Fascia is a continuous web of connective tissue made of collagen -the substance that gives strength and flexibility to our tendons, and even our bones.

It's under our skin, and permeates all our organs, fat, muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, nerves, blood vessels, etc. It suspends and protects them, and is essential in supporting their functions. Fascia is our largest organ.

We have 206 bones, 600 muscles, 900 ligaments, 4,000 tendons and, depending on body size, 45 miles of nerves, and 60,000* miles of blood vessels (Earth's diameter is only 7,917.5 miles) -and ALL of it contains, and is contained by, fascia.

If everything in the body was teleported out of it except the fascia, we'd retain virtually the same shape!

Cells called Fibroblasts are spider-like cells that spin the elastic collagen fibrils that regulate force transmission throughout your body. Specialized fibroblasts, called myofibroblasts, provide contractile action that regulate tissue basal tone.

Click the following links to begin diving into one of the most important medical/health subjects that should be part of our early public education, along with Integrative Bodywork:

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Somatic Memories are physical experiences stored in the brain. The word "somatic" means "of the body." Our brain stores these experiences to develop instant responses that drive us towards safety or opportunity based on what we previously learned caused us harm, pain, fear, or pleasure.

The stronger the emotional impact of any event, good or bad, wires the brain accordingly to help ensure we seize opportunity before it's too late. Since we learn that we don't always have time to process a situation to decide what the best response is, our brain learns to store preset actions to save us time.

When psychological, physical, and biological stressors exceed the nervous system adaptive limits (trauma), it prevents the body from processing the trauma. This results in associated sensory details coding into the memory and emotional centers of the brain, like the hippocampus and amygdala.

Sensory input associated with trauma activates our autonomic nervous system to take instinctive action before we have time to fully assess the situation and how to respond.

Spider-shaped cells called fibroblasts produce the collagen proteins that create fascia.

Fascia conducts information almost instantly to inform our brain of what's going on in our environment, like how spiders use their webs to alert them through vibrations when food or danger is present.

And just like spiders learn how to instinctively anticipate events through weather changes, our brain is processing present information in the background of our unconscious mind from our internal and external environments to anticipate which pre-programmed responses to activate when needed.

When we can't fight or take flight from threat -be it physical or psychological- the fascia gels like superglue to freeze and armor our body to prevent damage/harm. This is beneficial given fascia's ability to become as strong as steel.

But trauma or prologed stress can keep the fascia like this indefinitely until proper therapeutic intervention helps it return to its flexible state again to enable the body to restore normal functionality.

This can become a new source of reinforcing stress because hardened fascia forms are sensed by the nervous system when the body moves into positions associated with injury/trauma, and prevents movement through learned conditioning to prevent pain or damage.

In addition to a healthy lifestyle of frequent mobility, exercise, nutrition, hydration, sleep, healthy relationships, positive self-esteem, and fulfilling work and life-purpose, learning how to exchange ARC with one or more people you care about can help you all heal from trauma, restore your body and mind's functional abilities, and literally unlock your full potential for the most enjoyable life possible.

Request your ARC Training Agreement now, and start practicing with someone you love today!