The Mystery of Fascia: The Body's Most Misunderstood Aspect
- Josh Goheen
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
In the fields of exercise science, martial arts, and even herbal medicine there are few more widely misunderstood or ignored topics than that of the body's connective tissue networks, such as the fascia and extracellular matrix. Until very recently, modern research has largely ignored these vital tissues.
Pharmaceutical biomedicine, and by extension even the naturopathic practitioners and natural supplement industry that still take the bulk of their educational models and resources from the conventional paradigm, utterly fails to grasp the traditional practice of herbal medicine due to their ignorance of the extracellular matrix and the ground regulatory system which governs the cells and their function. They try to fit herbs into the same mold as modern drugs and then dismiss them when they don't work as expected, never even considering that their own method of study is completely flawed.
Martial artists, meanwhile, are in constant debate over the nature and efficacy of the Neijia (內家), or "internal" systems. Many believe that it is "mystical" nonsense when practitioners of Taijiquan or other related styles speak of "silk reeling" or "developing the fascia." The fascia can't generate any power, they claim. They mock and ridicule anyone who still trains according to the traditional understandings of inner power generation and performing techniques without muscular force.
Well, thankfully, modern science is finally beginning to catch up to ancient wisdom. Studies of the fascia system and related connective tissue networks are now revealing that, once again, the practitioners of old were correct all along. Once again, let this be a lesson to those who arrogantly claim the old ways to be mere superstition or mythical nonsense. Just because you haven't figured it out yet doesn't mean it isn't there.
The following videos offer an excellent introduction to the nature and function of the connective tissues of the body and present the case for their true importance in every aspect of physical activity and overall health.
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