Growing Pains
If I had tried this back in the day I would have fallen over.
Image Source
In grade school, I would get these shooting pains in my back that would lock me up. At one point when I was playing basketball I could barely move, my back was frozen because of something like a nerve pinch. I didn’t think much of it at the time, growing pains, but now later in my life I feel it may have been due to muscle knots, jumbled fascia, and improperly tensioned muscles.
Most of my life I’ve been sitting for long periods of time, video games, school, tv, desk job, eating. If you didn’t know, sitting and other sedentary positions are really bad for you. I think the reason it’s so bad is because muscles become dormant, losing their tension, which throws the whole system out of whack.
The reason why it isn’t just a localized event, where only one muscle is affected, is fascia.
Fascia
Most of us are familiar with muscles, but what do we know about fascia? Fascia is something I didn’t hear much about growing up, I’m not sure we really knew much about it as a collective. But lately it’s becoming a buzz word in the fitness industry, and for good reason.
Fascia connects everything.
Every muscle, ligament, organ, everything is connected by fascia. Fascia creates a complete system throughout our body, a unity, for biomechanical regulation: movement. Everything is linked in some way, which is why acupuncture and acupressure in certain areas can have a wide ranging effect.
Fascia shows unity in the body.
Image Source
One place I’ve noticed this is in my feet, I can feel how the knots in my feet link further up my legs and back. Another place is my neck, when I’m releasing knots there I can notice how my back posture improves or a face muscle needs to release with it.
Our muscles are really just names for different areas of our entire fascia system. They are great for communication, but what about for movement.
The ultimate goal of movement is neither relaxation nor tension, it is to become simple.
-DK Yoo
When we start thinking about movement or how to fix movement, we usually focus on a single area giving us the most trouble. We don't think that that one area works with the entire system, but doing so can accelerate our results drastically.
Where does one muscle end and the other begin?
(Photo by Arthur Lambillotte on Unsplash)
When we simplify things into feeling, we can learn where our muscles are dormant and where they are tense. Once we've resolved the issue and our muscles are healthy, we can start to become simple due to the way we perceive movement.
I highly recommend doing some research on fascia, I'll be leaving some links at the bottom that I sourced from.
How to Heal - Tension and Relaxation
In my own experience I've noticed incredible results in a short period of time from really basic exercises. The reason for this rapid healing was almost definitely a state of higher consciousness, as the times I've witnessed the most results were on psilocybin mushrooms. It put me in a state where the body was simplified, I could tell where I was tight or unbalanced, I could explore myself and find out why, and I could easily resolve the issues.
I realize this may be controversial, but I truly feel that improving our state of consciousness is the true key to becoming bulletproof, allowing us a clear view of our problems and solutions. This can be done in a number of ways, I recommend meditation as psychadelics are only temporary glimpses.
The few times I've hiked on psilocybin, I've witnessed amazing healing. The tension, for the most part, just melted away. And any that didn't, got worked out when I was stretching. This is the reason I now think stretching is highly underrated, it gets a bad rap because we don't know how to actually stretch. And stretching is a bad word for it, it's more like a re-engagement of muscle and a re-ordering of fascia.
The basic concept can be found in Bob Cooley's work. He calls it resistance flexibility, basically engaging your muscles through the full range of motion. I've watched a few of his videos, and his site is worth checking out, but I truly feel anyone can just use the concept to get results. This is something anyone can apply to stretching or yoga, you don't need to pay hundreds of dollars.
A Few Exercises
Ido Portal is an incredible mover and is sharing it with the world by training people to move better! Check him out!
Image Source
Every part of the fascia system has it's counter to balance it out, you flex, you extend. You rotate, you counter-rotate. So what happens when we fight ourselves? If it's just us and the ground, how do we work ourselves out? I've found pushing into a movement is an excellent way to re-engage.
A lot of work can be done with simple movement, for example being in a standing position. From a standing position, we can do a few things:
- The first place I like to start is the hip, I shift my weight to one foot and push out with my hip while trying to pull myself upright from my foot. This engages a large amount of muscle in the leg, and forces the muscles to fight/balance each other. Doing this, eventually you can find yourself upright with nearly every muscle in your leg engaged. I find it an incredible way to get your balance back and find myself in tree pose after, working my way up my back, engaging everything I can.
DK Yoo is the man, go watch some videos, usually he shares some of his wisdom about movement in them. Image Source
- Next I like to go into a squat. The problem I used to have was not engaging from the start of the movement. I'd drop 6-12 inches and make my muscles catch me. If we apply the same principle of fighting ourselves, using both the hamstrings and quads to balance eachother, we can find a ton of pent up tension being released. I find doing this works out knots better than foam rolling sometimes. I like to start the movement by kicking my butt out. Then I'm searching for muscle activation. Usually I have to bob up and down to wake the muscles up, then really press into them, especially my hamstrings. All the way down we're recruiting more muscle, by the time you get to the bottom you should feel like a loaded spring.
