Ah Jeannine... I so loved the relationships you drew between the entanglements of stuck fascia in the body, to the same in the world. When I was a craniosacral therapist I worked on fascia all the time, especially the stuck walled-off-by-trauma places that we called somato-emotional cysts. They needed deep listening to the body messages and gently stacking and aligning of the stuck fascial layers with minimum force (the weight of a nickel) and lots of patience, till the tissues built up enough energy themselves to be able to release. Later, working with EFT clients, limiting beliefs would gradually rise up from the subconscious, and with love and acceptance, compassion and patience, they could be let go of --- replaced by empowering beliefs that served the client better and allowed more of her inner light to shine. When we treat ourselves and each other with non-judgment, deep love and compassion, we facilitate our own and each other's healing. That amazing woman who paid for your groceries had it. No matter how dark the times may be, it is love that unlocks the tight miserable places, encouraging better flow and creativity in our lives and in the world. Thank you for this beautiful coherent story --- may it be so!
Jeannine, I loved this. The metaphor of the world's fascia being coiled so tight, oh, I feel that, too. Fear and control makes our fascia seize up and there is so much of that in the world right now. I share your fascination with fascia. I am indebted to my yoga therapist Michelle Andrie, and the retreats she offers in Hawaii, for teaching me a powerful technique for releasing our fascia, simple yoga exercises but with the use of what she calls a noodle ball (six tennis balls in a knee sock, knotted at the end) on which we roll from our low back all the way up and off our shoulders, very slowly, feeling into where our fascia is the tightest, all the while "breathing out fear, breathing in love." She has written a book about it: https://www.amazon.com.be/-/en/Michelle-Andrie/dp/1958848530. She is among my soul sisters (we share a birthday, one year apart!) and I am so grateful for what she taught me about fascia.
I loved your story about the woman paying for your groceries, hugging you. I've experienced that kindness from strangers so many times. I am reading Elizabeth Strout's new novel, Tell Me Everything, which is wonderful, as all her books are, and in one scene Lucy, the novelist, experiences deep love for a man she sits next to on a train with whom she barely exchanges a word because they are in the quiet car. But they are kind and considerate to one another. Later she tells her friend Olive Kitteridge, "You know, I loved him! And I felt he loved me, too."
I love this concept of "fascia" or boundaries. It is complementary to the concept of systems and subsystems. It also reinforces a focus on processes. It has great potential for our use as creatives.
In my 22 years as a hospital chief medical officer, I worked at the boundary or fascia between two major systems: hospital management and the physicians. Such boundary work can be stressful, because such boundaries are where friction or conflict is prone to develop. On the other hand, such boundaries or fascia are where creativity most likely blossoms as well. It is right in our wheelhouse, my friends!
As a former orthopedic surgeon, I am intimately familiar with the anatomical fascia related to muscles that you mention. There are other bodily fascia or boundaries that are important too. Our skin, for example, is a protective boundary between our innards and the external environment. Our blood-brain barrier is a barrier that protects our brain from toxins and pathogens. At a cellular level, cell membranes represent another critical barrier. The myelin sheaths that coat some of our nerves enhance transmission speed of nerve signals. The lining of our gastrointestinal system is yet another important barrier.
If we move to the level of the Universe, we find fascia or boundaries there as well. For example, there are gravitational boundaries. These include galactic structures, such as galaxies and star clusters. Black holes and event horizons are also examples of boundaries at this level. Electromagnetic fields and cosmic plasma are other Universe-level boundaries. Dark matter halos are yet another example. Quantum fields, energy boundaries, and cosmological horizons are also boundaries. I do not pretend to understand much of this Universe-level boundary stuff.
The fascia you so beautifully wrote about is more proximate and more important to us on an everyday basis. This fascia is where "the rubber hits the road" in human-to-human interactions. This, I believe, is where we creatives can work to build anew our cultures, our world, and our planet in the face of our present crisis.
As we think about and plan our approaches to this creative work in light of the present crisis, there are barriers or fascia between we humans that present opportunities for us:
1. Personal space and physical boundaries.
2. Psychological boundaries.
3. Social and cultural boundaries.
4. Ethical and moral boundaries.
5. Empathy and emotional boundaries.
6. Verbal and communication boundaries.
7. Interpersonal energetic boundaries.
8. Professional and role-based boundaries.
Like anatomical and Universal boundaries, these eight boundaries (there are more I'm sure) have critical functions for we humans:
A. Protection and integrity.
B. Regulation of interactions.
C. Organization and structure.
D. Mutual respect and cohesion.
In short, human beings, like planets, have boundaries that serve as connective "fascia" between individuals. Tending to and nurturing these fascia are the key to the survival of our species, our societies, our cultures, and ourselves.
