Fascia and its Link with Mental Stress

The body always just follows what the mind tells it to do. When there is stress in the mind, the body responds with protection, safety and stability and one way that that’s provided is by fascial tightness. The protective tightness is great for acute stressors. The body thinks it needs to run from something serious, so everything tightens up in the sympathetic nervous system – fight or flight response – muscles and fascia. Unfortunately, if there is continual or chronic mental stress, the body still believes it needs to be protected, so the fascia continues to stay tight and engaged. If the fascia stays tight for an extended period of time this creates restrictions. If this continues, the body chronically stays in fight or flight, the fascia continues to stay tight, couple that with minimal water intake, the fascia gets stuck in different areas and then begins to sheer on itself and eventually (sometimes painful) tearing.
Drinking water, deep breathing, and practicing mindfulness will prevent this sheering and tearing as it encourages the mind to calm and thereby the body and fascia relax because the perceived threat is now gone.