#10 September 16th, 2023 - Tension Release Technique

Clenching the fists and then letting go is a wonderful therapy to reduce tension. At first, it might not seem like much is happening. But underneath the surface, fascia throughout the entire body is at work.

When the fists clench, the tissues in the hands tighten. Meanwhile, the fascia in the hands is connected to the fascia in the arms which spreads out all over the body in many different bands and patterns. Like I mentioned in my other entry, I don’t know all the different fascial trains laid out by Tom Myers. But what I do know is that the extreme tightness in the fists, creates a sort of ripple effect of tightening and shifting throughout the body.

For one, this clenching seems as if this helps to shift and release tension in other parts of the body. Then, when the clenching subsides, and the fists opening up, an opening takes place. The tigther one can go, the more open one can go. The fascia is like a rubber band, and once the fists are clenched extremely tight, the fascia within them, and throughout the body must rebound into a more elestic state.

I’m sure there are other ways to explain the fist clenching phenomena. I’m sure it has to do with activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Perhaps it’s true that the nervous system is at play too, and operates in a similar way to the fascia, tightening into a high stress state (sympathetic) and then loosening into a relaxed state (parasympathetic).

There is also the practice of gagging yourself (not to the point of throwing up, but of activating your gag reflex) that is also supposed to put the body into a parasympathetic state. And I know, from experience, when this happens, all of the abdominal muscles clench, and subsequently must release.

Perhaps the question of whether these relaxation techniques have to do with the fascia or the nervous system isn’t that important. Perhaps there is a deeper inquiry we must explore, into the balance between the states of loose and tight themselves, light and dark, yang and yin – these states of mind and being that are perpetually at play, and have us in the throw of their game.

#9 September 13, 2023 - Songs of the Soul

Something interesting happens when singing a song. When the lyrics are felt and believed, when they resonate with the core of one’s being, the voice deepens. The body opens up, and the sound of the voice reverberates through the entire body.

A healing takes place. A release of stuck energy. The story being sung guides this process. It helps clear the mind and body and bring the singer directly into the present, to become a channel for the song to come through.

A powerful story that resonates with the hearts and minds of people, whether it’s in the form of a song, a book, a speech, or a brand, will also have this healing capacity. This transformative ability to help people get in touch with the deepest part of themselves, and bring that to life.  

#8 September 11th, 2023 - Sailing the Seas of the Mind & Body

With each breath, the fascia moves. It twists and turns up and down, and all around the body. Every breath brings a charge that activates the connective tissue and puts it into motion. Just as wind makes waves. The longer and harder the wind blows, the bigger the waves, the stronger the current.

Sailing the seas of our minds and bodies takes skill and refinement. It requires a captain, dedicated to their craft. Without a clear direction in mind, the winds will push and pull us in any which way. A strong wind will capsize our ship. A soft wind won’t help us go anywhere. When the sails are firm, and a destination is pinpointed on the map, then a strong wind will be a great asset to our voyage. And a gentle breeze will be a pleasant rest along our path.  

#7 September 10th - The American Spirit

At a time when the polarization in our country is at extreme levels, we need more than ever to find common ground. To realize that we are more alike than different. That in order to prosper, we must work together. Rather than shout across the aisle at each other, we must listen to each others’ perspectives, in order to compromise.

One party gets elected and strongmans all of their policies through, only to have them demolished by the next administration to take office 4 years later. It’s getting to the point where we recognize ‘the other side’ as a national threat, rather than our fellow citizens, with a shared patriotic interest.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has set out to heal this divide. And his message is resonating with Democrats and Republicans. The goal is to convince Republicans that they aren’t Republican, and Democrats that they aren’t Democrat. Reviving this American Spirit is essential to the health of our country.

The past few years, the censorship of free speech has been one of the most inflammatory issues tearing us apart. It was just ruled that the Biden Administration and the CDC did in fact collude with the social media companies to surpress any information that did not fall in line with their official narrative about COVID. All of the ideas and facts and remedies being shared and discussed by passionate and concerned Americans were shut down and deemed lies and conspiracies. Can any entity expect to function when it is not listening to and respecting the people that it claims to serve? No, it cannot.

