Why You Need To Keep Hydrated…Healthy Fascia & Cell Health

I just finished a continuing education credit on Structural Integration for my Massage Therapy License in South Carolina. I’ve always been interested in it since I was introduced many years ago by a massage therapist during marathon training. This blog post briefly touches on this technique and why water is essential.

What is SI? It’s a massage technique that can be defined as the three-dimensional balancing of the musculoskeletal system, which helps us bring balance between the body and gravity. Performed in 10 sessions series, specifically targeting segments of the body in a unique order. The major body segments are organized around the center vertical axis. This allows the center of gravity for each segment to align with the ones above and below. Creating deep structural shifts and balance to the body. Vertical alignment allows the muscles to be balanced from side to side, front to back and inner core deep muscles to outer core superficial muscles. This ultimately allows the body to expend less energy to maintain balance and general function at a more optimal rate. In laymen terms: you need to lengthen, correct rotation and balance the head on the shoulders and spine, spine to lower back, front to back, side to side and all fascia in between.

The CEC reminded me that I must keep not only myself properly hydrated but to help continue to educate our clients and anyone else that desires to feel the flow of our Life Force Energy. Our cells are continually communicating via electronic messages and when there is tightness, restriction and shortened muscles they can pull the body (including bones) out of alignment affecting breathing, energy flow and chakras. Regardless of if you believe it’s hokey or not, we all have a life force and have had moments in our life that we felt more balanced than others. It really is about creating a balance between mind, body and spirit as a picture of total wellness.

How much water do you need every day?

Well..that depends on your diet. If you are someone that eats plenty (8-11 servings) of fruits and veggies every day then you are consuming water dense nutrients. If you are someone that consumes lots of processed carbs or starchy foods then your body will store more water but also require more water to flush out the toxins. For each gram of carbohydrates you consume your body holds onto 3 grams of water. 5 grams is a level teaspoon. Individuals that have just received a massage more water is needed to help flush toxins released from the fascia and blood stream to get flushed out via the lymphatic system.

Individuals that drink caffeine need to remember that it’s a diuretic and more water is necessary. On the other end of the spectrum if someone has mostly a veggie and fruit with unprocessed protein sources or cleaner sources need to make sure to not drink too much water as it will dilute sodium stores. Women competing in long distance races tend to overhydrate whilst men tend to underhydrate so balance is key.

A general rule…

consume 1/2 your body weight in ounces every day plus 4 ounces for every 15 minutes of exercise.  A 200 pound individual would need to consume 100 ounces of water and if they exercise 45 minutes then total consumption would calculate to be 115 ounces per day. Another way of checking to see if you are consuming the right amount is to check the color of your urine. If it’s clear then back off the water. If it’s a light yellow, that’s about right. If your urine is dark yellow then clearly you need to start giving yourself time in the day to consume some water each hour. Your body will not take kindly to gulping down 40 ounces at one time as you will just dump this water out via peeing. Pace yourself and be kind to your cells, fascia, skin and bladder.