January I tried something different with online OAY classes and went with the theme of “Anatomy Month.”

Over the last three weeks, we split the body into three parts – hips on week one, shoulders week two, and spine week three. This week, we put it all back together.

I need you in one piece for February’s theme…which will be something along the lines of Nervous System/The Body & Stress/The Art of Relaxation, although it’s not final yet. 😊  Any ideas? Shoot me a line!

As I was thinking about what to write about this week that fits with “putting it all together”, fascia popped into my mind. Have you heard of fascia?

Fascia is a type of connective tissue that runs around and within your entire body. In fact, if all of your bones and tissue were to disappear except your fascia, you’d still be an identifiable, three-dimensional version of yourself.

Every muscle, every organ, every bone is wrapped in fascia. You have a layer of fascia immediately deep to your skin, so your outer form would be maintained, too.

Your fascia is continuous throughout your body; it’s all connected. Which means your big toe is connected to your tongue. I guess that’s obvious, since your big toe isn’t hopping along next to the rest of your body as you walk around.

My hope is that by knowing your 3D fascia self exists, you’re able to drop into a more connected felt sense of yourself and experience your body in a new way. That is, in class we’re always aiming for a more and more refined sense of somatic embodiment. It’s fun, it’s healing, it’s healthy, let’s do it.

So, classes this week:

Tuesday Active Class
My plan is to chill out a bit on my cueing and lead you through a well-rounded hatha yoga practice. You’ve learned a lot about anatomy this month, so let’s trust it’s in there and just feel your body do the shapes.

Wednesday Yin Class
Fascia’s time to shine! Technically all movement influences your fascial body, but yin yoga is specifically about your connective tissues, so this is a match made in heaven.

Friday Gentle Class
We often do somatics or gentle stretching on Fridays and this week won’t stray from that mode of practice, but I’m not sure exactly what we’ll do yet. I’m looking forward to seeing how you’re feeling in class on Tuesday and Wednesday to inform what we should do on Friday.