Ok, here’s the deal my loves. I am about to be raw. Disclosure alert…our movement, stretching heritage and what we have been taught our whole lives in regards to stretching is “relax when you stretch” and “further is better.” You guessed it, it’s not.
WE NEED TO DELINEATE HYPER-MOBILITY FROM TRUE FLEXIBILITY.
Truly flexible means your tissue is pliable/elastic/ hydrated. So many studies show us that overstretching tears our tissue, the body repairs itself over night by laying down scar tissue fibers and then you feel tight again. Oy! Beyond that, wherever you are super mobile, the body will try to find balance by creating restrictions (scar tissue) nearby to stabilize: that’s the nagging neck pain or achy hip. Once tissues around the joints are overstretched, they act more like an overused rubber band.
The kind of stretching we do stays out of the joints, where we generally become hyper mobile. We work with shorter ranges of motion and we work with active effort and resistance. We get into the belly of the tissue- think the depths of your hamstring, quads or traps. Imagine them strong and elastic, springy. We don’t hang out in the end range of motion where micro tearing usually occurs.
If you are not hyper-mobile and instead feel tight or even super tight, this work applies to you in the same way: resistance and elongation will make your tissue elastic. Everyone will gain range that is functional, sustainable and makes you feel comfortable in your body by harmonizing imbalances.
Fascia Flossing helps balance you out by use of engaged stretching, moving stagnation and unwinding your most restricted connective tissue.
You stretch with healthy resistance to internally exfoliate your tissue from the inside out. It’s just like how animals stretch. They engage while they elongate- watch them, they know what’s up. Make use of the Chinese Meridian roadmap to understand how our organs relate to muscular fascial lines: it’s a fun lense for more self discovery!
Bonnie Crotzer, Dancer, yoga teacher, body worker and owner of Ghostflower Activewear. She currently offers livestream privates and classes MWF 9:15amPST For further information Bonnie.crotzer@ghostflower.com IG: @bonzsi @ghostfloweractive