Thank you, dear Jeannine, for bringing this concept of fascia to our attention. For me, it is a torch by which I can begin to proceed to light the darkness we find ourselves in.
Peace, my sisters and brothers. Onward and upward!
Jeannine, your words wrap me in the coziness of the best kind of storytelling; 💕 the kind that restores Hope.
You’ve reminded me of what I believe to be true, but have been losing contact with of late (due to my own fascia’s long journey of untangling & the seemingly impossible events of this week).
We Are all inextricably connected. ✨
Of course we are!
Separation is a lie we feel from Fear.
If we take “scared” and just switch the c and the a, we get “Sacred.” 💗
Love is the Stronger Force.
You’ve inspired me to remember all of the promising work of the “HeartMath Institute” on Coherence & Heart Energy✨
To remember that
“Considerable scientific evidence points to vast, energetic, interconnectivity at the human, planetary, and solar systemic levels.” ✨
For anyone who’d like to be uplifted:
Here’s a link to a post Covid study with an overview of HeartMath institute “as a coherent, integral heart-based healthcare system;” with lots of links, research citations, resources, free app references etc. :
Argh! I just wrote a beautiful comment regarding fascia and boundaries. I was trying to do an edit and accidentally deleted it. I do not have the energy to rewrite it at the moment. Is there a way to recover such deleted comments?
Living with fibromyalgia for 40 years I understand the dysfunction and inflammation of fascia. I think of it as the connective tissue that holds our bodies together and lets us move through the world as a whole being. In writing, I think about the fascia as what the narrator adds to make the elements cohere.
Also: Jeannine- this is a relatively new “discovery” in human anatomy that also speaks to the power of interconnectivity in overall physiology. In a way it is to lymph and physiology what the fascia is to physiognomy.
Thank you for linking to this article Josh!!! I used to work in bone marrow transplant pre practicing as a therapist & histopathology was a part of blood & marrow cancer diagnosis (staging & grading & so on), having implications on treatment choices, course, prognosis etc.
Although this realm is largely beyond my depth, the microscopic cellular level of life has always fascinated me.
Post my own physical & other injuries after a car crash, I found- & still find myself digging in to how our body holds trauma (both mechanical/physical & emotional) at the tissue, fascia, ligament, muscular, cellular, & yes- interstitial level.😃
I have been studying the role of the Autonomic Nervous System & its sophisticated communication pathways, especially through neuroception and the vagus nerve.
Reading this research felt a little like magic meeting science, which I just Love!
It makes The Absolute Most sense to me that the collagen that makes up the interstitium “can convert mechanical force into electrical currents that may carry charged molecules through the interstitium.”
It’s like the communication highway & I think also- something to note- how the ‘spaces between’ are so important for the holding, the letting go, & the messaging itself. Like in writing and music; the power of the pause; the use of white space. ✨
I could go on for more than would be reasonable nerding out 🤪about how I learned first hand through undergoing sugar water injections how to stimulate cytokines- in turn-leading to connective tissue growth, & strengthened ligaments. 😂
Good deal - glad you appreciate it. Yes - vagus nerve in terms of trauma healing work is massively important.
I grew up weird so along with martial arts early I started doing reiki healing when I was 10. I ended up studying not only other forms of energy work and direct study with a qigong master but TCM theory and acupressure. There’s so much to the body and the subtle body for healing work.
Wow! I don’t think that’s weird. Unless maybe we’re working with the origin of the word- from the old English ‘wyrd’ having to do with fate & the ability to control destiny. 😃😉 Seriously though-I think that’s super cool!
There Definitely is So Much to the body & subtle body in healing work. Studied the subtle body a bit when I was studying Yoga. The body has been largely left out of the conversation in traditional mental health therapy until recently- and Even Still- I believe it needs Much More play.
I love the thought of love, like fascia, holding humanity together.
I've dissected enough animals in advanced biology class to know how tough and how elastic fascia can be and to understand how it holds organisms together.
