Facts on Fascia Fitness

It may sound like a made-up word a reality star would use to nickname her naughty bits, but fascia is actually an integral, complex system of fibrous tissue that coats each muscle and organ.
“Think of fascia as a seamless body stocking that’s a thin, slippery connective tissue that makes our shape,” explains Jessie Zalla, owner of Zalla Pilates in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. “Fascia forms pods to create your musculature and helps connect muscles to bone, and bone to bone, wraps your organs and cushions your vertebrae.”
Keeping fascia supple and healthy ensures less pain and easier range of motion. Ignore it and you can suffer lingering pains and structural issues like excessive scar tissue, poor posture and chronic physical complaints. Zalla gives her four tips to improving the state of your fascia.
1. Drink water. Proper hydration is a key to keeping the myofascial system in good shape. “Fascia is a supportive system and a tensional fluid system similar to a sponge,” she says. It works best when it is adequately hydrated.
2. Roll it out. Release tension and break up scar tissue with a session on a foam roller or body ball, such as Yoga Tune Up balls, or even a tennis ball. Place the prop under the tense spot and gently move over the area (for specific moves go to zallapilates.com for video instruction). The movement can help increase blood flow to the stiff zone and improve the health of your fascia.
3. Inhale. Exhale. “Every big, deep breath helps to keep the fascia around the lungs moving and expanding,” explains Zalla. “Proper lung, rib and diaphragmatic movement is essential to life!”
4. Get work done. Specialized body therapies such as Rolfing and Structural Integration focus on unkinking the structural issues. They also amp up hydration and increase blood flow.