There are countless other "stretches" that I could go over, and maybe I will at a later date, I'd like to get some videos up for you guys if this sounds promising at all. Remember, we are fighting against the stretch by engaging muscle in the opposite way. The only things we need are gravity and a surface to push against.
It's similar to the concept of static contraction training in the way that muscles are being engaged, but you aren't going anywhere.
Here is an alternative method for re-tensioning muscle from Functional Patterns:
One thing to keep in mind is through this and other forms of exercise is:
Your body loves to be worked!
It loves pressure, it loves engagement, and it loves to move. The only reason we don't love to move is because it either hurts or it's uncomfortable. Sometimes pushing through the discomfort will increase our results, sometimes that's the only way to true results. Pain is different, self diagnose, then if necessary seek professional help.
Let's dig into ourselves and find out what's wrong! You are the only person who can TRULY know how you feel. Why are we relying so heavily on someone else to fix us?
I hope you enjoyed reading the article and found some value from it. I'd really like to hear your experiences trying out the exercises provided, and let me know what kind of videos you'd like to see! These exercises have been hugely beneficial for getting me back in a healthy place quickly.
Upvote, resteem, and follow me, @jakeybrown for more posts on consciousness, healing, family fun and more!
Fascia Info Source -
https://www.anatomytrains.com/fascia/
Great post dude! I definitely just watched more of DK Yoo's videos than I intended to....will have to try this soon! Back to work for now...
Thanks man! Dk yoo is amazing to watch, hoping to understand some of what he teaches with my own movement practice! I need to get back to practicing daily, running season is coming up and I need my hips back in order!
This is where I see health going, self diagnosis with the help of more knowledgeable resources, a recognition that most of our problems start from tension in the body which almost always starts from emotional tension. I’m waiting for you to come to discord, we have so much to talk about. I’ve basically healed myself from problems that no one could help me with through this kind of thinking and self experimentation
Emotional and mental tension really are bigger factors than physical a lot of the time, they are more subtle and sometimes it's hard to see how to work through them. The tensions doesn't leave til we address whats causing the tension for me
On my way! haha I might be slow to reply since I'm hanging with the fam this morning, but free tonight, just me and baby Mila
Awesome article man, I'm still figuring out exactly how to incorporate fascia training into my movement practice but have recently stumbled upon some systema exercises that have been very helpful. I've also seen similar results from combining cannabis/meditation/breathwork, particularly edible cannabis. Its a shame the stigma surrounding so many substances that prevents many from taking advantage of the benefits offered by plant medicines.
Cannabis is a legit plant medicine, I've used psilocybin and some others down in Peru, but cannabis is a staple for day to day, it seems to connect me to my body better. Hopefully the stigma is worn down over time and with newer generations!
A simple way top get some fascia training is self massage, whether from using tools or just your hands. Otherwise I think that really focusing on activating your muscles throughout a stretch of movement is a great way to fix some things. It's a subtle thing to stay relaxed and engaged and I'm still working on it, but when I get it right I get immediate relief!
Thanks for stopping by!
Great post, you know a lot about the body for a mechanical engineer but I guess technically the body is a mechanism too so makes sense. Wish I could give you more value with my votes. I didn’t know you had the pains as a child, don’t recall you telling us.
Thanks pops!
Remember I went to Joy for a bit for physical therapy, it didn't last long as far as being really bad, other than that I was pretty clumsy haha. I also had those ankle sprains from bball that I still have scar tissue from, but they've never had major issues since
I remember when you were playing jr high football and your back seized up. I’ve sprained my ankles so many times I’m sure mine are full of scar tissue. I wouldn’t say you were clumsy, you were big for your age and it took longer for your body to mature
If only i had some excercise expereinces to share! Well, I suppose doing manual work does kind of keep me going though I know it is far from enough. The body is fascinating, couple with consciousness - even more so, I agree the link is very powerful. A great comprehensive post - much enjoyed and appreciated.
The body is one amazing machine, it's our individual vehicle for consciousness! Gotta keep it up, I know I didn't do the best last year
you killed with this post, your best so far $$ wise.
This is my favorite that you've written so far. I'd love to see more on this subject. And videos would be cool too.
I've been on this subject for a while now, for about a year. I've been both reading in books and studying with my own movement the ways I could improve my muscle functioning and resolve pain as well. It all started with a talk that I had with a massage therapist friend who suffers from Crohn's disease. She told me about the Psoas muscle and all that it's condition can influence. It was really eye opening for me. And after that I began to research on my own, and as you've said, I found various sources who spoke of things like posture improvement from a daily yoga practice.
I do agree that we undervalue stretching in our daily lives. A lot has improved for me in small ways since I've started to think from this angle about the body. I'd love to hear anything you have to share on the subject. I'll try to watch all your videos as I have time.