Thank you for this amazing post, Jeannine. I really needed it today, like so many others around the world. You reminded of my father, untangling a mess of blue wool for me when I was a very small child and learning to knit. Dad showed me that if there is a tangle, the best way to deal with it is slowly, patiently and without making any knot tighter. Once the first couple of knots are sorted out, or even a bit looser, the whole becomes more manageable.
Thank you, Jeannine, for reminding me of fascia... and that the world has fascia! I do a thing called the Melt Method, which works physically on one's fascia, to try to help those inevitable knots loosen up and fall away... but I needed these words tonight... I've not been able to commit to a regular writing habit due to lack of time: I work, plus care for my disabled spouse, so my "free" time is only when I awaken in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep! Not the best time to be awake. But, I was in a memoir writing class a couple of years ago, but had to give it up because of the demands in my life... I have continued to write bits here and there, but hope to one day be able to get back to the writing.
Witnessing you in this and sending light and love. 💕 (I have not heard of Melt Method but will look into this).
I have been doing an inordinate amount of care providing myself these last few years; (most unexpectedly in the case of some) & what you’ve shared resonates. Thank you.
Thank you, Jeannine, for these beautiful reminders.
So often the alchemy of your voice brings sweet relief and let’s keep moving through untying one knot at a time in this wild Charlotte’s Web of imaginings and being human.
Thank you for helping me undo this tiny little knot in my heart. I'm blubbering quite hard at work now lol.. which doesn't bode well for me lol, but they'll just have to deal with my tear stained face. Thank you 1000 times. Xoxo I think I can let some of the madness go to make room for everything else. <3
You have written a piece of beauty that I learned from, that connected me to good people and good community. Thank you for reaching beyond, and as always for reminding me that darkness is encased in light.
Ah Jeannine... I so loved the relationships you drew between the entanglements of stuck fascia in the body, to the same in the world. When I was a craniosacral therapist I worked on fascia all the time, especially the stuck walled-off-by-trauma places that we called somato-emotional cysts. They needed deep listening to the body messages and gently stacking and aligning of the stuck fascial layers with minimum force (the weight of a nickel) and lots of patience, till the tissues built up enough energy themselves to be able to release. Later, working with EFT clients, limiting beliefs would gradually rise up from the subconscious, and with love and acceptance, compassion and patience, they could be let go of --- replaced by empowering beliefs that served the client better and allowed more of her inner light to shine. When we treat ourselves and each other with non-judgment, deep love and compassion, we facilitate our own and each other's healing. That amazing woman who paid for your groceries had it. No matter how dark the times may be, it is love that unlocks the tight miserable places, encouraging better flow and creativity in our lives and in the world. Thank you for this beautiful coherent story --- may it be so!
This is gorgeous. I wish everyone could have craniosacral therapy. Thank you for this, Flo.
Jeannine, I loved this. The metaphor of the world's fascia being coiled so tight, oh, I feel that, too. Fear and control makes our fascia seize up and there is so much of that in the world right now. I share your fascination with fascia. I am indebted to my yoga therapist Michelle Andrie, and the retreats she offers in Hawaii, for teaching me a powerful technique for releasing our fascia, simple yoga exercises but with the use of what she calls a noodle ball (six tennis balls in a knee sock, knotted at the end) on which we roll from our low back all the way up and off our shoulders, very slowly, feeling into where our fascia is the tightest, all the while "breathing out fear, breathing in love." She has written a book about it: https://www.amazon.com.be/-/en/Michelle-Andrie/dp/1958848530. She is among my soul sisters (we share a birthday, one year apart!) and I am so grateful for what she taught me about fascia.
I loved your story about the woman paying for your groceries, hugging you. I've experienced that kindness from strangers so many times. I am reading Elizabeth Strout's new novel, Tell Me Everything, which is wonderful, as all her books are, and in one scene Lucy, the novelist, experiences deep love for a man she sits next to on a train with whom she barely exchanges a word because they are in the quiet car. But they are kind and considerate to one another. Later she tells her friend Olive Kitteridge, "You know, I loved him! And I felt he loved me, too."
Here's to love. Not losing faith in it.
no words, just tears. thank you.
Jeannine,
I love this concept of "fascia" or boundaries. It is complementary to the concept of systems and subsystems. It also reinforces a focus on processes. It has great potential for our use as creatives.
