Of the things I struggle most with about putting out videos on social media is the idea of short form content to tell you a big form idea. I get 90 seconds to teach you something and maybe you stay to learn more to watch another video or two. But maybe you go away thinking that what I’ve covered in that 90 seconds is all you need to think about.
I’m Savannah Alelia and welcome to the latest episode of High Functioning Human Podcast where you get to connect with yourself as a high functioning human.
While I love being able to share a technique with you to maybe improve your 11 lines, for example, the absolute last thing I want you to do with that technique is to spend hours and hours and hours obsessing on one area making everything red and maybe even causing some damage to your skin in the process. What I’d really like you to do is to think about the bigger picture. How do your 11 lines connect to the rest of your body? What is causing that tension in the first place?
That’s why I share the Face Map as a free resource, why I do these podcasts, and why I created the Your Face Symmetry programs to help you make those connections to your whole body rather than just a single part of it. Your body is sending signals through your face letting you know what needs your attention and you just need to know how to listen to it.
I recently did an episode on Tensegrity in the body and this is really a continuation of that conversation. The reality that your whole body is connected and in a delicate balance with itself, working as part of a bigger picture. There is a great poem from the 1800s by John Godfrey Saxe called the Blind man and the Elephant. In his witty retelling of a Hindu parable, he describes a visit of six blind men to observe an elephant. But the original version of the story actually dates back over 2000 years to the time of the Buddha. You can pick the version which tickles your fancy more.
The story or poem talks about how each of these men encounter a different part of the elephant and using the sense of touch as their basis, one declares “This being is like a tree,” talking about the elephant’s leg, of course. Another says, “No, no, no, it’s a snake,” after touching its trunk, another feels a tusk and says “It’s smooth like a spear.” One felt the ear and decided it was a fan, another the tail and thought it was a rope, and the last pressed against the side of it and said “This is a wall!”
And each man was so firmly certain that his experience was telling the whole story. The Message or takeaway of the parable is of course, that each man is partly right, but he is also kind of drastically wrong. And that’s because he only knows a fraction of the truth. The whole elephant is greater than any single perspective, just like your whole is greater than just your 11 lines or your jaw tension.
We little humans are detail minded creatures, which can be amazing, but with your body, sometimes the bigger picture is what’s necessary. Let’s go back to the 11 lines because I know they’re a place that can be so easy to obsess over. First, you want to make sure that you’re looking at the Face Map. Your 11 lines, if you look at the Face Map, are on the neck area on the Face Map. So that means that you also need to be looking at your neck itself.
Yes, it really is that simple, to begin with. You can ask yourself questions like what tensions are you holding in your neck? Do you need to release certain muscles? Does your neck move well? Are you holding your head in an awkward position? What are your throat and your thyroid health looking like? Do you feel able to speak your truth and then look at the whole back line of your body? Do you have any injuries along the back fascial line that could be showing up in your neck? Think about Your Body’s History.
Then, speaking of your 11 lines themselves, you want to be looking at working the fascia in your scalp because releasing it will allow things to shift in your face. And this will help bring the work that you’re doing down into your body. And you also have to help your body let go, understand why it got to this position, what’s holding it there, and are there any emotions held around that area? You might like to listen to my podcast on Thought Knots for these connective pieces between the physical and the emotional. I’ll pop a link to that below.
And this goes, for any one area that draws your attention to an obsessive point, if you have marionette lines, for example, you might spend hours going at those lines themselves rather than looking at your posture, looking at your pelvis, your psoas muscles and your legs. And you would be doing yourself a disservice because the energy that you put in would only give you temporary results. That’s where the elephant comes in.
I also do want to applaud the enthusiasm that causes someone to spend hours on a single area because dedicated time spent on fascia release can be life changing. And yes, it can change both how you feel and how you look, but it needs to be systematic using that enthusiasm as a force for good to unravel your own personal mystery.
Yes, you still want to look at the details, but think of the face work as a supportive piece, using the Face Map to guide you. You might want to join me with Your Face Symmetry, my program to support you in this process.
And next time you find yourself spending too much time on one line, remind yourself I am more than just a tree, a rope or a wall. I am a whole beautiful elephant. If you want guidance on connecting the details to your whole, the Your Face Symmetry programs walk you step by step through the fascia release in a way that lets you see how everything connects. You’ll find the details below.
Remember, trust your body. Stay curious about sensation because the world needs your voice and the magic that it brings to us all.
Jump on my mailing list to stay reminded and connected to your intuition. Plus some special things that I really only share in my emails.
I look forward to chatting with you next time on High Functioning Human Podcasts. Take care and talk soon.
As always, I remain a cheerleader for your inner self-worth,
