Years ago I was taking Iyengar yoga. For a while, I was even in the teacher-training program. I was always intrigued when observing the people in the class. I had only been practicing Fluid Isometrics on myself at that time for a couple of years. I hadn’t even identified a name for it yet. When I would go to class, I would feel the areas in my body that were restricting me from moving more deeply into a posture. Then I would go home, practice my bodywork on those areas, then the next class I would be much deeper into the posture. I found it interesting that most people hardly ever changed in their postures. The restrictions holding people back seemed to still exist, months, and even years later as the depth of their postures remained the same. I started to realize that I had found something unique. For example, I would go into a forward bend, and locate in my body what was limiting me from extending further forward. Wherever I felt pain, I would spend some time deeply working in the tissue, maybe for 5 minutes. Then, I would move back into the forward bend, always moving deeper, until the next restriction/pain surfaced. I would work on that for 5 minutes, and move beyond that restriction. Very quickly I was able to change my flexibility and range of motion. This is how it became possible for me to do the side splits. This all happened before I started developing Block Therapy. I had tried to teach people how to use their hands in tissue but that proved to be very challenging. The block arose from a desire to teach people what I was doing so they too could access their deeper ranges and greater flexibility. It can be very frustrating for people to attempt to stretch the body, as it can be so painful and stuck, but this is truly an efficient, simple practice that shows results. Block Therapy teaches you to melt restrictions from the bone, and gain increased blood and oxygen flow, as well as range of motion and flexibility. Not only does it improve function, but also the quality of the appearance of tissue. Tissue that is optimally fed, and clean, looks symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing compared to tissue that is blocked from energy. For Yogi’s, this is a wonderful complement to your practice. I do yoga regularly but without the block and the work I do with my hands, my flexibility would be limited. This is different than any other practice out there, and different from other fascial techniques that use rollers. To melt to the bony surface, we need to use a medium like bone, hence the wood, and need patience and guidance to release the 2000lb/square inch grip of fascia onto bone. I guarantee if you are a yogi, and you integrate Block Therapy into your life, you will be blown away by the results. Breathe & Believe
