injury Archives - Surrey Yoga Therapy

March 27, 2023March 27, 2023 by Vicky Arundel

My Top 5 Favourite Myofascial Release Techniques

Research into the fascinating world of fascia has been booming in recent years and our understanding of its critical role in how well we move and sense our bodies has led to a huge growth in interest within the yoga world.

In the past, fascia was dismissed as inert packing material by scientists. However, research from world-renowned fascia experts such as Robert Schleip is showing that fascia is alive with sensory nerve endings and is actually our largest sensory organ!

What is fascia?

Fascia is like a three-dimensional, fluid-filled bodysuit that surrounds and weaves throughout all the tissues of your body, creating structure and shape, allowing movement and providing a medium through which all your other systems (nervous, immune, endocrine etc.) communicate and function.

Keeping fascia healthy is key to moving fluidly, gracefully and without pain. It also plays a huge role in your capacity to feel and sense your body internally (interoception) and in relation to the world around you (proprioception). Healthy fascia is well hydrated, allowing for lots of slip and glide between the layers, whilst unhealthy fascia can become dry, sticky and matted. Healthy fascia is also springy and elastic which allows for efficient, energy-saving movement, while unhealthy fascia leads to awkward, jerky movement that can lead to pain.

How can I train my fascia?

Fascia loves specific types of movement which can be easily incorporated into a yoga practice. Here are some of the movements your fascia needs to retain its springy elasticity and hydration:

Full-body or multi-directional movements at a variety of tempos (slow to fast) – this creates different kinds of loading through the tissues keeping them resilient and pliable.
Shaking, bouncing, pulsing, jumping which helps to restore the springy elastic recoil of healthy fascia.
Pandiculation e.g., yawning-type movements which help restore the elastic recoil of the tissues.
Eccentric loading – movements that lengthen the tissues under load and appear to especially build resilience in fascial tissues such as ligaments and tendons.
Gentle, fascia-release and self-massage (see practices below) – with foam rollers, massage balls, blankets etc. This helps to restore healthy hydration and slip/glide of fascial layers for better movement.
Long-held passive stretches (e.g. yin or restorative yoga) which appear to have an anti-inflammatory effect on the tissues and restore appropriate length to overly tight or tensioned tissues.

Many of these types of movements you may already do. However, more linear, alignment-based, or set-sequence style yoga practices may be missing out on some of the benefits of varied, multi-dimensional and organic movement that fascia loves. This is an invitation to step off the mat and explore other ways of moving, breathing and being in your body!

Yoga Therapeutics and Fascia

In my work as a yoga therapist, I often help individuals with musculo-skeletal imbalances and chronic pain. I have found the inclusion of fascial training tools, especially fascia- release techniques to be incredibly valuable . I have seen first-hand the improvements in my clients’ body awareness, range of motion and functional movement patterns. Fascia-release training is a powerful tool for working with chronic pain as it can help restore healthy sensory messages from the body tissues to the brain.

My Top Five Ways To Release Fascia

Please note that none of these techniques should cause pain or disrupt your natural breathing pattern. Mild discomfort from tight/tense muscles is normal, sharp or acute pain is not and is a signal to stop or try shifting the fascia-release tool position slightly. Remember to roll on the soft tissues not on bone and avoid anything that creates neural type sensations such as tingling, burning or numbness. You can always put a blanket over the balls or prop to soften the sensations. I also recommend introducing a pause after each practice to tune into the body and feel the effects of the practice.

Abdominal massage

Benefits: Relieves tension and pressure in the diaphragm which plays a huge role in healthy breathing. I have also personally found this hugely beneficial for relieving IBS-type symptoms. It is contra-indicated for anyone who is pregnant or has a hiatal hernia.

Practice: Lying on your stomach, place a rolled-up blanket just below your bottom ribs on your upper abdomen region. You can experiment with the width of the blanket – I like a rolled diameter of about 2-3 inches. More thickness will be more intense so if this is a tender area, work with a very small roll and build up gradually over time. Take some slow, relaxed and soft belly breaths into the roll, focusing on releasing and relaxing any tension in the abdomen on your exhale. You can remain still, or if you prefer gently rock from side-to-side to create further sensation and stimulation. Continue for 1-2 minutes.