Just as the body begins to die, and businesses begin to fail when it’s constituent parts are not communicating with each other effectively, so will the country. Voices shut down. The windows close. The breeze that once kept the flag flying high slowly comes to a standstill.

If we don’t remember who we are, and come together for a common cause, the Spirit will make itself heard. It is already showing us where we are going wrong, and people are crying out in pain to be listened to, to be supported, to be acknowledged as integral members of the whole.

Will we continue to drown out and demonize those we don’t agree with? Or will we realize that we are all part of the same system? That we are all responsible for upholding our part within this system, and working together with the others, to maintain its health and vitality?

Either way, the American Spirit will speak. Perhaps the real question is — will we listen?

#6 September 9th, 2023 - Health & Harmony

When you think about health, what comes to mind? Mental clarity, physical strength, overall vitality and happiness. There are so many different wellness routines and hacks to look and feel better.

Yet so often we focus on just one aspect of our wellbeing. On making our head clearer, our body looser, our energy charged up. Drink this, eat that, don’t eat that, smoke this, sleep like this, think this way. So many different tips, tools and techniques to improve our state. Not to mention all of the different molecules, hormones, and bodily systems through which these course.

But zoom out from all of the different body parts, chemicals and systems and you can see that we are one dynamic organism, an organism made of parts. And in order to be healthy all of the parts must be working in harmony. They must be functioning and communicating in such a way that they harmonize.

A car whose engine doesn’t work will not generate the energy needed to power the tires. An organization that doesn’t have marketing department may have great products, but may not have any customers to share all of that creativity with. It’s not enough to focus on one part of the organism, and forget about the rest.

They all must be kept in mind. They all must be re-membered. They all must be given the proper attention and materials in order to re-connect and communicate with each other. And when this happens, when the parts of the body come in tune with each other, the energy which lays underneath and within them all, can finally flow freely and sing its song.

#5 September 8th, 2023 - The Golden Rule of Being

The other day I was taking a hike through the woods, and as I touched the moss on the old winding tree I thought – what if we treating everything like a person?

Now, this could mean a lot of things, as we know we don’t always treat people that nice. How would we like to be treated by others? Perhaps that’s the standard we should use, when thinking about how we should treat other people, and by this idea I’m proposing -- how we should treat everything.

It’s the golden rule, that has been taught and lived by the sages since ancient times. A quick search on Google calls it the ‘most culturally universal ethical tenet in human history’. Yet what if we expanded it out beyond the realm of culture, and humanity? Because after all, like I mentioned in the last entry, at our core we are all energy. In essence, you could say, we are all one. And this includes not just the energy of humanity, but permeates the energy of all things, living and ‘non-living’.

So this goes deeper than personhood, and into the nature of being itself. Anything that is, that is part of this existence, is being within and of the fabric. So what if we acknowledged the ‘being-ness’ of everything, and treated it how we would like our ‘being’ to be treated. What a more intimate place this world would be.  

#4 September 7th, 2023 - Quantum Ground

Quantum physics says that everything at its core is vibrating strings of energy.

That energy is vibrating in this sort of formless state, until it is observed, that it becomes a particle. We have this perception, that humans and plants and animals and the planet are all sepearate entities. And in a very real way, we are. We have distinct shapes and functions and identities. Yet when you penetrate down to the core we are essentially all the same, strings of energy, vibrating at different rates, along a spectrum of frequency.

We are exchanging our energy with others at all times. We are one with others, taking in others, giving ourselves to others at all times. This perspective that quantum physics provides, and that the yogis have talked about for millenia, goes a bit beyond the notion of the body or the planet as our common ground. It points to something even deeper, even more essential.

It doesn’t negate the fact that this energy manifests in the forms of bodies and planets. But it does indicate that perhaps there is another level of commonality that is important to consider when connecting with ourselves, and connecting with others.    

