Pilates Trains “Resilience”

I quote Thomas Myers, author of the Anatomy Trains, talking about healthy fascia saying “If you think of children, they bounce.  If you think of grandma, she doesn’t bounce.” Thomas Myers was talking about how our fascia (connective tissue) is healthy and hydrated when we are young and slowly dries out as we age.

“…Our fascia should be wet, springy, “elastic” tissue that is always moving, sliding and adapting to our environment and the forces put upon it.’

We need this elasticity in our tissues to reduce tightness, soreness and injury.  Fascia that is dehydrated and stuck does not have the ability to slide, shear and adapt.  If the tissues don’t slide and shear, something will tear instead!  We keep our fascia hydrated and resilient by moving in unusual-for-you ways (Pilates, Yoga etc).

“…Healthy fascia coupled with “tensegrity” just may be the secret to injury prevention”

Tensegrity means our fascia, a continuous inward-pulling tensional network, balanced by the outward press of our bones, is like a suspension bridge. Load and force on the body is distributed evenly through the myofascial lines. If your fascia is healthy, hydrated and taught with tensegrity you have the natural ability to “bounce” and not break.

“New research shows that individual muscles acting on bones does not adequately explain stability and movement.”

Forces on the body don’t stop at the joints, but continue to be absorbed by the rest of the myofascia lines.  As long as the “lines” are open and available to receive the force distributed through them, no one body part takes the full impact.  The secret to finding tensegrity/distribution is letting go of tension so that the bones fall wide into our fascial fabric, making space in the body. There is also a strange and wonderful ability…despite nerves…to have a relaxed focus–observation of the moment, in the moment, that could lead to better decision making under pressure.  Training and maintaining resilience in the fascial tissues could benefit participants of any sport or occupation, prolonging careers and hobbies for everyone.

Cody Robbins–Performance Pilates