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SHAPE AND STRUCTURE

Let's go back to Grade 8 Science to talk about enzymes and protein folding.

Alternatively we could skip that step and I could deliver You the Goods right here. Which is what I’m going to do instead.

There’s a Fundamental Law in Biology that says “Structure determines Function” and if You had to serve it on a plate with a sizzling steak from a pasture-raised Bison coated with the most aromatic and flavorful spices of Italy’s gardens it would pair perfectly with the “Use it or Lose it Principle” straight from the French Vineyards of Beaujolais.

This Fundamental Law works on the small scales of molecular arrangement all the way up to the large scale of the earth’s Biomes. If the Structure is off the Function is impaired, if the Function is impaired to the point of disuse or substitution it goes into the “Lose it” pile where it is slowly and systematically removed.

The Fascia is a prime example. 

In this article I’m going to tell You why Fascial Structure defines how Well You Body functions and why it determines Your Level of Health.

But not in the way You’ve heard it before.

This is the Ultimate Segue.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SHAPE

Shape dictates the way Energy moves through Space.

Because we don’t yet have a scientific explanation to the mechanisms behind the Evolution of Pattern in Nature You could also say “The way Energy moves through Space dictates Shape”.

But I digress.

Whether we put the Chicken or the Egg first doesn't matter because we can still observe its effects in practice.

For reasons yet to be explained there seems to be an underlying pattern that nearly everything in nature arranges itself in. Many of these patterns can be seen as Fractals, Geometrically- efficient shapes.

and through proportions like The Golden Ratio.

These Geometrical shapes are nothing new, they have been known for thousands of years. Seen in the Art of Ancient Civilizations like Babylon, Egypt and Ancient Greece and in the design of World-Renowned Architecture like the Greek Parthenon and the Yakushi-ji Temple. Influencing revolutionary thinkers like Plato, setting the Blueprint for Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Famous Vitruvian Man and inspiring Pythagoras to create the all too commonly known Pythagoras Theorem.

These patterns are also known as Sacred Geometry, and putting Symbolism and Spirituality aside these shapes are responsible for extremely energetically efficient organization.

A consistent property seen with the shapes in Sacred Geometry is Symmetry. This is most obviously seen in Flowers, Crystals through X-Ray Crystallography, the same technique used by Rosalind Franklin to discover the symmetry in our DNA.

When we lose symmetry, we lose structure and when we lose structure we lose function. This is most often seen in dis-eases like Witches Broom and cancer. Symmetric, ordered growth gives rise to unorganized, asymmetric and disordered growth. As the structure is lost the parts that make up the whole disintegrate and loss of function walks up the ladder to affect the entire organism. Cancer is the classic model, where cellular autonomy, “every cell fends for itself mentality”,  leads to rapid, uncontrolled growth. 

SHAPE IN THE HUMAN BODY

Your Body shares this Symmetrical Pattern with the rest of nature. In fact You can find the Golden Ratio right now on your hand. If You turn Your hand to face You, fingers parallel,  create a zig-zag line starting from the pad of Your Middle finger → Ring → Pointer → Pinky → Thumb. If You add line (1.) and (2.) together and divide that number by line (2.) You’ll get a number pretty close to 1.618.

This carries over to Your entire body. Studies done by T. Antony Davis, from the Indian Statistical Institute (India) and Rudolf Altevogt, from the Zoologisches Institut der Universitat (Germany) did a study including over 450 test subjects. They measured 5 points relating to the Golden Ratio in the body and found that the average was pretty darn close to 1.618.

Not bad for a sample size of 450.

But why just pretty darn close? 

If there is perfection in Symmetry why doesn’t it stand up to scrutiny?

Your Structure is held up by Fascia. Through a relationship of tension and integrity, (more famously known as tensegrity - pretty clever if I do say so Myself) the Fascia distributes force across the body by creating lines of tension. Ever-listening this tension is always being reshaped to Your Environment to reshape Your structural Net to better adapt to Your surroundings and stimuli. When Healthy and cared for Your Fascia maintains Symmetry through this net. When unhealthy or exposed to trauma Your Fascia loses it’s Symmetry and along with it goes the Golden Ratio.

For example, most children, especially newborns who have been loved, cared for, appreciated and have had plenty of opportunities to explore the world in their own primal ways, like scooching on the floor and propping themselves up on furniture, will have a pretty symmetrical body. If You look at the classic elderly person posture who has lost thoracic extension, gained a pelvic tilt and experiences collapsed arches, their golden ratios will be completely off.