Thanks for another great post. You definitely crushed it with this one!
I feel like I heal at night, then go back to work and have to heal again the next day... I also learned through pain, so much tension. I've heard the psoas is really important, I should look into it a bit more.
I'll try and get some vids up this weekend, just got a vidcamera to test out dtube.
I think the biggest thing is connecting, which for me means being present. Once you know your body you can push it in ways you wouldn't think to. Like when I'm stretching I find certain stretches difficult or inneffective, but when I engage the opposite muscle, whatever it is, the one that pulls or pushes against the one I need to stretch, then I can really fight myself at the proper level. Like even bobbing up and down two inches can help me open my hips.
I feel like this might be easier to describe in a video, bascially instead of stretching it's exercising the muscles through a full range of motion in a way that forces the muscle to activate
I get what you're saying. That reminds me of when I first learned the best, or proper, way to do a forward bend. I went from tips of fingers dangling to hands flat on the floor with just that simple adjustment. It's mindfulness. And presence, like you've said. I've done some scouring of youtube and have found some really good physical therapists offering advice on this sort of thing. Kinda just trying to heal and help my own body and gathering helpful information from anywhere I can.
Ya, it's crazy how a simple change can help things so much sometimes.
That's the best way!
Yeah, seems to be the case. Doctors are wonderful, but I think we tend to undervalue how much we can do for ourselves. If you ever get seriously sick, you sure can figure that out quickly.
Ya, I think that Doctors are kind of limited in some ways too, they usually have to handle things the same way and don't get to cross train much as far as I can tell. Med school is already pretty long though.
There is so much we can do for ourselves, especially preventative work :)
True, they can only know and do so much. And most handle so many patients. I think that's probably one of the biggest gripes they'd have, if we could speak to them on the issue. Not being able to spend more time with the patients. That's where we have to help ourselves. And preventative, for some reason that's a dirty word. Guess that's where the profit motive comes in, but alas.
Very illustrative your contribution, thanks to it I will take into account your application for the day to day, good post! @borcast
Found this article very interesting; thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks :)
PS. Using these concepts during yoga is an awesome way to get the most out of your session
I think I get it. So - it is a similar idea as 'pushing into the floor' in mountain pose instead of just standing there?
It works like this, kitty :3
Aaah! That is great. Brilliant idea to give the cat his own mat. Thanks!
I know! I love that guy's youtube channel. His kitty yoga videos are so cute.
Damn straight! haha it's a fairly simple concept, just re-engaging sleeping muscles, but re-engaging every muscle so that you move fluidly can allow spontaneous movement. Like when you're in a yoga pose, really pushing into the floor and gripping the floor with your toes and fingers really helps me activate muscle and blows through tension and knots. Try it out, maybe everyone is already doing this, but I think there is something these great movers are doing that I havent been, this is the closest I've come to finding something easy, quick, and effective
You got a 1.57% upvote from @postpromoter courtesy of @jakeybrown!
Want to promote your posts too? Check out the Steem Bot Tracker website for more info. If you would like to support the development of @postpromoter and the bot tracker please vote for @yabapmatt for witness!
This post has received a 6.26 % upvote from @boomerang thanks to: @jakeybrown
Hello my friend your article is always interesting, how to do that I can like you please help and inputs Review Hello friend of your article is always interesting, how to make it so that I can like you please help and input
Wish I had seen this sooner so it wouldn’t have helped your payout, but I’m resteeming anyway. (Doh! I always forget we can’t resteem after payout :/) This is a solid post. I’m a runner and a coach, and I’m leading a 5k training program here on Steemit and your post will be a great resource for people following along. I have never hiked on a substance like psilocybin but I can imagine it would have the effect you describe. Since I’m a high school coach I’m definitely not going to recommend that to my kids :), but I’d like to learn more about how to develop that type of body awareness.
No worries!
Lol ya, that might not go over well. It's really too bad about the stigma against psychadelics since in my view they are an incredible tool for raising consciousness.
I've been looking into developing the body awareness through meditation with moderate results, I may try to do a post on that soon, though putting it into words could be a challenge. People always say to be present, and I think that's a big part of it, otherwise we are just referencing our most recent movement from the past, so we are stuck in our thoughts, a step behind reality
Feel free to tag me if you do take a crack at that post, but I will keep an eye out. In a way, I think running and hiking are good ways to develop body awareness, but not everything necessarily tunes in in that way. For example, choosing to listen to music while running. I feel like there is so much to think about that even though I love music, and it makes sense to listen while running, I just can't go there.
Ya, I don't do music while running, but I agree they are good for awareness. I think trail running is great because it's a bit more technical depending on terrain. I think having healthy feet and hips are two things great for running and two things that are tight or damaged in a lot of people who sit for most of the day.
I'll tag you or let you know, I got you followed to so I'll check out some of your stuff!