What’s happening at CorpoStudio.in?
We start this seasons newsletter off with some great news! We are very pleased to announce that Debora has passed her Pilates Matwork exam with flying colours, well done and congratulations Debora!
Coming up after Easter Holly is organising a workshop on Myofascia release using a foam roller and a tennis ball. This is a great technique that really helps to unlock your bodies potential, create more mobility and reduce tension. To find out more about fascia, what it is and what role it plays in the body check out the ‘Helpful Tips’ section below. To reserve a place on the workshop see Holly directly, spaces will be limited so spring into action now!
Delicious Recipe
CREAMY BEANS AND BLACK CABBAGE
Once you discover beans cooked in this way, you will no longer be able to do without it! Thanks to @dilettasecco
INGREDIENTS:
* Boiled black cabbage 200g
* 250g cannellini beans
* 1 leek
* 2 cloves of garlic
* Peeled tomatoes 200g (Cherry or datterino tomatoes)
* 1 tablespoon Mascarpone
* Oil and pepper
* Serve with toasted bread
For INSTRUCTIONS follow the link above and check out the video on Instagram
Top Exercise
Side Bend
We start seated on one hip, facing side, pelvis and spine neutral. Knees flexed with top leg laterally rotated, foot flat on mat slightly forward of sit-bones. Bottom leg resting on mat with foot behind the top foot. Torso is supported on one hand in line with the front heel, arm extended. Top arm extended, resting on knee, palm up.
Inhale, stabilise shoulder by pressing hand into the mat, and lift pelvis towards the ceiling, laterally flexing torso and extending knees by connecting inner thighs to create a bow shape. Free arm reaches overhead.
Exhale, flex knees and lower pelvis to mat, returning to the starting position.
A great exercise that works on strength, stability, mobility and balance.
Helpful Tips
The fantastic world of fascia
Fascia is a connective tissue that surrounds and holds every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fiber and muscle in place. There are four types of fascia which are all connected as one, making it a complex and beautiful system.
The four types of fascia are:
1. Structural – runs in long strips throughout the body and can be found under the skin.
2. Inter-structural – tissue similar to a spiders web that weaves between muscles, organs and attaches to bones.
3. Visceral – a sticky material that protects the organs of the abdomen and keeps them suspended in the torso.
4. Spinal – a tube very similar to a straw around the spine.
Fascia isn’t just a connective tissue but has other functions too:
- Provides support and protection against external forces.
- Helps transmit mechanical forces generated by the neuro-myofascial-skeleton system, which allows for coordinated movement and function.
- Plays a role in the movement of fluids such as blood and lymphatic fluid.
- It uses its sensory receptors to contribute to proprioception and sensation, which are again involved in the coordination of movement patterns.
Fascia is also a neuroendocrine organ too, which means it is influenced by hormones secreted in the body, making it a key component of the neuro-myofascial-skeleton system (NMF). Facia has nerves that make it almost as sensitive as skin. When we are stressed the body releases cortisol, the body’s fight or flight response. Stress makes the fascia tighten up, if you can’t switch off this response, over time it could lead to more stiffness and less elasticity in your fascia and muscles.
Dysfunctional movements (joints that are moving too much or not enough) create myofascial adhesions or restrictions or distortion, and sometimes creates all three. These adhesions, restrictions and distortions are dehydrated points in the fascia, that become a problem for the body causing rigidity and leads to discomfort, a reduced range of movement and sometimes even pain. Unhealthy dehydrated fascia impedes our progress to improve our posture.
When the fascia is unhealthy/dehydrated it attaches and tightens around everything is surrounds. This can limit blood flow, nerve function, the mobility of joints and even the function of organs. With regards to a muscle it’s also known as a knot, where the fascia is stuck together and balled up like duck-tape, hence it’s not the muscle that is the problem but the fascia.
Keep in mind that tightness in one area of the body can pull and affect another area, which if you have tightness in the lower back it could be a problem with the hip or the shoulder.
On a side note about cellulite, yes it’s the fat under the skin but what makes it look lumpy and bumpy is the fascia. When the fascia is unhealthy, it distorts, tightens, and pulls, and the fat bulges through the thin areas just like ground meat being stuffed into fishnet tights. To improve the look of cellulite you need to first address the unhealthy fascia. To know more on this subject check out The Cellulite Myth (It’s Not Fat, It’s Fascia) by Ashley Black with Joanna Hunt.
To improve and help your fascia function optimally, here are a few tips:
- perform a myofascial release regularly
- Move better, minimise stress on the body and ultimately the fascial system. Pilates is a good answer to this problem to improve your posture and move more efficiently.
- Get the blood circulating with cardiovascular physical activity.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY Stay hydrated, hydration keeps the fascia functioning properly. We are not talking about drinking liquids such as juice, coffee, etc. but water.
References:
Functional Patterns
The Cellulite Myth (It’s not fat it’s fascia) by Ashley Black with Joanna Hunt
Online John Hopkins Medicine
Quote & Affirmation
Quote
“All things are connected like the blood that unites us. We do not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”
Chief Seattle
Affirmation
‘I am Connected’
I am everything. Everything is within me.