Being Bodyful: Cultivating Self-Awareness Through the Fascia-Brain Connection

By BetsyAnn Baron

In a fast-paced world, many of us live from the neck up — focused on thought, planning, and doing — often unaware of the subtle cues arising within our own bodies. Yet, our posture and the way we inhabit ourselves moment to moment can offer profound insight into how we feel, move, and relate. Reconnecting with postural somatic awareness — the felt sense of how we organize ourselves in space — opens a powerful doorway into greater presence and agency.

Why Postural Awareness Matters
Postural awareness isn’t just about standing up straight. It’s about becoming curious: How do my feet meet the ground? Where is my breath moving? Am I holding tension unconsciously? These questions invite a pause — a gentle shift from autopilot into embodied inquiry.

Scientific research increasingly supports what somatic practitioners have known for decades: the body and brain are in constant dialogue. Fascia, the connective tissue web that weaves through every structure in the body, plays a crucial role in this conversation. Rich with sensory receptors, fascia is responsive to pressure, movement, and attention. When we bring awareness to posture and breath, we’re not just changing how we feel in the moment — we’re engaging a living system that learns and adapts.

Fascia and Neuroplasticity: A Two-Way Street
As we become more attuned to our posture and movement, we stimulate interoception — the internal sense of the body’s condition — and proprioception, the awareness of spatial orientation. This in turn activates neuroplastic processes in the brain. Simply put: new sensations create new neural pathways. By inviting awareness into habitual patterns, we interrupt the old loops and make room for alternatives.

One woman in her early 60s came for myofascial therapy due to persistent hip and knee pain. During posture check-ins, she would subtly lean against the wall — an unconscious habit. I chose not to comment at first. At her second session, I gently brought her attention to it. She was surprised; she hadn’t realized she needed external support to stand. That moment of realization marked a turning point. In the weeks that followed, she began noticing similar patterns — leaning on counters, holding tension when fatigued. As her awareness grew, so did her sense of agency. As our work together advanced, she stood taller, moved more freely, and reported feeling more at home in her body.

Prompting Self-Awareness: Simple Practices
Self-awareness begins with noticing. The next time you stand, take a moment to ask:
– Where is my weight distributed?
– How is my breath moving — high in the chest or deep in the belly?
– Is there a sense of ease or holding anywhere?

These questions have no right or wrong answers. Their power lies in the asking. As you listen inwardly, you may discover subtle sensations, emotions, or shifts in posture. Over time, this practice strengthens your capacity to tune in — not just during dedicated movement sessions, but in daily life.

This simple somatic inquiry often reveals unconscious holding patterns and invites self-directed exploration — without judgment or correction.

The Ongoing Practice of Being Bodyful
Being Bodyful, as I call postural somatic awareness, isn’t a technique or a fixed method. It’s an ongoing invitation to inhabit yourself with curiosity and care. Whether you’re a movement professional, a manual therapist, or simply someone seeking to feel more grounded, the journey begins with a single question and a willingness to listen.

Stand. Pause. Feel.
You might be surprised by what you discover.

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For further resources on somatic education, fascia research, and the role of postural awareness in therapeutic settings, visit www.baronbodyworks.ca.

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References

• Schleip, R., Findley, T. W., Chaitow, L., & Huijing, P. A. (2012). Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body. Elsevier Health Sciences.
• Bordoni, B., & Simonelli, M. (2020). The awareness of the fascial system. Cureus, 12(8), e9963. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.9963
• Craig, A. D. (2002). How do you feel? Interoception: the sense of the physiological condition of the body. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3(8), 655–666. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn894
• Kandel, E. R., Schwartz, J. H., Jessell, T. M., Siegelbaum, S. A., & Hudspeth, A. J. (2013). Principles of Neural Science (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
• Price, C. J., & Hooven, C. (2018). Interoceptive awareness skills for emotion regulation: Theory and approach of Mindful Awareness in Body-Oriented Therapy (MABT). Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 798. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00798