27/10/2022
Need some inspiration to get on your mat today? Read this post and article - it just might be all the inspiration you need.
Also, introducing an exciting new addition to the timetable ‘So Flossy’ - a class primarily focused on working with the fascial trains of the body, inspired by the work of Bonnie Crotzer, The Floss™️.
Bookings via www.momoyoga.com/sevanti
Limited spots available, so please book in early to avoid disappointment.
R x
Hi, All!
I'm stoked to share with you this new scientific study exploring yoga and interoception and their impact on depression. (I'll add the link below, which the journal allows you to read and download until December 1.)
One of the coolest (and, to me, most important) aspects of the study, which got cut (on account of space) from the main article just before publication and which you therefore won't see, is that the interoceptive yoga arm, the method I developed and teach, consisted of about 30% fascia self-bodywork. The fascia element makes this work distinct from the movement-based yoga arm and from many other yoga and movement methods.
The results: Mood improved equally with both yoga arms. However, sustained attention improved significantly more in the interoceptive (fascia) arm. Additionally, improved sustained attention was associated with greater interoception in that arm, but not the movement-focused one. This has implications for also for salience network function, or the ability to switch between types and foci of attention, a kind of flexibility linked to well-being. No homework was given; the intervention was limited to just 2 hours weekly.
The study complements the one that Johannes Michalak, Robert Schleip, and colleagues published earlier this year on fascia and depression.
I owe a debt of gratitude to one of my mentors in true, integrative work, Robert Schleip, and My sister-colleagues Jill Miller and Sue Hitzmann, who introduced me to fascia all those years ago in such a generous, open-hearted way. Thank you.
This study is just an RCT, and a tiny drop in the bucket in the field of interoception.
It points to attention, and particular the capacity to switch attention from one point of focus to another, as a mediating factor in alleviating depression, and one related to interoceptive processes.
Fascia self-bodywork was a major difference between the two yoga arms (plus interoception). This study is complements the Robert Schleip, Johannes Michalak, et al. amazing 2022 study on fascia and depression.
I'd love to see a 3-arm investigation using 1) primarily fascia work, 2) fascia work + movement, and 3) movement alone.
It was 10 years in the making, born in a series of conversations I had with Norm Farb, the principal investigator, starting in 2013.
There are moments in any long act of creation where you'll feel like something will never mature. And that the world values product and results, which you may NOT be putting out. (Erm.)
You know the movie, The Proposal? It's one of my favorites; I've watched it about a dozen times with my soul sister, Sue. There's a scene that makes me laugh wildly every time: Sandra Bullock is awkwardly threading her way down a ladder leading from the dock to the boat, taking forever. (You've got to watch Ryan Reynolds as it's happening, though.) She reaches the bottom and he says, "Congratulations; I'm 100 years old." This is how I feel about this study. And how I know I'll feel about The Book.
But don't give up. Bust your unique moves. Because when you do, the great cosmic dance will bust a move back. And you'll be taking part in that improvisational riff that can be a driver of innovation and change. And do we ever need that right now. 💚
