Biotensegrity stuff

Fascia is the matrix within which the cells specialize. We self organize, we self generate, we self emerge. We are one. We are self evident. J.ohn Sharkey

The concept of biotensegrity describes an interconnectedness on all levels of existence. From the tiniest microscopic expression deep inside our bodies to the surface of our skins, biotensegrity holds that any form of living matter can only exist when it is in connection to a larger whole. Biotensegrity is expressed as having a scaler quality. This interconnection is the ground substance if you will, for a quality of coherence and resiliency.
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On a human, physical level we note:

1. Our bodies are multidimensional.
2. That they form a closed kinematic chain.
3. That the balance of the living form is maintained through an appropriate tone in the tensional network, which is provided through compressive forces. The interplay between tension and compression is a key component for expressing biotensegrity.
4. That as our bodies change and shift in response to our environment, and to our inner mental and emotional equilibrium, new properties emerge.
5. What we eat and drink can set up ripples of change. Many of these changes we can predict, or we think we can, but very often unexpected conditions or states of being emerge.

Dr. Levin uses the example of baking a cake. Each ingredient has its own properties; for instance eggs are kind of sticky, sugar is granular, sweet, flour is fine like a powder and so on. But when we mix all of these together and bake it in the oven something emerges that has completely new properties. When we take a bite, we cannot find the flour or the eggs, but we find what we call an emergent property. An emergent property is something that is entirely different than what any of the individual components might have suggested to us.

One of the functional properties of the brain is to look for balance under any and all physical challenges: Injury, illness, emotional pain and so on. We might say that in this manner the body is a micro expression of Indra's Net.

Indra's Net as taken from Hindu Yoga Philosophy is a web that holds the entirety of life in its balanced net, from the entire universe, down to the tiniest lifeform. At all the hubs in this net, where strands meet and intersect, sits a multifaceted jewel reflecting the light of life.

Every faceted, multisided, multidimensional jewel in this web reflects the light that touches back it to where it bounced from and then out from its many facets to all the many other jewels around it and so on and on into infinity. In this way Indra's net is held in balance and remains coherent and functional.

All jewels require a clarity and brilliance that allows them to reflect with their many facets appropriately. If any part of any jewel is occluded, the balance through the entire net is eventually affected and changed, however minutely.

We might say that our bodies are a tiny, yet similar version of Indra's Net. We need to promote our individual balance within our physical 3Dmatrix, as well as in our mental, emotional and spiritual bodies in order to stay healthy and functional, and so express the highest form of our humanity. As humans we are but a speck on Indra's net, yet we are responsible to help Indra keep the balance. In expressing our individual potential correctly, and contributing to our small scale network, Indra's net is supported.

From there it is easy to extend the principle of biotensegrity into our psycho social network. We all know that we contribute to social welfare through right action and interaction. Our social welfare depends on all of us doing our parts. If any one strand of our social network is damaged, the ripple effect of this can be far reaching, and continue forward through the generations.

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John Sharkey
Not being surprised by surprising evidence. I use the term biotensegrity to explain the fundamental principles of anatomy and physiology. Why? The answer is simple, but understanding the knowledge that underpins the answer is complex.

Fascia is the matrix within which the cells specialize. We self organize, we self generate, we self-emerge, we are one. We are self evident. - John Sharkey

The basic construct or architectural principle or building block for all living things from the smallest to the largest is the icosahedron. Why is that important? The multi-dimensional icosahedron account’s for the shape of the very components that form to form our fascial system. The laws that govern how icosahedra are formed, and linked together in a continuous structural manner, leads to an architectural model that begets tubes within tubes within tubes. In early anatomical studies these tubes were identified and described in the literature. Of course the anatomists of those days did not have the 21st Century technology we poses today but identify them and describe them they did, or at least they attempted to. What did they call them ? “Bonghan channels” and they are everywhere and strongly associated with the movement of hyaluronan. As we approach the 5th International Fascia Research Congress in Berlin it will be interesting to learn if the “newly discovered” channels, which were the focus of much international attention some months ago, are in fact similar or identical to the “Bonghan channles” (today known as the “prima vascular channels”). It may turn out to be a case of old wine new bottle. I am particularly keen to see if this proves to be a hot topic at the IFRC 2018.

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Gil Hedley
​I was recently asked in an interview by Karin Wagner for the journal of the Rolf Institute: "There’s been a lot of new information coming out of research science about the role of the nervous system – regarding pain and injury and also in explaining how Structural Integration works. As our field adapts to the current science, do you think fascia is becoming less important?"
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My Reply: "Since you will not find a nerve apart from fascia, nor fascia apart from a nerve, I don't believe the importance of fascia will, or should recede any time soon, nor should either deserve to ascend higher alone. The eye cannot say to the foot, "I don't need you!" Any attempt to prioritize the importance of a particular tissue is unsupportable by the fact of the body in its awesome unity, which pays no respect to the word-knives which would cut it into separate parts that literally exist in the mind alone. The notion that one could be "working on" fascia, or "working on" a nerve, overlooks the fact that you can only touch the whole person, the whole body. Let the parts become less important, and the whole have its day!"

Of course, I do believe it is possible to focus the attention of a treatment on the particular mechanical and physiological properties of a given tissue. Most effective therapeutic approaches do so, and tell a story about what they are "doing" based on a particular tissue-preference as "the key." And still, we do well to consider that whenever we touch, we are interacting with the whole body, the whole person, and simply cannot do otherwise. For effective service, I personally believe in the primacy of a conscious connection with the whole, regardless of how you might prefer to enter the circle."