Have you ever wondered why I always link “Fascia & Feelings?” Is it just because I like the catchy titles? Or maybe it’s because the key to unlocking your emotions is woven throughout your entire body. If you’ve been following me for a while or you’re part of our community, you’ve probably seen the phrase “Fascia & Feelings” pop up quite a bit. Today, I want to explore why these two are so interconnected and why it’s such a central theme to my work.
I’m Savannah Alalia, and welcome to the latest episode of High Functioning Human podcast, where you get to connect to yourself as a high-functioning human.
So why do I link Fascia and Feelings? If you’ve listened to enough of my podcasts, you may have noticed that I often start with a topical story and then circle back as to how it affects your fascia at the end. Sometimes the link is obvious, but sometimes it might be a little less so, but it’s always there. So what is the basis of this connection? Well, everything you’re feeling affects your fascia, and I mean everything. I use the word and to link the two topics, but really it goes beyond that.
You almost want to be thinking about it like “Fascia is Feelings.”
So how connected are we really talking? Well, when we’re talking about fascia, it’s a lot more complex than you might realise. Although we’ve technically identified over 600 muscles in the human body, every single one is interconnected through the fascia. And that’s what myofascial means, muscle and fascia together. So if you think about it, in a way, we have just one muscle because of this interconnection, one cohesive unit.
Beyond this, your Fascia has over 250 million nerve endings compared to your skin’s 200 million. Some scientists even call it our richest sensory organ, which I think is such a fabulous description. What a fun language to be showing up in a research paper.
Your fascia also affects interception – That’s the internal sense of our body’s physiological state – which, in short, means it can influence areas of the brain that deal with emotional states. Studies have categorically shown that manual treatment of the fascia activates the interoceptive systems and can still stimulate emotional processing. This idea ties into various ancient practices that acknowledge energy pathways. Energy work and meridians were often thought of as woo woo or esoteric. But what if the physical connections of our fascia are actually supporting these pathways? This idea is something I’ve known to be true for decades now, as I’ve been working on the fascia. But I love that science is taking us to these places now and it’s such a fascinating time.
Approaching your connection with yourself from both sides, your feelings and your fascia is so essential, because I’d actually go so far as to say that without addressing both your fascia and your feelings at the same time, you’re going to see little to no significant progress. You might even end up doing more damage than good, if you’re holding on to a lot in yourself. You also need to remember that this journey can take years because stuckness happens over time. If your fascia is habitually stuck, especially if you’ve experienced trauma, it will need repeated work, so you need to be kind to yourself. This is why my Your Face Symmetry programs are broken up into three levels, with the second and third levels bringing the importance of the emotional processing into the mix and some tools around doing this work together. Learning to listen to your body, really tuning into what it’s telling you is fundamental. Your body talks and it comes down to your fascia and your feelings.
Acknowledging this connection is an invitation to explore how your emotions manifest physically and how caring for your fascia can in turn support your emotional health. So the next time you see one of my Fascia & Feelings videos or emails, I hope you’ll remember this deeper connection. It’s more than just a catchy title, it’s a philosophy that recognizes the profound link between your physical and emotional self.
Remember, trust your instincts and follow your intuition because the world needs your voice and the magic it brings to us all.
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I look forward to catching up with you next time on the High Functioning Human Podcast. Take care and talk soon.
As always, I remain a cheerleader for your inner self-worth,
