Up until now, a lot of my posts have alluded to or discussed myofascial (myo=muscle, fascia=connective tissue) lines or tracks in the body, largely based on the work of Myers (2008, 2e), and how they integrate into asana practice or mindful movement and participation in life. These lines are vertical or longitudinal and they are also functional in the sense that they relate primarily to movement.
There are, however, other fascial 'bands' or 'straps' that run horizontally around and through the body, which, as you shall see, are related to (familiar) yoga concepts and are instrumental for healthy alignment and integrated movement in asana practice. My sources for this post are The Endless Web: Fascial Anatomy and Physical Reality (Schultz, R. L., and Feitis, R., 1996, e-book), a workshop and presentation by Doug Keller (April 21, 2012) at the Fairfax location of Sun and Moon yoga, and my own practice and experience.
While each body is unique in shape, size, proportion, and contour, that is, some of what constitutes one's gross and energetic silhouette, all bodies have patterns that are common to them. These retinaculae or bands/straps (retinaculum is the single and comes from the Latin verb retinere (to retain)) run horizontally around the body "where there are no traditional anatomical connections from front to back" (Schultz, R. L., and Feitis, R., 1996). They function as retainers holding in the soft tissue and are relatively independent of muscle tissue.
When I think of these bands, I think of an oak barrel (the body and its contents) and the hoops that hold it together (the bands), with the small but important difference that humans move and oak barrels don't (at least not in the same way). In movement, these retainers, which resemble tendons and ligaments in structure, seems to run not only around but through the body like planes, segmenting the human body in this way and giving it its distinct human shape. Relative to the segments that the bands' existence brings about/begets, the bands themselves are relatively inflexible and have the quality of breaking the wave (or flow) of movement, thus providing stability for both movement and breath.
So, what are these bands? There are seven of them:
1. Pubic band: The lowest band in the torso, which extends from the pubic bone in front across the groin around the hip bones (the greater trochanter of the femur), and across the buttocks, ending at the junction of the sacrum and coccyx. Think pelvic floor/ diaphragm, mula bandha, muladhara chakra, piriformis, earth, hinge between sacrum and tailbone. (Hinges are discussed below.)
2. Inguinal band: The band across the lower abdomen. It connects the two bony projections of the pelvic bones in front (the anterior superior spines of the ilia or hip points). It usually dips slightly downward in front, like an inverted arch, resembling an internal jock strap or chastity belt. Its lower margin tends to include the inguinal ligament, connecting the band downward to the region of the pubic bone. This band extends laterally along the upper margin of the large wings of the pelvic bones (ilia), ending at the lumbosacral junction. Think sacrum, swadhisthana chakra, fire+water, hinge between low back and sacrum, uddiyana bandha/lower abdomen.
3. Belly/umbilical band: The third band crosses the abdomen and is perhaps the most variable in location. It may cross at the umbilicus, or it may lie midway between the umbilicus and the mid-costal arch (tying together the two sides of the costal arch). In either case, it will extend laterally to form an arch across the abdomen to the lower ribs on each side-particularly to the free tip of the eleventh rib. It travels backward along the lower ribs, ending at the junction of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. Think navel, manipura chakra, solar plexus, fire, uddiyana bandha/upper abdomen, hinge between chest and low back.
4. Chest band: The fourth band is in the area just below the nipples and is visually the most apparent. It is usually a non-moving depressed area on the chest; the skin seems glued down onto the ribs and muscle. Laterally, it extends along the lower border of the pectoralis major, across the mid-lateral chest, and down the lateral margin of the latissimus dorsi where it begins to run parallel to the scapula toward the arm. The strap appears to tie the lower tip of the scapula to the back ribs and ends at the dorsal hinge of the spine (T4-T5). When this strap is pronounced, there is not only a depressed mid-chest, but an inability to expand the ribs sideways in breathing. Think heart, lungs, anahata chakra, water, diaphragm, bottom tips of shoulder blades, dorsal hinge (back of heart).
5. Collar band: The fifth strap at the shoulders involves the clavicle and is part of the tissue gluing the clavicle to the first and second ribs in front. It can be felt as a pad of tissue just below and deep to the collar bone (clavicle). It extends laterally to the tip of the shoulder, with some fibers fanning down into the armpit. The strap continues toward the back on the inside and outside of the upper border of the shoulder blade (scapula), and ends at the junction of cervical and thoracic vertebrae. Think throat, vishuddha chakra, air+water, shoulder girdle, hinge between upper back and neck (C7).
6. Chin band: The area below the chin is an area of concentration of fibers and padding which includes the hyoid bone and the base of the jaw, passing just below the ear, and ending where the base of the skull joins the first cervical vertebra (atlas). Think ajna chakra, air, neck, lower brain, hinge between neck and head.
7. Eye band: The topmost band is the most difficult to visualize. It originates on the bridge of the nose, travels across the eye sockets and above the ears, and ends at the back of the skull just above the occipital crest (the bump at the back of the skull). Think sahasraha chakra, air, upper brain, skull, skull hinge/sphenoid.
Why are these important?
These bands or retainers manifest themselves where the spine's curves reverse direction, that is, where the vertebral bodies change shape and function and where, therefore, there is the most potential for movement and thus the most tendency for overuse and injury. These bands attach to these hinge points in the spine to create stability, where we are the most vulnerable, the body creating its own genius way of keeping itself whole and integrated.
As the colored sections above indicate, these hinges and their bands are also associated and have a relationship with the chakras, commonly described as energy/life force/prana centers in the body. Anatomically, the chakras are situated just in front of the spine, where the autonomic or visceral nervous system lies (ANS), controlling and affecting things such as heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, perspiration, salivation, sexual arousal, among other important functions. The hinges in the spine discussed above are associated with the most complex ANS activity. As Doug Keller eloquently puts it: "where there is ease of movement at these junctions, there is stimulation of nerve impulses that control metabolic activity; these are the points where the chakras express themselves through the nervous system, providing a continuum between physical and subtle" (Keller 2012).
How can we be informed by these latitudinal fascial bands in our asana practice? A comprehensive answer to this question is beyond the scope of this post, but simply being aware of their existence can be the beginning to mindfully integrating them into your own asana practice and to beginning your own personal quest to feel these bands and understand where the work lies in your body. For me, creating a lift along the frontal surface of my spine has done wonders for allowing me to integrate my pubic, inguinal, and belly bands, but this only came after I worked for quite some time on untucking my pelvis (as in a few years and an ongoing process). Smiling with my neck has been instrumental in aligning my collar, chin, and eye bands and showing me where I hold patterns that are useless and downright detrimental to my well-being. What about that well-known hinge where the low back ends and the upper back begins, the infamous T12-L1 juncture? I have had great experience with the following actions in my practice to alleviate pressure at this hinge and begin to stack my ribcage and my shoulder girdle on top of my pelvis (i.e. tadasana alignment): assuming things are all lined up below, draw the bottom of the breastbone (xyphoid process) into the body (not necessarily down), which in turn will allow you to expand/broaden the ribcage laterally, and then exhale through your upper traps draping them back and slightly down (without pulling your arms down).
Was that long enough for you? Me too. Peace out!
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