Metta Massage

02/05/2026

The fascia research coming out keeps reframing how we see and understand the body.

A 2024 review published in Frontiers in Neurology establishes fascia as a regulatory system in health and disease.

Here's what that means:

Fascia is highly innervated and rich with blood vessels, lymphatics and receptors for hormones and neurotransmitters.

It doesn't just passively connect these systems.
It actively REGULATES communication between them.

It also shows how neurology and connective tissue are intimately interdependent systems.
Both are critical in regulating many of the body's functions.

When you understand this relationship, you unlock new perspectives on how fascia influences bodily regulation.

This paper also suggests that fascial restrictions may contribute to pain patterns and movement dysfunction.

The bottom line is this:
Your fascia is an active participant in pain, movement, health and nervous system function. Take good care of it! ❤️‍🩹

A myofascial approach to bodywork has never been more important. 🙏

02/05/2026

Many peoples nervous system have been on high alert since the
terrorist attack of 9/11/01… economic collapse, political divide, pandemic, repeat, repeat. It’s like having the gas pedal pushed down to the floor and the brake on at the same time.
Massage can help you reset yourself.
💆‍♀️💆🏻‍♀️💆💆🏻

The Sympathetic Nervous System

You know that scene in a scary movie where the character reaches for the basement door?

The house is quiet. The handle turns slowly. The music builds. Each step down is careful, breath held, their heart pounding so loudly it feels like it might give them away. Every sense is sharpened, and every shadow brings a sense of urgency. The body is no longer just walking down the basement steps, but it's preparing for survival, for the unknown.

That is the sympathetic nervous system.

We sometimes confuse it as being the villain of the story, but in fact, it is our guardian. When the brain senses threat, the amygdala signals the hypothalamus, and a cascade begins. Adrenaline and noradrenaline surge, while our cortisol rises, and our blood flow is redirected from organs to muscles. The body becomes action-ready, sensation-focused, and future-oriented as you slowly begin to descend the stairs.

Years ago I described this system like a pot of water sitting on a stove, and the image has never left me. When the flame turns on, it serves a purpose. Heat gathers, molecules move faster, and energy becomes available for us to use.

A short boil can be helpful.

A rolling boil can save a life.

But so many people are living with the burner always lit; sometimes at a low restless simmer, and others at a violent boil, but rarely ever turned fully off. Deadlines, trauma history, relationship strain, constant input, lack of sleep, unprocessed fear, and a culture that rewards urgency. The flame keeps licking the bottom of the pot and no one remembers to remove it from the heat.

Now if the body is largely water, imagine what chronic internal heat does to the bodies landscape. Inflammation rises. Tissue repair slows. Hormone rhythms drift. Even mood changes, because long exposure to stress chemistry reshapes our neurotransmitter balance. Our sympathetic system was built for moments of fire, not a lifetime slowly burning on the flame.

So much of regulatory work is not about silencing this system but about completing its cycle: removing our pan from the stove, then taking the time to replenish our water.

01/15/2026

At Metta Massage, I often speak about the pillars of wholistic health care with my clients: hydration & nutrition, sleep hygiene, movement (walking, stretching etc) and stress management.
I can partner with you on your self care routine when you come for your appointment, but the real change comes by the daily practices.

01/09/2026

01/06/2026

Draping as Dialogue

If there’s one thing bodyworkers know how to do, it’s debate draping. We talk about it in classes, online forums, break rooms, and comment threads. We defend how we were taught, question how others do it, and sometimes draw firm lines around what feels “right.” And honestly, that makes sense. Our understanding of draping has been shaped by our education, our mentors, our laws, our cultures, and our own comfort levels. But perhaps we can approach this conversation in a way that brings more understanding and depth.

In the healing arts, draping is often introduced as a rule to be learned and mastered. A sequence of folds practiced until it becomes automatic. Those rules matter. The laws, ethics, and professional standards of our states and countries are crucial. They exist to protect everyone in the room, and honoring them is part of holding safety and integrity in our work.

And within those boundaries, thoughtful adaptation remains both possible and appropriate.

As my career unfolded, working in different countries and with diverse populations quietly expanded my understanding of draping. I started to see how culture, personal history, and lived experience shape what safety feels like on the table.

Some clients feel completely at ease with glute exposure. Others only relax when all their bodywork is done through the sheet. Some respond best to a half-drape or a quarter-drape. Some need the sheet tucked firmly and held close to feel secure. Others soften when the fabric is loose and breathable. Over time, I realized that each preference carries meaning. Each one tells a story about the body it belongs to and none of them are wrong.

What became clear to me is that the real issue isn’t finding the correct drape. The issue is assuming there is only one.

When we focus too narrowly on doing it “the right way,” we risk overlooking the person in front of us. Many clients have never been told they have options. They don’t know that comfort can be discussed, adjusted, or personalized. They often assume that whatever happens on the table is simply how massage is done, even if their body is quietly bracing beneath the sheet.

