Understanding Fascia: A Practical Guide for Yoga Teachers {Part II}
If you’ve started with this blog, pause, and go back to read part 1 so you’re all up-to-date on fascia!
Now that you have an in-depth understanding of what fascia is and why it is so important to have an understanding about it, I want to give you a practical example of how we can feel fascia within the body- and the differences we can make with yoga.
Firstly, start with a gentle forward fold (any kind of), stay for a moment, just long enough to notice the differences between the right and the left leg and notice where your posterior fascial line is tight.
Exit the posture and come to a standing posture. Use a ball or the edges of a block to gentle “massage” the connective tissue at the base of one foot. Stay here doing this, working through the fascia for a few minutes. Before rolling out the other foot fascia, come into a forward fold again. Notice the differences now compared to before, as well as compared to the other leg … huge right?
What has just happened?
You have used the ball or block to release the fascia from the base of your foot, which we know through the concept of tensegrity and fascial pathways that the tissues at the base of the foot, connect to the muscles of the calf, then the hamstrings, to the gluteal muscles, and all the way up the spine, ending at your occiput.
Hopefully this exercise gives you a practical tool to see how your big toe really is connected to your hip, your hip is connected to your spine.. and so on.
Remember when you are teaching that every movement is having a reaction somewhere else, use this practical to remember the vast interrelationships of the body and each of its structures and how we can have such an overall impact on the entire body through yoga.
Understanding fascia helps yoga teachers approach the body in a more holistic, integrated way. When we honour fascia’s role in our students’ movement, emotions, and postural patterns, we can teach in a way that supports true, long-lasting change—on and off the mat.
I hope this helps you use this knowledge to more confidently cue, sequence and instruct your students in a safer, more beneficial yoga class.