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Healing Our Connective Tissue
by Mara Hagglund
“Connective tissue wraps virtually every other tissue formation in our bodies. If everything else were removed, the network of empty connective tissue compartments would preserve our physical forms in detail.”
~ Deane Juhan, Job’s Body
We are, in fact, mostly water. Did you know that every organ and system in the body supports in some way, containment, renewal, and the circulation of this liquid medium we call a human body?
This extracellular matrix of connective tissue in the body makes up the body’s soft tissue framework. It runs everywhere - within and around all the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, nerves, blood vessels, organs. Every part of our body is supported, connected, and anchored to the other by this delicate web of tissue, and its ‘connective’ qualities cannot be overstated. We are literally wrapped up in connective tissue.
The connective tissue in its healthiest and most ideal state – allows for expansive, free fluid movements, supports our posture and the various body systems to work harmoniously, all the way through from the inside out. Energy flows through the connective tissue which can be visualized as a river flowing everywhere throughout the entire body.
Although our organs are genetically created, as we develop they are continuously modified when they are stressed and strained. The quality of the connective tissue in our body holds a direct relationship with our overall level of health and well-being. Often when we feel anxious, stressed, unwell, lacking vitality or well-being, some form of tension, tightness, or stress is present within our connective tissue, affecting the natural and harmonious flow of energy and the proper functioning of the various body systems.
In an unhealthy state it can form a dry, tough inflexible network, and becomes restricted with disuse - less activity, less nimble, it becomes colder and less energized, even in a young adult. The soft-gel-like quality loses its free fluid movement and softness. Traumas and disuse to any part of the body will cause it to lose movement to some degree. It can even cause our physical body’s shape to change.
Maintaining our connective tissue to be in a soft-gel-like state even if it has slowed down with age is responsible for the healing of all injuries. It’s through pressure and stretching, and the friction they generate, and the temperature that encourages the connective tissue to become warm, moist, and resilient once again.
At the Backhealer we use a self-care method that applies pressure to specific muscles and soft tissue. This sequence of movements with a Backhealer ball is the most effective way to modify the energy potential of stressed tissue and contracted muscles. Using a specific breathing technique along with the pressurized movement calms the nervous system, re-patterns the brain, and increases blood flow to the area releasing muscle tension. This allows for a more supple body. Body-mind health and well-being depend on the warmth and energy we can bring to our connective tissue.
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