2. Glute release

Benefits: This can be one of the more tender regions to roll but can provide a huge relief for students with a wide range of hip and lower back pain disorders. The fascia of the gluteus medius commonly holds a lot of trigger points (knotty bands of dehydrated, unhealthy fascia) and releasing these can create widespread relief throughout the whole pelvis and lower back region.

Practice: Lie on your back and take your right ankle over your left thigh for a variation of supine pigeon. Place the fascia-release ball or a pair of rolled-up socks just to the outside edge of the upper hip – then lean or tilt your pelvis over to the right to place more weight onto the tool. You may need to play around with the position slightly to find a sore, tender trigger point. Once you’ve found something, stay and breathe for 30-45 seconds. Then release and try to find another spot. Continue for 2-3 minutes and then switch sides.

3. Hip flexor massage

Benefits: This can be a hugely relieving practice for students with lower back pain and discomfort. I also use this regularly for people who sit a lot for work, or who enjoy exercise that involves a lot of repetitive hip-flexion type movements e.g. running/cycling.

Practice: Lie on your stomach and place two soft to medium-firm massage balls under and just inside your frontal hip bones. If it is very tender you could place a blanket over the balls or use two pairs of rolled up socks instead. Rest your arms and head in whatever way is comfortable. Take slow, soft and deep breaths down into your lower abdomen. Focus on relaxing, melting and releasing into the support of the balls as you exhale. You may wish to remain still if this area is tender, or you can gently rock the hips from side-to-side for more release. Continue for 2-3 minutes and then release and just rest on your stomach for a few moments.

4. Upper back release

Benefits: The fascia in the upper trapezius (triangular stretch of muscle in the upper back) is infamous for its tendency to become thick, sticky, and sore and can lead to a whole host of issues including headaches and neck pain. This practice is contra-indicated for anyone with cervical disc degeneration, unmedicated high blood pressure and acute whiplash.

Practice: Lie on your back in constructive rest pose with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place two balls into your upper trapezius region, on the upper-inner border of your shoulder blades at the base of the neck. If very sore, this may be enough and you may wish to put a block under your head for support. If you’d like more sensation, lift your hips and slide a yoga block under your pelvis as in supported bridge. This will put more load through the balls. You can remain here in stillness just letting the compressive tactile nature of the balls do their job, or you can explore moving your arms about in space (as if conducting a universal orchestra!). Linger on any areas that feel helpful to release. Continue for 1-2 minutes and then release.

5. Neck release with a yoga block

Benefits: It can be very relieving and soothing for tension headaches, neck pain and people who do a lot of close-range focused work in front of screens. I like to do this technique using a yoga wedge to tilt the angle of the block but you can do this without a wedge by using the edge of a block. This practice is contra-indicated for anyone with cervical disc degeneration or acute whiplash.

Practice: Lie on your back in constructive rest pose with your knees bent, or with your legs long and draped over a bolster for maximum relaxation effect. Place the edge of a yoga block right under the base of the skull at the hairline. Note the block is on the base of the skull, not the neck. Relax your head, neck and shoulders completely. Allow your eyes to soften back into their sockets and relax your jaw and tongue. Very slowly draw a figure of eight with the tip of your nose in the air, this will roll your head gently from side to side. If you find any sore, knotty or tender spots, pause on that spot and just breathe for a 20-30 seconds before moving and perhaps finding another spot. Continue for 2-3 minutes and then release the prop and relax back into savasana.

Yoga for Fascial Health Training

If the above has whetted your appetite and you’d like to learn more about how to incorporate a wide variety of fascial training techniques into your yoga teaching then please do check out my 30-hour Online Yoga for Fascial Health Training starting this May 2023.