In my 22 years as a hospital chief medical officer, I worked at the boundary or fascia between two major systems: hospital management and the physicians. Such boundary work can be stressful, because such boundaries are where friction or conflict is prone to develop. On the other hand, such boundaries or fascia are where creativity most likely blossoms as well. It is right in our wheelhouse, my friends!
As a former orthopedic surgeon, I am intimately familiar with the anatomical fascia related to muscles that you mention. There are other bodily fascia or boundaries that are important too. Our skin, for example, is a protective boundary between our innards and the external environment. Our blood-brain barrier is a barrier that protects our brain from toxins and pathogens. At a cellular level, cell membranes represent another critical barrier. The myelin sheaths that coat some of our nerves enhance transmission speed of nerve signals. The lining of our gastrointestinal system is yet another important barrier.
If we move to the level of the Universe, we find fascia or boundaries there as well. For example, there are gravitational boundaries. These include galactic structures, such as galaxies and star clusters. Black holes and event horizons are also examples of boundaries at this level. Electromagnetic fields and cosmic plasma are other Universe-level boundaries. Dark matter halos are yet another example. Quantum fields, energy boundaries, and cosmological horizons are also boundaries. I do not pretend to understand much of this Universe-level boundary stuff.
The fascia you so beautifully wrote about is more proximate and more important to us on an everyday basis. This fascia is where "the rubber hits the road" in human-to-human interactions. This, I believe, is where we creatives can work to build anew our cultures, our world, and our planet in the face of our present crisis.
As we think about and plan our approaches to this creative work in light of the present crisis, there are barriers or fascia between we humans that present opportunities for us:
1. Personal space and physical boundaries.
2. Psychological boundaries.
3. Social and cultural boundaries.
4. Ethical and moral boundaries.
5. Empathy and emotional boundaries.
6. Verbal and communication boundaries.
7. Interpersonal energetic boundaries.
8. Professional and role-based boundaries.
Like anatomical and Universal boundaries, these eight boundaries (there are more I'm sure) have critical functions for we humans:
A. Protection and integrity.
B. Regulation of interactions.
C. Organization and structure.
D. Mutual respect and cohesion.
In short, human beings, like planets, have boundaries that serve as connective "fascia" between individuals. Tending to and nurturing these fascia are the key to the survival of our species, our societies, our cultures, and ourselves.
Thank you, dear Jeannine, for bringing this concept of fascia to our attention. For me, it is a torch by which I can begin to proceed to light the darkness we find ourselves in.
Peace, my sisters and brothers. Onward and upward!
Jeannine, your words wrap me in the coziness of the best kind of storytelling; 💕 the kind that restores Hope.
You’ve reminded me of what I believe to be true, but have been losing contact with of late (due to my own fascia’s long journey of untangling & the seemingly impossible events of this week).
We Are all inextricably connected. ✨
Of course we are!
Separation is a lie we feel from Fear.
If we take “scared” and just switch the c and the a, we get “Sacred.” 💗
Love is the Stronger Force.
You’ve inspired me to remember all of the promising work of the “HeartMath Institute” on Coherence & Heart Energy✨
To remember that
“Considerable scientific evidence points to vast, energetic, interconnectivity at the human, planetary, and solar systemic levels.” ✨
For anyone who’d like to be uplifted:
Here’s a link to a post Covid study with an overview of HeartMath institute “as a coherent, integral heart-based healthcare system;” with lots of links, research citations, resources, free app references etc. :
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8871721/
So Grateful for this community!
"If we take “scared” and just switch the c and the a, we get “Sacred.”" Thank you Colleen!
You’re so welcome🥰
Argh! I just wrote a beautiful comment regarding fascia and boundaries. I was trying to do an edit and accidentally deleted it. I do not have the energy to rewrite it at the moment. Is there a way to recover such deleted comments?
Yes, I just emailed it to you, because I had an email notification for it with the text in it!
Thank you.
Living with fibromyalgia for 40 years I understand the dysfunction and inflammation of fascia. I think of it as the connective tissue that holds our bodies together and lets us move through the world as a whole being. In writing, I think about the fascia as what the narrator adds to make the elements cohere.
This is beautiful. I love what you have shown me about fascia. Thank you.
