Fascia and Fungi…What’s the connection?
I just recently re-watched “Fantastic Fungi”, the Netflix documentary on the wonders of the mycological world. The documentary touches on many aspects of this mysterious yet ubiquitous form, not entirely plant nor animal, but its own unique kingdom. It’s a fascinating delve into the transformational power of its role in decomposition and regeneration of our ecosystems. New findings for its potential in environmental cleanup and carbon storage are explored and gave me a spark of true hope for our bleak climate future. And finally, a resurgence in research of the medicinal and spiritual use of psilocybin, the psychoactive component of fungi, is celebrated.
What does this have to do with myofascial therapy or fascia? Well, I couldn’t help but be taken with the analogous fractal nature of the underground mycelium system and the fascial network of our bodies. What is a fractal? Fractals are found throughout nature. They describe a pattern that is repeated at smaller and smaller scales. The easiest example of this is a tree with its trunk and branches, each branch further branching into smaller, thinner branches and so on, ending in leaves which in turn repeat the pattern in their veins. In our bodies, common examples are nerves and blood vessels branching into smaller and smaller versions of themselves.
The mycelium is a weblike branching structure of thin filaments buried underground, the “fruit” of which are mushrooms, molds, and lichens that we encounter above ground. The expansiveness of this organism cannot be overstated, described in the video as being 300 miles deep under every step you take in the forest! It is found virtually everywhere. Like mycelium, fascia is a weblike, filamentous tissue that arises in our bodies at both the visible and microscopic levels, surrounding all of our structures, penetrating them, perforating them, investing them, in fact, composing them, and finally, connecting them, down to the cellular level. It too, is virtually everywhere.
The function of the mycelium also appears analogous to the fascial system, at least in some ways. This network of pathways is a conduit of communication and energy for the fungi and trees/plants associated with them. Not just in the traditional sense of energy transport of food and water via the roots that we are familiar with, but in the form of electrical impulses. A tree is described as being able, through the mycelium, to “communicate” to its progeny, warning of drought, pests etc. So too, fascia is thought to have a communicative role throughout the body, transporting information in the form of photons or electromagnetic impulses, a role more commonly attributed to the realm of the nervous system.
I leave you with a quote from the end of the film by Paul Stamets, the main narrator in the film and leader in the study of mycology. “We will forever exist together within the myco-molecular matrix. Brain neurons, mycelium, the computer internet, [the fascial system] (mine), the organization of the universe… all share the same archetype. I believe matter begets life, life becomes single cells, single cells form chains, chains form branches, matrices form interlocking intersecting mosaics of mycelium and mycelium-like organisms.”
Perhaps as more is discovered about both of these systems, their full potential to contribute to human health and our environment will be tapped!