You can even do this Yourself. Conduct a Golden ratio Measurement from Your navel to the top of Your head then another from the top of your head to Your Armpits. Perform the calculation. Now repeat this with a rounded back and overextended neck, you’ll notice the ratio is off.

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The correlation is pretty interesting. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Put on your wetsuit, grab your goggles and strap on Your scuba gear, because we’re going to take a deep dive beneath the surface and look at what's going on under the water.

SYMMETRY IN YOUR FASCIA

Healthy fascia is long, elastic and hydrated. The structure that gives rise to these inherent functions is a symmetrical shape called a Icosahedron. In Geometry an Icosahedron is considered one of the Platonic Solids in Biology it is a symmetrical pattern of organization that follows the law of closest packing. This organization is perfectly structured to hold a delicate balance between external and internal forces. It allows for compression, spring and stretch, and in partnership with the great deal of Space inside facilitates the exchange and transmission of fluid for hydration.

Using video-endoscopy, Jean-Claude Guimberteau, a co-founder and director of Institut Aquitain de la Main and Past-President of the French Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery has provided an in depth look at the structure of Fascia in live samples. 

At the 20 min mark Guimberteau shows the icosahedral structural alignment of the Fascia. When the Fascia is subjected to changes in internal and external pressures the structural integrity of the Fascia is maintained by maintaining this shape. With the ability of the fibers to slide along existing fibers while simultaneously being able to stretch, lengthen and split, Your Fascia literally has a library of limitless, liberating movements that it can create and conform to.

There's no sound on this one.

In other words when You’re Fascia is Symmetrical, so is your body, Healthy Fascial Structure gives rise to Healthy Fascial Function, facilitating the structure and therefore function of all Your Internal systems and chain-linking into a balanced Body both structurally and functionally.

A well-balanced System, beautifully designed.

But what happens when this shape is lost?

LOSING SYMMETRY

When Fascia loses its geometric shape it’s function quickly follows catalyzing a chain reaction of compensation within the fascial web. In Jean-Claude Guimberteau’s video series Skin, Scar’s and Stiffness the Fascia in Scar tissue begins to lose its shape in the lower dermal tissues. The structure still seems to be integrated but the Space within the icosahedral network is lost as if it is being consistently compressed. Over time this leads to the gluing of fibers which acts like matted hair rather than thick, bouncy curls.

Fascial Glueing occurs in you ways:

Adhesions and Densification.

Both close down Shape, Structure and Space.

ADHESIONS

Adhesions are a result of Fibrosis. Fibrosis is the production of excessive amounts of Collagen Fibers into the ExtraCellular Matrix. This is characterized by stiffness and excessive rigidity in the Fascial Web. 

Anthony Stecco MD, PhD and Research Assistant Professor at NYU’s School of Medicine, Langone Health states that “Fibrosis can obliterate Architecture and Function of the involved Tissue”.  Similar to backcombing hair the fibers become an entangled mess gluing together like a candle would under a hot iron. When this fibrosis occurs in the Fascia of the muscle You get a Myofascial “knot”. But because the Fascia is the Fabric that knits, weaves and sews Your Body together, it can happen anywhere, like the Fascia wrapping your organs, nerve tissue or spinal column. As the fibers stack, stick and glue together the icosahedral structure of the Fascia is lost along with the microvacuole of Space it holds on the inside. In this way the fibrous network of the Fascia not only loses function because of the degradation of its own structural integrity but it also closes down the space within the ground substance impeding its function as well.

When the Microvacuoles, or Space, within the Fascial net are impeded You get the same outcome as Densification, only magnified.

DENSIFICATION

The Space held on the inside of the Icosahedral shape isn’t actually Space, it’s filled with capillaries, lymph ducts and Immune and Fat Cells just to name a few. All of this is suspended in a gel-like substance facilitated by Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains, the most common being Hyaluronon (HA). These chains are High Molecular weight strands that look like Fern Fronds, another region where Geometry and the Golden Ratio strut the stage like Arnold winning his 7th Mr. Olympia. 

The shape and length alongside other chemical properties is what allows GAG’s to attract and hold water. 

Think of it like those mini Russian Dolls that open up to have another little doll inside and so on. The Collagen fiber net creates Space for the Microvacuole and the GAG net creates Space for the Water.

