What is Fascia?

Fascia is a type of connective tissue that surrounds, penetrates and connects every part of the body, including bones, muscles, blood vessels and internal organs.  It holds the shape of our bodies and affects the body’s balance, strength, and flexibility.  It is the conductor of information and wholistic intelligence within us. 

Fascia is the organ of shape responsible for maintaining form in gravity. As such, it is richly innervated with mechanoreceptors as reported by Robert Schleip (2003).

Fascia is alive: it senses, it has complex fluid dynamics, and it moves.  Fascia organizes the person in gravity as best it can given the individual’s life experiences and genetics. 

The first layer of fascia lies under the surface of the skin (superfiscial fascia). As the fascia gets deeper, it changes in density, wrapping around muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments. Its elasticity, plasticity and resiliency gives it the ability to hold shape and yet still be pliable. When the matrix of fascia is twisted or shortened, it pulls on surrounding structures thereby causing imbalance in the body. This imbalance can be experienced as pain, tightness, or “stress”.

The quality and organization of connective tissue change in accordance to overall lifestyle, physiological responses to stress, exercise, patterns of posture, movement, and accidents.

Everyone on this planet is dealing with the gravitational field. Rolfers use gravity as a tool “[to direct] the flow of gravity by virtue of organizing the body as though it were an electric wire so that gravity can flow through it” (Dr. Ida P. Rolf). 

To do this, Rolfing Structural Integration uses pressure to lengthen and direct the connective tissue to a more efficient place along the body’s line of verticality.  Once the body is freed from fascial restriction, it feels light and balanced and can move freely and easily.

Further links:

https://fasciacongress.org/congress/about-fascia/

https://rolfing.org/rolfing/scientific-research/fascia-research/