in the fascia’s fluidity due to
changes in pressure and temperature
brought on by bodywork).How to release fascia
It should be noted that there is some
debate over whether fascia can be
released through physical movements
and therapies (it is difficult to find
clinically relevant science to support
the idea that fascial manipulation can
actually alter fascia). However, many who
are researching the topic believe it is of
fundamental importance for a number of
reasons and they believe without a doubt
that the fascia can be stretched, softened
and released through certain practices.
I don’t know for sure that, by
releasing the fascia, the emotions that
have caused me to curl in all these years
will be released. I don’t even know for
sure that the fascia can be released but
I do know from my own experience that
profound healing can come from moving
the body in different ways.
Myers stresses the many ways
that show great promise in releasing
the fascia such as yoga, bodywork,
osteopathy, chiropractic and Alexander/
Feldenkreis. He explains that long,
slow stretches allow you to reach the
deeper tissues of the body and change
the fascia, like those common to a Yin
Yoga practice. He says, “The muscles
have to relax first and then the fascia
starts to stretch and release. And that
can facilitate the kind of repatterning
that leads to lasting release of chronic
holdings and, in many cases, a profound
change of mind and body.”
Your own body can guide you towards
a deeper understanding of fascia. When
you’re practising Yin Yoga, you can feel
the moment when resistance subsides:
a gentle unlocking in the body’s holding
reminds you to soften. When you’re
receiving a massage, you can sense your
body beginning to surrender in time.
And, when you glide your quads along
foam rollers, you can feel the tension
slowly increasing until it releases — and
you can finally breathe and let go.Jessica Humphries is a freelance writer, editor and
yoga teacher who enjoys life in the slow lane in the
Northern Rivers of NSW.When you’re practising Yin Yoga, you can feel the moment when
resistance subsides: a gentle unlocking in the body’s holding
reminds you to soften.Photography^ GettyImagesbody
FASCIA38 | wellbeing.com.au