When GAG’s get clipped short and turn into Low-Molecular weight molecules, their structure changes and creates an alteration in function. Instead of Holding Water they glue to each other much like the collagen fibers in fibrosis, increasing the density of the gel. This creates a consistency of Play-doh rather than Jello, turning Fascia’s slide and glide into a stick and smear. 

When Side and Glide is lost to Stick and Smear there’s an inability to smoothly change Shape in the Fascial Web, Increasing the likelihood of adhesions and closing the loop as one Gluing Process impacts the other.

Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Pratt and Carla Stecco from their Paper “Hyaluronan and the Fascial Frontier”

While the Collagen fibers provide the structural meshwork, the magic happens in the Space between the shapes that make up the scaffolds of Your Fascial Frame. Coined the Microvacuolar System, it is the lubrication station for the Fascia, the water transport system, the Soak-Up Squad of Shear Stress and is what gives the Fascial Fiber Lattice the capacity to expand, compress and deform in multiple directions. It’s part of what makes up the hydraulic properties of the Fascia and it is all facilitated by the proper shape, size and structure of the GAG’s.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Symmetry keeps on moving.

Remember that Russian Doll Analogy?

Well this is the final Piece. That last little Jelly Bean of a Baby that doesn’t seem to open up.

And that piece is EZ Water.

EZ WATER

EZ Water forms in hydrophilic environments and where there is negative charge (hour 1:15).  In a healthy state GAG’s are both highly hydrophilic and by design are negatively charged  priming the environment for EZ Water Production. During the formation of Exclusion Zone Water positive and negative charges are split resulting in a restructuring of molecular arrangement. Instead of H2O water becomes H3O2 and the molecular shape changes from a bent molecule with 90 degree angles to a linked hexagonal shape. To be exact they are actually Star Tetrahedrons, which in case You were wondering, happens to be a symmetrical geometric shape that has stood atop the podium of Sacred Geometry’s finest since the Mathematical subjects induction.

The Hexagonal shape is what creates a lattice structure within the water. When water molecules stabilize through this conformation they enter a state called Quantum Coherence. Quantum Coherence is the cooperation of a large population of individual molecules, cells or organisms all acting as one, much like a School of Fish or Flock of Starlings. When Quantum Coherence is able to align itself up in Space along the golden ratio it has the greatest level of Stability and highest form of consistent, sustainable Output. And it just so happens that Hexagons hold a relationship with Phi, the Golden Ratio.

Mindblowing or what?

In short the splitting of charge leads to water structuring itself in a geometrical symmetrical hexagonal lattice. Like braiding and weaving 100’s of pieces of string into a blanket, the lattice facilitates stability allowing water to organize itself as a giant web. The stability in the web creates Quantum Coherence and the water molecules can now act as one single unit. The Quantum Coherence is what gives the potential of the water to hold and transmit the information from energy as explained in the article on Quantum Biology. 

BACK TO THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

We’ve explored the deep, murky depths of the bottom of our iceberg and know it’s time to make our back up to the top. Flashlight in hand we’re going to illuminate every square inch of this Beauty to wrap it up into a neat little package that we can take home to share.

The Symmetrical Structure of Water is facilitated by The Shape of the GAG’s.

The Shape of GAG’s is enabled by the Symmetrical Pattern of Icosahedrons that make up the Collagen Matrix.

Maintenance of the Icosahedral Framework maintains Golden Ratio proportions in the Body.

Maintaining Golden Ratio proportions maintains Organismal Symmetry.

When Symmetry across the entire Organism exists we have a Continuous, Ongoing, interwoven and Uninterrupted Fascial Web and an unimpeded, never-ending, limitless Free Flow of Water.

Hence Structure, more specifically, Symmetrical Structure, dictates Function and the way that Energy, - in this case carried by water - moves through Space.

BUT WHAT IF?

Even if we were to stay skeptical and assume that information is unable to be transported along the symmetrical shape of Water, the structure of water is what enables cellular life.

Both water and GAG’s are pulled from the ECM into the cell to facilitate cellular function including hydration, protein folding, gas exchange, cell signaling and whole body communication. The Health of the Cell relies on the Health of the ECM.

Taking a Biochemical perspective Your Body is reliant on Structured Water for Proper Function. The more efficiently the water can move in and out of the cells the easier Your Cells can carry out essential processes like assimilation, metabolism and detoxification. You can imagine it like picking Fresh Vegetables. If You keep them hydrated by misting them every once in a while they can last, potentially even regrow. If You leave them out on the counter until You need them they’ll probably be dehydrated, nutritionless and already starting to decay. Like Your fresh-picked garden Greens, Your Cells need a constant supply of water. The more fluidly it can flush in and out of Your Cells, the smoother things move around Your Body and the cleaner Your Cells, Systems and You as an integrated Whole run.

