I'm a Fascia-ist
Is it me, or is staying-vigilant-for-the-spread-of-fascism starting to feel like a part-time job? On the eve of a new year that is bound to be rife with these themes, I had to take some time to think about why.
I spent the last week of 2023 ruminating on the words "fascist" and "fascia" and here's what I've come to:
Fascism thinks that which binds us together is also that which can be centrally controlled. But my experience with fascia tells me otherwise.
It is indeed a unifying layer below the skin, an enveloping membrane that holds the muscles and organs of our bodies together, but its unity is distributed. Pull fascia tight in one place and you don't get control, you get nerve pain and limited movement, often in multiple locations.
This is what happens with injuries and scar tissue: the fascia bunches up to protect the wound, but doesn’t always remember to clock out when the healing is done.
Imagine the myriad wounds inflicted throughout history—they have no doubt created a Jackson Pollock-like terrain of scar tissue in our collective emotional body. When fascism comes along to ratchet up the tensions on these wounds, it can feel natural to mirror that gesture by pulling back into a protective stance, but this only limits our movement and increases our pain.
What happens if we respond by relaxing?
As we see both fascism/fear of fascism intensifying (which will no doubt continue over the next 10 months), what if we respond by recognizing when old wounds are being activated and do deep tissue work to release the protective stance of the membrane around the scar tissue?
My hunch is that this would result in increased blood flow, increased movement and diminished pain, all of which are required to keep our literal bodies, and our emotional bodies, healthy and nimble for the strange days that lie ahead.
True and lasting relaxation requires effort and some level of discomfort, as anyone who has received deep tissue massage, myofascial release therapy or the pummeling of a massage gun knows.
In this era of ratcheting chaos, what can you bring to your conversations, your comments, your practices, your presence that massage-guns the tension held in your local energetic field?
This might be a little intense, a little relentless, and slightly painful, but the discomfort is worth it when you know the benefits of tenderizing, and the effort isn't any more work than the constant vigilance we are otherwise engaged in, though with exponentially greater benefits.
So, as 2024 begins, my wish is that the coming year brings you quantum-level relaxation in the face of mounting tensions and an increased threshold for any temporary discomfort that ultimately leads to greater, lasting relief for you and everyone in your field.
photo credit: Jill Allyn Peterson, 2020