WHY YOU CAN'T STRETCH A MUSCLE

My friend, Ralph Stephens, offered a clear explanation of why it is not the muscle or the fascia that "stretch." It isn't muscles that relax; it is the nervous system that allows muscles to relax and elongate. Another way of saying this, which is fundamental to Deep Massage and Zero Balancing, is that structure responds to energy.

Now, the moment we say we are influencing the nervous system (more broadly, "energy"), we open up the entire realm of conscious and unconscious mind, emotion, memory, imagination, spirit, etc. - because everything we think and feel can contribute to or limit our ability to let go.

So that, in turn, raises the question: if we are not affecting muscles or fascia through pressure, how are we affecting, "touching" the nervous system?

And the answer is that we influence the mind, emotions, energy, memory, and imagination through the quality of our touch more than the amount of pressure. Pressure is like volume in music; without the right notes, more volume doesn’t help.

 The sooner we successfully educate our clients, yoga students, athletes, etc., about the fact that the nervous system is in charge, the better! Many therapists, clients, yoga students, and athletes are getting hurt because of the mindset of "deep tissue." That's exactly why I changed the name of my work to "Deep Massage" in 1982!

Muscles and fascia are just communication media through which we can deeply affect the whole person.