A few years ago, I injured my back doing something stupid in the yard. The low-back pain that I had gotten rid of with qigong suddenly returned, and with a vengeance!
Of course, I was still practicing my qigong, and it was helping a lot. In fact, I think I would have been in SERIOUS trouble if not for my qigong practice. I suspect that qigong saved me from back surgery.
But no matter what I tried, I couldn’t seem to eliminate the pain 100%. I needed a boost for my qigong practice, and for whatever reason, I wasn’t getting it from my normal acupuncture or chiropractic sessions, which I had done for years.
My intuition told me that the problem was related to my fascia. And so I started googling. Somehow, I ended up on Elisha’s blog, whom many of you know by now. I really liked her approach, so I booked a few private Skype sessions with her.
Through Skype, Elisha helped me to target and release the stuck fascia in my thighs and hip flexors, which in turn helped me to relieve my back pain. On top of that, releasing my fascia also helped me to level up my qigong practice! Suddenly, I was feeling a ton of energy down my leg meridians. Woohoo!
This April, my campervan odyssey took me to Southern California. Meanwhile, Elisha and her partner Stefan had recently moved to Northern California. So I decided to make the trek up to the Bay Area to meet Elisha in the flesh.
Sgt. Pepper and I pointed our campervan north and drove up the Pacific Coast Highway! To be honest, he did very little of the driving. Here’s a picture of him lazing around in the van:
During my visit, Elisha, Stefan, and I had a lot of fun. She did a healing session on me using her Kinetix system. We shared a nice meal. And we also had some awesome conversations about fascia and healing.
Knowing that people would probably want to watch our conversation, Stefan kindly agreed to film everything. I’ve uploaded 6 short segments from our conversation, which you can watch below:
Segment 1: What is Fascia?
Segment 2: The New Science of Fascia
Segment 3: Cellular Hydration and Fascia
Segment 4: Fascia and Internal Power (Neijin)
Segment 5: Fascia and your Nervous System
Segment 6: The Takeaway
Got a question for me? Go ahead and post it below in the comments section.From the heart, Sifu Anthony
Thank You, Sifu Anthony, for discovering Elisha!! Thank You, Elisha, for introducing me to the complexities of fascia and an inkling of the potentials for myofascial release!!
I don’t have any pain that’s a whopper (big gratitude there!!), but I keep watching for the silver bullet to “cure” my little kinks, cramps, cricks, and clunks … and/or bigger things for my loved ones nursing things like a broken wrist, recovery from a stroke, senescence, …
I appreciate the way you both present qigong and/or stepping on people … so much to learn!!! Namaste
Thank you both for this. The videos were so interesting, and the connections between the two disciplines fascinating!
Hi sifu
Thanks for this, I did some research after this fascia thing was mentioned and ive found out that yin yoga is for this. Il be adding yin yoga to my new routine once a week.
I read so far its deep deep stretching poses that are held for long and are aimed at the fascia and connective tissues as opposed to other yoga forms.
thanks!
Very interesting and puzzling.. trying to find the knots on my body , I asked myself how do I distinguish between a knot in the fascia and a tight tendon?( on the leg, or arm..)
Thank you!
OMG thank you for this blog. This explains why I hit so much harder than I should be able to.
Excellent. Thank you. Plenty of material for experiential contemplation.
I suffer with Osteoarthritis and Spondylitis. I found your discussions very interesting.
I’m glad it was helpful, Linda!
Hello Sifu,
Thank you for this post. It is eye opening and informative. I am learning more each day. Oddly, the word fascia presents itself almost daily in reading and conversations. I am experiencing some growing pains with SM, but am also starting to feel the river of energy flowing at the end of a sequence of three. Thank you again.
Sorry for the delayed resonse. I’m so glad that you’re feeling rivers of energy! Are you also experiencing health benefits?