Also: Jeannine- this is a relatively new “discovery” in human anatomy that also speaks to the power of interconnectivity in overall physiology. In a way it is to lymph and physiology what the fascia is to physiognomy.
https://www.the-scientist.com/interstitium-a-network-of-living-spaces-supports-anatomical-interconnectedness-71803
Thank you for linking to this article Josh!!! I used to work in bone marrow transplant pre practicing as a therapist & histopathology was a part of blood & marrow cancer diagnosis (staging & grading & so on), having implications on treatment choices, course, prognosis etc.
Although this realm is largely beyond my depth, the microscopic cellular level of life has always fascinated me.
Post my own physical & other injuries after a car crash, I found- & still find myself digging in to how our body holds trauma (both mechanical/physical & emotional) at the tissue, fascia, ligament, muscular, cellular, & yes- interstitial level.😃
I have been studying the role of the Autonomic Nervous System & its sophisticated communication pathways, especially through neuroception and the vagus nerve.
Reading this research felt a little like magic meeting science, which I just Love!
It makes The Absolute Most sense to me that the collagen that makes up the interstitium “can convert mechanical force into electrical currents that may carry charged molecules through the interstitium.”
It’s like the communication highway & I think also- something to note- how the ‘spaces between’ are so important for the holding, the letting go, & the messaging itself. Like in writing and music; the power of the pause; the use of white space. ✨
I could go on for more than would be reasonable nerding out 🤪about how I learned first hand through undergoing sugar water injections how to stimulate cytokines- in turn-leading to connective tissue growth, & strengthened ligaments. 😂
Good deal - glad you appreciate it. Yes - vagus nerve in terms of trauma healing work is massively important.
I grew up weird so along with martial arts early I started doing reiki healing when I was 10. I ended up studying not only other forms of energy work and direct study with a qigong master but TCM theory and acupressure. There’s so much to the body and the subtle body for healing work.
Wow! I don’t think that’s weird. Unless maybe we’re working with the origin of the word- from the old English ‘wyrd’ having to do with fate & the ability to control destiny. 😃😉 Seriously though-I think that’s super cool!
There Definitely is So Much to the body & subtle body in healing work. Studied the subtle body a bit when I was studying Yoga. The body has been largely left out of the conversation in traditional mental health therapy until recently- and Even Still- I believe it needs Much More play.
Jeannine,
I love the thought of love, like fascia, holding humanity together.
I've dissected enough animals in advanced biology class to know how tough and how elastic fascia can be and to understand how it holds organisms together.
What an astonishing piece!
I love your writing. Thank you for this insight.
Thank you for this amazing post, Jeannine. I really needed it today, like so many others around the world. You reminded of my father, untangling a mess of blue wool for me when I was a very small child and learning to knit. Dad showed me that if there is a tangle, the best way to deal with it is slowly, patiently and without making any knot tighter. Once the first couple of knots are sorted out, or even a bit looser, the whole becomes more manageable.
Thank you for reminding me.
Thank you, Jeannine, for reminding me of fascia... and that the world has fascia! I do a thing called the Melt Method, which works physically on one's fascia, to try to help those inevitable knots loosen up and fall away... but I needed these words tonight... I've not been able to commit to a regular writing habit due to lack of time: I work, plus care for my disabled spouse, so my "free" time is only when I awaken in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep! Not the best time to be awake. But, I was in a memoir writing class a couple of years ago, but had to give it up because of the demands in my life... I have continued to write bits here and there, but hope to one day be able to get back to the writing.
Witnessing you in this and sending light and love. 💕 (I have not heard of Melt Method but will look into this).
I have been doing an inordinate amount of care providing myself these last few years; (most unexpectedly in the case of some) & what you’ve shared resonates. Thank you.
And one tiny knot lets go. Yes. Amen.
Thank you, Jeannine, for these beautiful reminders.
So often the alchemy of your voice brings sweet relief and let’s keep moving through untying one knot at a time in this wild Charlotte’s Web of imaginings and being human.
How Beautiful!!! And I agree!!🥰
It’s true. It’s important to celebrate our teachers and our artists. Hope you find some beauty in nature today!🥰
Thank you for helping me undo this tiny little knot in my heart. I'm blubbering quite hard at work now lol.. which doesn't bode well for me lol, but they'll just have to deal with my tear stained face. Thank you 1000 times. Xoxo I think I can let some of the madness go to make room for everything else. <3
You have written a piece of beauty that I learned from, that connected me to good people and good community. Thank you for reaching beyond, and as always for reminding me that darkness is encased in light.