Thomas Hanna in Somatic Body Mind Spirit Integration

Our muscles develop learned habits. Repeated muscle movements—ranging over a period of time—are the simplest form of body learning. However, very subtle but poor movement habits also affect muscle tone. If a muscle completely relaxes after a movement it has a tonus of zero. If, however, a muscle does not completely relax after its movement, the tonus can climb to 10, 20, 30 or even 40 percent. Thomas Hanna writes in his book Somatics, “If the tonus is 10 percent, the muscle will always feel tired and firm. If the tonus is 20 percent, the muscle will feel tired, very firm and sore. If the tonus is 40 percent, the muscle will feel tired, hard and quite painful.” Stretching exercises soften muscle tonus, relaxing hard muscles and allowing them to rest.

The most common connective tissues are our tendons and ligaments. Each muscle has microscopic strands of connective tissue running through it. Every muscle also has an envelope of connective tissue surrounding it called fascia. When your feel like your muscles are all knotted up, it’s actually the fascia surrounding the muscles that have gotten stuck together.

The connective tissues are made up of collagen, which strengthens them, and elastin, which gives them elasticity. The “tanning” process is due to dehydration of the connective tissue, resulting in less elastin and more collagen. But flexibility does not rely on the elastin-to-collagen ratio in the connective tissues alone.

Muscle health also depends on its symbiosis with our nerve reflexes. It is our nerve reflexes that control the ability to move and stretch. Over time, however, our nerves contract, establishing a length for each muscle based on how much we move daily. This is called a muscle’s “stretch reflex.” If we try to move past this stretch reflex point, the nerves revolt and cause a muscle spasm. We feel their pain.

Alan Davidson is the author of the free report "Body

Breakthroughs for Life Breakthroughs: How to Peak Your

Physical, Emotional, Mental, Moral, and Spiritual IQs for a

Sensational Life" available at

http://www.throughyourbody.com.

Alan's also the author of Body Brilliance: Mastering Your

Five Vital Intelligences, the #1 Health and Wellness book

and Winner of Two 2007 Book-of-the-Year Awards.

Watch the Body Brilliance Movie

http://bodybrilliancebook.com/bbb_movie/

Dedicated to our healthy, happy, and prosperous world through the full enlightenment of every human being.

Through Your Body

1103 Peveto St.

Houston, TX 77019

713-942-0923

Muscle tonus in Somatic Body Mind Spirit Integration

Over the years, I have seen how stretching complements the massage and bodywork I offer to clients and receive myself. The effects on the muscles and connective tissues are dramatic. I know my own posture has improved, and I feel more graceful as I move through space. Thanks to the yoga asanas, which mean “steady pose,” I know I’m more flexible.

But flexibility represents much more than just stretching the muscles or connective tissues. Flexibility may sound superficial (“Does it really matter if I can’t touch my toes?”), but being limber actually retards aging. An article in a recent Yoga Journal explained that

Even if you’re active, your body will dehydrate and stiffen with age. By the time you become an adult, your tissues have lost about 15 percent of their moisture content, becoming less supple and more prone to injury. This normal aging of tissue is distressingly similar to the process that turns animal hides into leather. Unless we stretch, we dry up and tan.

Good stretching affects three different parts of our bodies: the nerves, the muscle fibers and the connective tissues. The muscles must be able to fully stretch, to contract and to rest. These seemingly simple tasks allow us to stand upright, to move, to work, and to play. Returning to full rest after a movement reflects muscle tone or tonus. To achieve tone, muscles rely on the feedback system of our nerves and their own natural elasticity. Accidental injuries, bone fractures or surgery interfere with the interplay of the nerves and tone of the muscles.

Alan Davidson is the author of the free report "Body

Breakthroughs for Life Breakthroughs: How to Peak Your

Physical, Emotional, Mental, Moral, and Spiritual IQs for a

Sensational Life" available at

http://www.throughyourbody.com.

Alan's also the author of Body Brilliance: Mastering Your

Five Vital Intelligences, the #1 Health and Wellness book

and Winner of Two 2007 Book-of-the-Year Awards.

Watch the Body Brilliance Movie

http://bodybrilliancebook.com/bbb_movie/

Dedicated to our healthy, happy, and prosperous world through the full enlightenment of every human being.

Through Your Body

1103 Peveto St.

Houston, TX 77019

713-942-0923