Stretching is more important and nuanced than most people may think and can be one the best go-to wellness tools a person can use for stress relief. There is a form of resistance stretching that restructures unhealthy fascia in the body, which is often the culprit for keeping muscles stiff and weak and causing pain and injuries.
In addition, resistance stretching, or fascial stretching, can run along the meridian channels in the body and directly impact both physiological/organ and emotional health.
What is Fascia?
Fascia is the connective tissue penetrating and surrounding all muscles. It is the only tissue in the body that touches every other tissue. It also surrounds and penetrates all organs and bones.
Fascia plays a huge role in how strong and flexible muscles are. That is because muscles literally move in and through fascia, and it is impossible to keep muscles strong and flexible without addressing fascia. Unfortunately, many common and traditional forms of stretching and strength training bypass fascia.
Fascia also determines skeletal alignment, balance, movement patterns and organ health. Think of muscles, the skeleton, and organs as floating in fascia. Fascia is the ‘glue’ holding everything together.
Strength training, flexibility training, and skeletal adjustments done with a chiropractor all depend upon the health and pliability of your fascia. If fascia is not healthy the impact of these treatments will be limited and, in some instances, detrimental.
Under a microscope fascia looks like a three-dimensional web. It is essentially made up of collagen and sea water. In its healthy state it is continually moving, hydrated, and pliable. Healthy fascia allows your muscles to move with ease, your skeleton to rest in an optimally aligned position, and your organs to function optimally. All cell communication happens in and through fascia.
In an unhealthy state, for example scar tissue is unhealthy fascia, the entire body and physiological system becomes bound and stagnant. Unhealthy fascia and scar tissue are immovable, dense, dry, hard and dehydrated.
In addition to all of the above, meridian channels reside in fascia and therefore the flow of energy in the body is dependent upon the health of fascia.
Meridian Channel Associations with Stretching
There are 16 primary organs in the body that are associated with 16 ‘muscle zones’. These associations are determined by the meridian system according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). There are 14 primary meridian channels in TCM and in the Bendable Body system there are 16. Each of these channels or electrical currents runs through a ‘muscle zone’ in the body and resides in fascia.
A resistance stretch for the front outside of the thighs – the quadriceps – can improve the health of the fascia in that muscle zone and help increase the flow of energy or Qi in the stomach meridian channel and to the stomach organ. In this way stretches impact organ and physiological health. At Bendable Body, stretch poses are named for the organ that the stretch directly affects. For example, there are ‘stomach stretches’ and ‘lung stretches’ and ‘appendix stretches’.
Here is a list of the 16 organs, meridian channels and muscle zones in the Bendable Body system:
In TCM, meridian channels service organs and therefore impact physiological health. For example, a person with digestive issues digesting may have some stagnancy in the stomach, pancreas, small or large intestine meridians. An acupuncturist might put needles in one or more of those channels to stimulate the flow of Qi and help with that physiology.
In addition to each channel’s association with specific physiology, there is also an association with specific emotional states. Stress is associated with the skin meridian. When you do resistance stretches for the muscle zone on the back of the arms associated with the skin organ and meridian, you improve the functioning of your arms, the health of your skin and hair, your external immune system and your ability to process and deal with stress in your life.
Resistance Stretching for Stress Relief: How To Do It!
Resistance stretching is a descriptive term. In this method you are resisting the stretch movement. It is not like any traditional forms of stretching, yoga, or isometrics. All of these methods happen in the end range of the stretch and many don’t involve resistance – whereas resistance stretching starts in the beginning range and always involves resistance.
Other forms of stretching are concerned with increasing range of motion and resistance stretching is concerned with gaining true flexibility and getting muscles to work better through all ranges of motion. This requires a unique movement unlike any other that targets fascia.
When you contract, resist, and tense the targeted muscle group (remaining active during the stretch in other words), and you lengthen the muscle/s against that force through a stretch movement. That is, two forces work against one another to achieve dramatic results in both flexibility and strength. What's more, the fascia is targeted and there is no pain.
At Bendable Body there are 4 Pillars of a Stretch:
Pillar 1. Start Position (the muscle group is in a shortened or contracted position)
Pillar 2. Contract, Resist, Tense (the target muscle group)
Pillar 3. Maintain Pillar 2 and Lengthen for the Stretch Movement
Pillar 4. Release and Return to the Start Position
Try this stretch for the shoulders and neck and learn the 4 Pillars of a Stretch:
Pillar 1 - Start Position: Palms together at forehead height and elbows wide.
Pillar 2 - Resist: Press your palms and fingers together.
Pillar 3 - Lengthen for the Stretch with resistance throughout the movement: Continue to press your palms together while you draw your elbows together.
Pillar 4 - Release and Return to the Start position. Repeat Pillar 1.
*Try 3 sets of 6-10 repetitions and see how your neck and shoulders feel!
Watch this video and learn the best stretch for stress relief: