Fascia and Resonance: Exploring the Threshold Between Self and Environment

By Ana Barretxeguren

Bring yourself back to a moment when something resonated deeply, a sound that lingered in your chest, a place that felt like home, or a face that brought warmth to your whole body. Resonance goes beyond simple vibration; it happens when we meet a frequency to which we are aligned, this alignment amplifies our experience, creating a sense of connection and coherence, a felt experience of vibrancy and feeling fully alive.

We are relational beings. Our nervous system constantly scans for cues of safety or threat, shaping how we interact with the world. As Stephen Porges describes it, the nervous system acts as a surveillance system, influencing not just how we feel but also how we breathe, move, and express ourselves. When we are in a state of safety, our body softens, our breath expands, and our voice carries warmth and musicality. However, under stress, our voice flattens, breath becomes restricted, and our tissues brace in a protective response, limiting our ability to resonate and connect.

In states of chronic stress or unprocessed trauma, the body’s safety-recognition system becomes rigid on multiple levels. Our tissues harden and guard, reflecting the nervous system’s attempt to protect us. Human fascia contains 250 million nerve endings, with 40% of its sensory fibres being sympathetic, highlighting its critical role in relaying information about our environment. 

Research by Fede et al. (2021) provides evidence of a hidden neural network within deep fascia, supporting Schleip et al.’s (2017) description of its sensory role. Far from being a passive connective tissue, fascia actively regulates proprioception (our sense of position in space), interoception (our awareness of internal body rhythms), and neuroception—the process by which the nervous system detects safety or threat in our surroundings, a concept rooted in Porges’ Polyvagal Theory. This dynamic network supports not only our physical structure but also modulates its tone as we sense, adapt and respond to the world around us. When we enter a defensive state our capacity for resonance diminishes, both in our tissue and in our relationships.

Breath, movement and manual therapy can be powerful tools for restoring our core rhythmicity. When we engage in somatic practices that include gentle pressure, movement, and breath, we offer the body a pathway to balance, we return and stay in a state of safety.

Soft tools like the Moving Fascia® ball can provide valuable curiosity through pressure, texture and shape, re-tuning our autonomic response to recognise a sense of boundary and support, returning fluidity and rebound to our tissue. When the pressure is gentle and adaptable, it invites curiosity rather than resistance, allowing us to explore our individual guarding pattern without triggering further bracing.
Gradually, as we yield to the pressure, we create space to release unnecessary tension and expand our breath and movement possibilities. In a state of soft attention, we explore agency and subtly modulate our responses to stimuli through micro-movements within our system. We do not impose change; we meet it, attuning to the rhythms already present within us.

A somatic enquiry returns the body to a sense of safety and enhances our capacity for resonance, with ourselves, our environment, and others. So as you return to that lingering sound, that warming face, or the place that felt like home, notice how your body meets this moment. Observe where you resist, where you yield, and where resonance begins to emerge. Change is not something to induce but something to meet. And in meeting it with curiosity and openness, we invite a deeper sense of connection – with ourselves, with others, and with the moving world around us.

To read a fuller version of this blog, visit the Members’ Area of the Fascia Hub, where we dive deeper into these connections and how somatic practice can help restore rhythm and balance.

You are invited to explore the Moving Fascia® method by visiting movingfascia.com or search for ‘Moving Fascia’ from the App Store or Google Play to download the/our FREE Moving Fascia App. Inside, you’ll find a selection of FREE Moving Fascia sessions, designed to introduce you to somatic practices that prioritises experience through breath and relational movement.

References:
Fede, C., Petrelli, L., Guidolin, D., Porzionato, A., Pirri, C., Fan, C., … & Stecco, C. (2021).
Evidence of a new hidden neural network into deep fasciae. Scientific Reports, 11, Article 12623.

Porges, S. W. (2009). The integration of vocal communication and biobehavioral state
regulation in mammals: A Polyvagal hypothesis. In S. M. Brudzynski (Ed.), Handbook of
Mammalian Vocalization: An Integrative Neuroscience Approach (pp. 301-311). Elsevier.

Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions,
Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.

Reeve, S. (2011). Nine Ways of Seeing a Body. Axminster: Triarchy Press.

Schleip, R., et al. (2017). Fascia as a sensory organ: A target of myofascial manipulation.
Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 40(1), 20–26.