As You know by now what keeps Your water running in perfect Harmony is Your Fascia. Ensuring that it gets to where it needs to go. Healthy Fascia removes all the pinch points and allows Water to exist as one continuous, fluid network. It shapes the Space for Water to cooperatively connect and come together in a collaborative cohesion that allows it to flow with smooth proficiency along the expansive, intertwining net of the ECM. 

Yet Fascia is a likely prospect to be even more than that.

Jean-Claude Guimberteau goes as far to state that the Microvacuoler Structure is a 

    “tensional, continuous fibrillar network within the body, extending from the surface of the .     skin to the nucleus of the cell. “

Meaning that Your Fascial network has the potential to bypass the cell membrane and weave itself next to the Double Helix of Your DNA. Making the continuity of Fascia, and therefore Water extend further than we could have imagined.

SUMMARY

So know You know why Fascial Structure defines how well Your Body functions and why it dictates Your Health. Without Structure there’s no water, without water there’s no life. 

Simple as Pie, which funny enough like Symmetry, when actually making it the first time around it doesn’t seem to be so simple.

Much like Your Fascia these concepts conjoin the Microscopic with the Macroscopic. As we see Symmetry expand its way along all the levels of magnification We can begin to understand how it produces a loop to become an everlasting cycle. This is what makes Fascia so powerful. The cycle is prone to perennial fluctuations that are a result of the Fascial System always listening to Your environment inside and out. Your body will either loop Up or loop down. The continuity between listening and tuning the balance is so smooth You couldn’t even separate it by time. 

Maintaining Symmetry and geometric patterns at the molecular level and the Golden Ratio proportions at the Macro level is what upholds Healthy Fascia. Healthy Fascia feeds back into the cycle to create Symmetry harnessing the Power of Water and enabling the flow of information. With the abundance of available resources, cellular, system and organismal function is unimpeded returning more benefit than it received to create a new and optimized equilibrium. This is looping up. 

Sensitizing Yourself to your Fascial Web cultures Your Awareness and heightens your Perception. You build an intimacy with experience as You place Yourself in the rightful position of the Driver’s Seat, feeling every bump, nudge and pulse in the curve of the road. This amity with the bends and twists in the pavement puts Your hands back on the steering wheel as You pilot Your Life in the direction You choose. 

Essentially there is only one balance point, and it's found within the Pattern of Symmetry that walks along the contours of Your Body. As You bring balance to the shape, symmetry follows. The greater Symmetry can be expressed in the flowering fabric of Your Fascia the more stability You bring to the balance point.  Opening up Your body to more Space and Flow through the channels that weave and lace their way through Your Fascia.

As figurative as this may sound it is in fact a literal description.

Balanced Your Fascia becomes the platform for all 7 principles to perform their duties in a harmonious fashion because they have the resources to do so. With Space means You have the materials to build and the room to remove wastes. Like cooking in a closet in comparison a well-ventilated,  fully-staffed commercial Kitchen with a well-stocked pantry, garbage disposal and a bubbling Spring, (it’s a nice kitchen). Over time the closet will fall apart, overrunning with garbage, greasing and molding the walls and contaminating the food. Walking in and out of the doorway will become a chore as You slowly digress to consistently making Ramen Noodles, occasionally whipping out the Picante Chicken Flavor pack to spice it up a bit. Meanwhile the Custom Kitchen of Captivation looks better than when it started as it churns out Chargrilled Mackerel with Carpaccio Scallops alongside Baked Feta with Sumac and Grapes. 

Your Cells are the same.

Which version do You want?

As You tune Yourself into Your Fascia everything else will begin to align. Like dialing into the right frequency of a radio station orienting Your sensitivities towards the structure of Your Fascia will bring about a clarity that will intuitively interlock what you see and feel with what is actually happening. As You continue to Loop Up You will feel Yourself open as Your Vitality increases. 

What happens when perfection is reached? We don’t know. We can presume greater alignment and more space, but what happens from there is up to the imagination.

What we do know is that If we follow the chain, creating more Space and balancing the imbalances we will work our way back to Evolutionary Standards in an Optimized World. From there we will fit to our fish bowl . It can only improve from there.

So put Your bets on the table, admire the Royal Flush in Your hand and follow the Money. 

Because You're about to hit the Jackpot.