Yoga For Releasing Fascia
by Kylie Bailey - Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, Journalist
For many years, the tissue in the top of my left thigh was so tight that after a long day of writing it was sore to the touch. Through working with yoga āsana, this tight tissue has now completely released and the skin’s surface feels pliable to the touch. This is because the yoga practice has allowed for myofascial release. This is an alternative therapy (usually massage) that acts to release tension that sits in the fascia - the band of connective tissues below the skin.
Usually when people feel chronic pain from tightness in the fascia, it is at specific points, known as “trigger points”.
In my case, it was on the lateral iliopsoas trigger point on the lefthand side where the pain could be felt.
The pain is felt in these trigger points because of the tightness in the fascia or connective tissues that surround and support the muscles and structure of the body.
Yet effective myofascial release works not by easing tension and tightness at these specific points but by working across the whole network of tissue that encase the muscles and bones.
While usually it is treated by massage, the reality is that any alternative therapy which helps to relax contracted muscles, improve
blood and lymphatic circulation and stimulate stretch reflex in muscles are effective tools for releasing fascia.
This is why building up a regular yoga practice is so important because of the way āsana can work to release the tissue that sits below the skin.
Normal myofascia should feel plastic and elastic. In my case, the exterior of my left thigh was so tight, that when you ran your finger over it, it felt like there were ridges underneath the skin.
Over the past three years of yoga teacher training, I have used āsana to effectively release the tension in the top of my thigh by consistently working to lengthen and extend the fascia. Today, I don’t have a problem with pain in the outside of my left thigh and while it still gets tight from sitting, regular practice means I don’t have the same issues with tightness in the fascia as I once did. This has lead to an overall feeling of lightness and freedom in the body.
People who experience chronic headaches may also benefit from the myofascial release that yoga offers. Interestingly, as a former sufferer of migraine headaches, my migraines have ceased since I began practicing yoga daily.
What is fascia?
Fascia is the fibrous connective tissues that sits around muscles and other structures.
Similar to ligaments and tendons, fascia is predominantly made up of collagen. These collagen fibres are closely packed and have a wave-like pattern in the direction of pull. This means that fascia is very flexible and able to resist great force pulling from one direction until the fibres straighten out.
There are three layers of fascia.
1) Superficial fascia, which sits just below the layer of the skin
2) Deep fascia, which sits near the muscles, nerves, bones and blood vessels
3) Visceral fascia, which is close to the internal organs
What does fascia do?
Deriving from the Latin word, meaning band, the role of this connective tissue is to attach, stabilise and separate muscles and other internal organs.
Fasciae are similar to ligaments and tendons as they have collagen as their major component. They differ in their location and function: ligaments join one bone to another bone, tendons join muscle to bone, and fascia surrounds muscles and other structures.
How can you use yoga for myofascial release?
In my yoga practice, I have found it to be particularly useful to always include three āsanas in my daily practice that help to lengthen and extend the muscles and fascia in the top of the thighs. These are Supta Virāsana, Setubandha and Chattush Padasana. I find if I practice these āsanas daily - regardless of how much I sit - they are effective at ensuring complete myofascial release on the lefthand side.
The other two āsanas that I always practice daily to release fascia are Adho Mukha Svanāsana, using two cork block height underneath the hands. This ensures that the lateral tissue on both sides of my legs (but particularly on the left) gets an opportunity to lengthen to full extension. As well as three-block thoracic work - otherwise known as preliminary Pincha Mayurāsana.
I have also had immense benefit from practicing asymmetrical standing āsanas, such as Trikonāsana, Utthita Parsvakonāsana and Ardha Chandrāsana, with a particular focus of practicing first on the weak or tight side first (the left side) then on the right and then back on the left so that the left side gets two opportunities to be particularly effective for myofascial release. Forward bends (especially using weighted sand bags), seated or supine twists, such as resting Jathara, and also the Supta Padangustahasana series are also particularly efficient āsanas for myofascial release.
Releasing The Fascia - Āsana Sequence
1. Supta Virāsana
2. Uttanāsana
3. Adhomukha Svanāsana (two cork block height under the hands)
4. Supported Pincha Mayurāsana (using three blocks - foam and two corks - and walking
the top of the thoracic spine into the three blocks)
5. Supported Salamba Sīrsāsana (back against the wall )
6. Prasārita Pādōttānāsana
7. Trikonāsana (on the left first, then the right and then back on the left - the tight side)
8. Utthita Parsvakonāsana
9. Ardha Chandrāsana
10. Pavritta Parsvakonāsana
11. Setu Bandhāsana (for five minutes - using cork block under sacrum at third height)
12. Mulabhandāsana
13. Janu Sirāsana (on the left, then right, then left or long holds on the left with weight on
the top thigh)
14. Trianga Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana
15. Supta Padangustahāsana I
16. Supta Padangustahāsana II
18. Supta Padangustahāsana III (the twist is especially good for myofascial release)
19. Marichyāsana I
20. Ardha Matsyendrāsana
21. Chattush Padāsana (using a chair)
22. Setubandha Savangāsana (using chair)
23. Supta Baddha Konasana
24. Resting Jathara Parivatanasana