#3 September 6th, 2023 - Common Ground

Perhaps the greatest thing that we all have in common is the fact that we have a body. Of course, bodies come in many different shapes and sizes, but we all have one.

At some point in the future, some may say, we will not need a body. That our consciousness can be uploaded onto some sort of harddrive for eternity. But for now, at least, part of what defines being a human being on this planet is that we have some sort of physical, organic vessel that is anchored to the ground by the force of gravity.

As we see society and the world become increasingly polarized, we try to find common ground. But is not the Earth we live on, our most basic common ground? Is not our anatomical template, that morphic field that guides the development of all human embryos in the womb, another type of common ground?

For some reason, humans like to tinker with our foundations. Manipulate the planet to our ‘benefit’, genetically alter our foods and ourselves to live longer and grow larger. It seems that once we lose sight of our common ground, that is when we begin to disrespect it, to break it apart. It begins to fade away.

To remember and pay homage to that which we come from, that which holds us up, that which gives us life may be an antidode to the current malaise we see plaguing our world.    

#2 September 5th, 2023 - Fascia

Today I’ll write about something that’s been on my mind for the last year or so – the fascia. A not-so-often talked about but all-so-important membrane that permeates every organ and muscle within our bodies.  It keeps everything held together. Do you ever wonder how everything in your body stays in place? Why we’re not just a big soppy sack of meat and blood? It’s because of this gelatinous fabric that extends from head to toe, weaving around our bones that our bodies have a coherent structure.

I learned about the fascia last year when speaking with a functional medicine doctor about the tightness I was experiencing in my jaw. She suggested I do some stretches to open up my hip – that the fascia in the hip is directly connected to the fascia in the face, and that some lower body work could release the pressure I was experiencing in my head. All of these seemingly disparate parts in the body are actually held in relationship through tension formed by this fascial membrane, and therefore pain caused in one place may be the byproduct of tightness on the complete opposite side of the body.

There is a developing science that studies the different patterns of the fascia and how it weaves throughout our body (see Anatomy Trains for courses and books on the subject).  Just like the study of any other body system, analyzing the anatomical structure of fascia is very intricate. I started to read the Anatomy Trains book the other day and am finding it incredibly dense. However, mindful practices like yoga and Qigong are great for developing a first-hand experience and awareness of the fascia.

There is so much more to write about regarding the fascia. Learning about the ways that tightness originates and manifests within the body has been fascinating, and an incredibly healing process for myself. To learn that the pain I experience in my body is not happening in isolation, that it is often if not always connected with hidden tightness and traumas in unexpected places has been a humbling experience. Rather than try to fix or numb the pain here, it may be worth exploring and giving attention and care to that which is tight, there.

#1 September 4th, 2023 - Picking back up

This will be my first blog post in some time here. I’ve written one-off articles in the past, but I’m thinking about writing more regularly here now. What to write about? That is the grand question.

There are so many things I’d like to write about, from so many different realms of thought. Perhaps what they all boil down to though, is a sense of connection that I’d like to explore. The connection between the mind and body, humans and nature, our planet and the stars, and people amongst each other.

A sense of connection that we have in many ways lost sight of, but are forever in the process of rediscovering. A journey into the heart of our being is what I am really after, and it’s along the path where the different topics will come to light. They may include philosophy, psychology, biology, ecology, astrology, anatomy, you name it.

Rather than fully discuss each subject, my goal is to survey the invisible landscape in which each of these fascinating fields finds its fertilizer. And in doing so to create a reference guide, a map, or a lifeline that one can refer to when navigating the realms of life. My intention is to share thoughts and experiences that have been useful or healing in my own life, as well as concepts and questions that I’m currently examining. And in this way, this blog might be a place where we can collectively explore the nature of being, together.

As new ideas emerge and connections are reestablished, may we weave a story that not only sheds light on the fabric of our reality, but also illuminates our relationship with and our place within the intricate web of life itself.