November 22, 2017November 22, 2017 by Vicky Arundel

3 Great Exercises for Core Strength

In my last blog post I talked about how to engage two muscle groups that are responsible for stabilising the lower back, pelvis and torso. The Transverse Abdominals (TA) and Multifidi can be tricky muscles to tune into as their engagement creates a more subtle sensation of stabilisation compared to the muscle burn we might be used to feeling in say a bicep curl or a squat!

Nevertheless these stabilising muscles play a very important role in maintaining good hip and lower back alignment and creating a seamless fluid transition between movements making us more efficient and less prone to injury in daily activities and sport. These muscles are also particularly useful to look at when it comes to rehabilitation after a period of lower back pain.

So now that you are a bit more familiar with the actions of these muscles and how to enagage them in simple postures (if you need a recap click here) let’s take a look at three of my favourite core stabilisation exercises that I use regularly with my clients:

Supine opposite arm to leg extensions

Start by lying on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor hipwidth apart and parallel in constructive rest pose. Bring your fingertips to the skin just to the inside of your frontal hip points. To engage the deep lower abdominal muscles, imagine you’re trying to narrow the hip-points and at the same time zipper the skin of the lower belly in and up towards the naval. The skin under your fingertips should tighten and draw down slightly as the lower back stays in a neutral position.

You will feel your breathe move more into your chest as the belly remains still. Breathing naturally and maintaining the awareness of the lower belly bracing on your next inhale extend opposite arm to leg out along the floor. As you exhale return to the starting position, arms by your sides, knees bent. Then inhale to switch sides. Continue to go side to side with the breath for about 1 minute.

As you do this movement avoid letting the hips rock or the lower back overarch or flatten. The arms and legs are moving but the torso, lower back and pelvis remain still throughout.

To make this movement more challenging, you can explore hovering the heel away from the floor.

Supine opposite arm to leg extension pose

Toe Taps

For toe taps start by lying on your back, bringing your knees up over your hips, shins parallel to the floor and the feet flexed, as if you were sitting in a chair.

Avoid allowing your lower back to hyper-arch away from the floor but also do not flatten your lower back down – try to find a neutral curve in your lower back. At the same time, bring your hands to the skin to the inside of your hip points. Feel for narrowing the frontal hip points and drawing the lower belly in and up. Both these actions will ensure that the transverse abdominals and the multifidi are switching on.

Inhale, and as you exhale lower your right foot towards the floor, tapping the toes whilst keeping the knee bent and minimising any movment in the lower back or hips. On an inhale return to the starting position. Continue going side-to-side for about 1 minute.

If this proves difficult to control and your lower back is starting to over-arch or your abdominals start to bulge out, explore not lowering the legs as far, maybe hovering the foot a few inches from the floor as you lower.

Alternatively if this becomes easy and you want more challenge try straightening out the leg that you lower, floating the leg 1-2 inches off the floor, all the while keeping your lower back, hips and torso still and steady.

Toe Taps

Bird-dog

Start in an all-fours position. Knees hip-width apart and hands under your shoulders with the fingers spread and knuckles rooting into the mat. Gently draw the shoulder blades down the back away from your ears.

Feel for bringing your spine into a neutral position (use a mirror if needed) with its natural, neutral curves intact. Become aware of a long line of energy from the crown of your head out to your tailbone.

To engage the the lower abdominal muscles imagine you are narrowing your waist as if to tie up a belt a couple of extra notches, and at the same time zipper the lower belly from the pubic bone up to the naval. Maintain this abdominal bracing as you continue to breathe steadily in and out through your nose.

Keeping your lower back long in neutral (don’t allow it to overarch), on an inhale slide your right leg back behind you. Lift the leg only as far as you can whilst maintaining length in your lower back and keeping your hips square to the floor.

For more challenge you can reach the opposite arm forwards, spinning the palm to face inwards (like you’re going to shake someone’s hand) keeping the shoulders away from the ears.

Hold for 5 breaths. As you next exhale lower the right leg (and arm if lifted) back to the starting position. Inhale to switch sides. You can also vary this work by moving more fluidly with the breath, going side-to-side for about 1 minute.