By Pete Whitridge
Welcome to the New Year! Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous year ahead.
As you probably know, I love fascia and focus on it in my teaching. I’d like to share a new book with you from a very entertaining writer named David Lesondak. He’s a massage therapist specializing in structural integration and the author of the recently released, second edition of Fascia: What It Is and Why It Matters.
David’s well written book is quite interesting and comprehensive and it’s available now from Handspring Publishing Ltd. The book outlines and highlights some very important aspects of fascia for practitioners and is not too technical to be suggested reading for your clients also.
There are eight very well researched, concise chapters that illuminate most of the current knowledge we have about the connective tissue system. The book starts small (at the cellular level) and takes you on a journey through the body using fascia as the thread that binds all systems together and that is inherent to all living organisms.
The publisher’s summary states: “From the new rules of biomechanics, biotensegrity, cellular processes, musculoskeletal issues, proprioception, neuroscience and cognition, somatic dysfunction and restoration – Lesondak deftly weaves it all together with a deep appreciation for the history of science, fine storytelling sensibilities, and a sense of humor as well as a sense of wonder.”
Chapters four and five were of special interest to me as they were focused on Fascia and the Nervous System and Fascia and the Brain. The final two chapters focus on applying your new fascial knowledge to your practice. These cover palpation and assessment of the tissues as well as the forms and styles of manual therapy that concentrate on the fascia, like the Bowen Technique, Fascial Fitness, and Stecco’s Fascial Manipulations.
I think you will enjoy this book and it will help you be a better, more knowledgeable therapist.
We will talk more about this text and other fascial references that I’ve been enjoying at the Myofascial Components of Neck and Shoulder Pain workshop on March 3-4, 2023 at FSM. It is always a pleasure to spend quality time with you at the school.
I hope you’ll join me for a wonderful bodywork weekend focused on the fascia, especially the tissues of your head, neck, and shoulders.
Register at Whitridgewellness.com.
