Amrita 6: Asana through the ages - Magazine - Page 51
A New Movement Vocabulary
“...we invite ourselves or our
students to move in a way
that feels healing, delicious or
wholesome, and allow the fascial
feedback to inform the practice.”
including some “shake it out” in your practice while bouncing
and feeling the rebound underfoot from the ground up, can
feel great and help restructure injured fascia. We can also explore dynamic, explosive “push-off” actions, from hands or
feet, bringing a playful element to practice.
Then we come to the collagen fibres which tend to become dense and “over woven” when damaged. Slow holds
and gravitational release in yin yoga can release fascial adhesions, which takes about 3 minutes. Restorative yoga postures also support fascial health, while the body may be more
supported on props, so less gravitational release, this does
allow the nervous system to “reset” to a more positive ventral
vagal state, based on the theory of the Vagus nerve by Stephen Porges.
We also know that repetitive movements, can cause fascial adhesions. As our nerves inform the muscles, our well
worn neurological pathways mean that left to our own devices, we tend to move the same way, time and time again.
Especially in a practice that follows repetitive patterns such as
“traditional” ashtanga or vinyasa flow.
Tending to a healthy fascial system relies on a varied
movement diet, a willingness to explore or be playful, to recreate, to shift habits and most likely a teacher who supports
us in this. There is a certain paradox as each one of us has our
own unique fascial web, just as we have our own finger print.
So within certain parameters we invite ourselves or our students to move in a way that feels healing, delicious or whole-
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AMRITA Issue 6 / Spring 2021 49
