“Fascia Flossing™” Is the Little-Known Secret for Improving Your Overall Health

What is Fascia Flossing™ and how does it work?

Fascia Flossing is the act of maintaining contraction through your muscles and fascia while simultaneously moving them into an elongation phase. Think of contracting your bicep, then maintaining the contraction in your bicep as someone pulls on your wrist to extend through the bicep.  This action is known to some as an eccentric contraction and/or pandiculation. To say it more simply, we pandiculate when we yawn and an involuntary contraction happens as you extend your arms wide. There is tension or resistance in the movement. You have seen animals do it when they pull their paws back into a “downward dog”, they don’t go into a position, and hold + breathe, they are engaging their tissues as they coax their bodies into a more “awake” state. 

This engagement plus elongation (pandiculation) causes a tensile force to be applied to the connective tissues, which begins the process of reconfiguring the connective tissue fibers. A fun, if not exact way to think of it is internally exfoliating your fascia. It’s not like stretching in gym class, we aren’t pulling on our limbs or joints like our muscles are rubber bands.

Our aim is to generate an internal contraction force while we are lengthening our tissue, in order to:

 1). Reconfigure areas of our connective tissue that have become adhesed, knotted, disorganized, and/or scarred so that instead of sticky and congested fascial fibers, with poor circulation, we recover the tissue’s ability to “glide and slide”, increasing circulation and better movement

2). “Internally exfoliate” or gently decrease overly dense/brittle/hardened fascia to upgrade the health of our tissue and our foundational structure

3). Enjoy the results, which often include better functioning organs, such as our digestion or lymph flow. 

For example, on a more minute level, imagine there is dense fascia surrounding a cluster of lymph nodes; the key here is circulation: optimal is fluid flowing in and out to manage waste/remove toxic, and nutrient distribution. If the fascia is super dense or hard it congests the area, it stagnates the lymph. We can think of a kinked garden hose, it's never that simple, but it works to get the right idea.  We fascia floss to unkink it.

At the more macrocosmic level, fascia is our internal scaffolding (again simplistic), defining our structural posture, how straight our back is, etc... As we fascia floss, our tissue becomes more elastic, pliable, functional and remodels our architectural foundation, how we feel and appear to the world.  The fascia controls the set-up of our bones through compression, tension, and suspension matrix, so as we fascia floss, and our fascia changes, our bones realign to a more natural position, and rotate better, etc., and our tissues are ready to perform any necessary movement without as much effort, strain, or limitation.

Is fascia flossing safe for everyone to try?

Yes, for most people, fascia flossing is very accessible for most bodies from our super tight tight friends to our hyper mobile buddies. As long as it is practiced properly, it is as safe as walking, or yoga, or anything else.  Of course, some people have certain medical conditions where they should check with their doctor before doing any movement exercise (recent surgeries, etc.). 

We are borrowing this already occurring phenomenon - contracting while elongating (yawning!), and applying this natural process to the body in an organized, conscious fashion. This practice turns on our instincts and the resistance creates a natural safety net.  I usually suggest not to max out on your resistance, start at 50% capacity and then add on from there.  

How often should you practice fascia flossing for best results?

In nature you will find that animals, unless they are hibernating or injured, move and pandiculate daily.  It’s a part of their life. For Fascia Flossing, we are emulating that instinctive practice, but with intent and sophistication and understanding.

I would start out every other day and see how the progress and recovery goes.  It all depends on how much time you spend doing it. If you practice intensely one day, I might suggest rest for a day or two, depending on how quickly you recover, especially if you are just starting out.  In general, 5 minutes in the morning to do some warmup fascia flossing on your hamstrings, or in the middle of the day if they have been sitting, will really help to maintain a healthy posture and reverse the impact of working at a computer.  So, ideally, spend at least 5-10 minutes a day just to loosen up the body; students floss anywhere, in front of the tv, before bed, at the office, in a park.  The idea is to keep moving forward with the practice, so we maintain leverage on how life effects our fascia, and we keep slowly improving the health of our fascia, so we become more relaxed, limber, and move more gracefully and effortlessly.  For a full practice, if you can spend 30-60 minutes a day without any issues, but go at your own pace, we are all unique, and as with anything, regular effort produces lasting and cumulative results.

What equipment do you need to start fascia flossing?

Just your body and the ground.  If you have a yoga mat, or rug, it will make it more comfortable, but I like to floss in Central Park. We probably flossed as children when we pandiculate, but it was instinct, we are just picking up that instinct that animals still have, and using it as a science, a skill, to reclaim the potential of our human form.  Yoga blocks or substitutes 9two think books work!) are great too, or something to support yourself on for balance.  

Are there any potential risks associated with fascia flossing?

The greatest risk I think, is not fascia flossing. The more pliable, functional and elastic your tissue is, the more preventable an injury is, the less likely that repetitive motions will cause substitution or stagnant tissue. 

I would say the same risk that applies to any movement, be it dance, or yoga, or weight lifting, or stretching, or even sitting, applies here, in that, if you don’t use your body properly, there’s a risk of injury, so if you think you are fascia flossing, but instead you are doing something else, hyper-extending your knee, not contracting as you elongate, you could injure yourself. The risk of self-injury exists with all movement practices, so learn from a teacher and practice properly.  I have a lot of students come to me who have been injured through dance, like I was, or yoga, and once they learn the practice, they are able to recover, and go back to the movement practice they love. 

A first time flosser can expect to be sore though! Drinking plenty of water, a hot cold shower, a bath, or a sauna could help. 

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