Fascinating Fascia

Last week, I completed an intense month long MELT Instructor course, which allows me to use MELT as part of my coaching practice.

If you have followed my blogs and posts, you will have read that I use MELT as part of my own self care routine and may have wondered what it is.

MELT stands for: Myofascial Energetic Length Technique

In the past I struggled to explain it, but now I am excited to be able to share it with you as I have found it to be an absolute game changer. So here goes…

First, let me ask you a couple of questions –

Do you struggle with any kind of pain which is persistent- joint, muscle, lower back, neck, hands feet ?

Do you partake in any sport ?

Walk a lot or run?

Yoga , tennis, Pilates ?

Do you feel stiff or achy afterwards ?

If you have a specific pain point (chronic pain which you ‘live with’ every day), then MELT is a simple self-care technique that you can use to get out and stay out of that pain by practicing around 10 mins a day.

If you take part in any kind of sport or activity and feel pain or stiffness after or during then MELT is a self care treatment you can use before and after that activity to reduce repetitive stress injury and help you perform better.

How does it work? It uses specially designed soft therapy balls (and rollers) to simulate a variety of manual therapy techniques usually done by manual therapists (e.g. Acupressure, Massage, Reflexology), but you can do this at home every day.

The MELT method is designed to rehydrate the Fascial system, which can degrade as we age, especially if we live a predominantly sedentary lifestyle (sitting in front of a computer for hours oron transport) .

This can have a major impact on our posture, our balance and the way we move, creating all kinds of problems with joints and muscles due to accumulated stiffness (e.g. Plantar Fasciitus, Achilles Tendinitis, Lower back pain, hip pain etc.)

The great news is, unless you are driving… you can take MELT with you and practice wherever you are- even sitting in a chair at your desk or on a plane.

I love this image from the Melt Method Facebook feed. Fascia is so much more than just connective tissue. It holds on to past trauma even when we think we have moved on.

Have you heard of Fascia? It’s being talked about a lot more, and scientists are starting to understand that it is a vital part of all of our bodily systems- including our nervous system, lymphatic system, cardiovascular and respiratory systems and even our brains!

Have you ever stood up after sitting for a long time and felt like you had suddenly become ancient when you stand?

Or when you hold a position while bending down to pull weeds when gardening and then try to stand?

When you move, you start to feel better. But over time, if we never do anything to stimulate this fluid system, the fascia can become very stiff and start to affect our joints, our stability and our balance.

The MELTMethod is based on many years of Fascial research by an amazing woman called Sue Hitzmann in America, and many other scientists she has collaborated with to make the science of Fascia into an internationally recognised field of research.

I’m not sure I have done it justice in my explanation above, but I have been practicing MELT now for 3 years, and I really wish I had known what I now know 15 years ago. I truly believe that if I had, I wouldn’t have had both hips replaced, had carpal tunnel correction surgery on both wrists, suffered with tennis elbow, had a bunion removed and had surgery on my shoulder… and that’s why I was so keen to be able to teach the method to others in the hope that I can help them to avoid surgery by using this simple self care technique.

Our Hands and feet are so important in everything we do, and it’s not until we suffer an injury or start to experience pain or loss of mobility in a hand or foot that we start to take notice of them! Which is madness when you think about it.

That is why the MELT training starts at the hands and feet, and I am never able to get over how a few minutes working on my hands can free up my neck and shoulders, or how working on my feet can mobilise my back and hips, it’s my new party trick!

These days, rather than reaching for the pain killers when I have stiffness and pain, I reach for my MELT balls and Rollers… This stuff really works!

Images of a MELT event in the UK where I had the privilege of meeting the amazing Sue Hitzmann founder of the MELTMethod (top right) and my lovely friend and MELT instructor Lisa Hill (bottom left).

I would love to share this amazing self technique with you.

I am joining my MELT instructor Lisa Hill founder of Balanced Fitness with Lisa Hill | Pilates | MELT | Cardio Strength at the Mindset Unlimited festival in June, which will be my first opportunity to practice and start teaching… I’m very excited!!

I also plan to do some online teaching as part of my coaching practice.

Combining a healthy nutritious diet, the right kind of exercise and lifestyle changes to ensure you are sleeping well and are not chronically stressed can be life-changing!

*Mindset Unlimited – Wellbeing Festival – Wokingham, Berkshire

https://meltmethod.com/en-gb

Please contact me for more information on how we can work together.

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