Draping, at its core, isn’t about exposure or concealment; it’s about communication and consent. It’s a conversation that begins before our hands ever touch tissue. When we take the time to educate our clients about what’s possible within our legal and ethical scope, we invite them into their own care and we give them permission to participate rather than endure.

This approach doesn’t take away from professionalism. It deepens it. It allows us to honor the nervous system and recognize that every body arrives carrying their own culture, memory, and lived experience.

As Body Artisans, our role isn’t to defend a single method; it’s to remain curious. To follow the laws that guide us while still listening closely to the human being on our table. When draping becomes a dialogue rather than a directive, trust settles in. Safety becomes felt, not assumed, and the work naturally deepens.

12/24/2025

The best time to start was years ago, the next best time is today…
I am not starting the New Year with any resolutions.
I am starting today to take steps in supporting my future self with healthy habits and a lifestyle that gives me the best opportunity for finishing my race well.

12/24/2025

We're not reshaping fascia with our hands or feet. That's not how this works.

What we're doing is activating mechanoreceptors in the tissue - sensory nerve endings that send information to your nervous system.

That sensory input triggers neurophysiological responses.

Your nervous system then makes adjustments: muscle tone changes, inflammation modulates, tissue hydration shifts, viscoelastic properties alter.

These are measurable changes in how your tissue functions and organizes itself.

But they happen through neuroregulatory pathways, not because we're physically molding fascia like clay.

This is why technique matters. Slow, sustained pressure through a broad surface area gives mechanoreceptors time to communicate with your nervous system.

Your body makes the changes - we're just providing the input that allows those changes to happen.

The body is deeply interconnected. When you understand that sensory input drives tissue change through the nervous system, you stop trying to force results and start facilitating them.

~Sarga Bodywork.

12/04/2025

Your fascia is full of tiny sensory nerve endings called Ruffini receptors.
They're basically sensors that pick up information about stretch and pressure in the tissue.

Most mechanoreceptors (like Pacini corpuscles) react to quick pressure changes and then tune out.

Ruffini receptors are the opposite - they stay active under sustained pressure. They need time to do their thing.

Research shows that when you stimulate Ruffini receptors with slow, sustained work, the autonomic nervous system shifts.

Clients move into a more parasympathetic state - which researchers have actually measured through heart rate variability.

This is why rushing through tissue doesn't create the same effect. You're not giving these receptors enough time to respond and send signals to the nervous system.

At Metta Massage it’s not just about how much pressure we're using. It's about learning how to understand what happens in the body when you slow down and sustain contact and pressure long enough for the tissue to actually communicate with the brain.

That's why it works. 🪄

~Sarga Bodywork

11/30/2025

New research is revealing something wild about fascia: it's electrically active. ⚡️

The cells in your fascia (fibroblasts) are constantly creating tiny electrical signals. Not the same way your nerves fire signals to your brain - this is subtler, happening at the cellular level through the movement of charged particles across cell membranes.

Here's the fascinating part: when fascia experiences pressure, stretch, or compression, those cells convert that mechanical force into bioelectrical activity. It's like your fascia has millions of tiny switches that flip on when touched.

This process is called mechanotransduction, and it's how your fascia cells "feel" what's happening and communicate with the rest of your body about it.

These electrical signals influence how cells behave - whether they start repairing tissue, calm down inflammation, or send pain signals.

Research on fibroblasts shows that compression creates one type of electrical response, while stretching creates another. These different signals then tell cells what to do next.

This positions fascia as way more sophisticated than we thought. It's not just holding things in place - it's an electrically responsive communication network converting every touch and movement into signals that coordinate how your body responds.

This is still emerging science. Researchers are mapping out exactly how this fascial "electrical network" affects whole-body function.

But it explains why manual therapy can create effects that ripple far from the treatment area. We're stimulating electrical activity in fascial cells that may influence healing, pain perception, and tissue behavior beyond where we're directly touching.

Your fascia is talking - electrically.
~Sarga Bodywork

11/20/2025

Mechanoreceptors are a remarkable part of the fascial system. They are the microscopic sensory “listening stations” embedded throughout fascia that constantly read pressure, stretch, tension, vibration, and movement. They allow the body to feel itself from the inside. Without mechanoreceptors, movement would be clumsy, uncoordinated, and disconnected. With them, movement becomes fluid, responsive, and intelligent.

Fascia is loaded with various types of mechanoreceptors, each communicating with the nervous system in its own unique way. Ruffini endings respond to slow, sustained pressure and create a parasympathetic calming effect. Pacinian corpuscles respond to vibration and rapid changes in pressure, helping the body coordinate sudden movements. Interstitial receptors monitor subtle stretches, tensions, and internal shifts; they comprise nearly eighty percent of fascial sensory input and directly influence pain perception. Golgi receptors, found near ligaments and tendon insertions, respond to deep stretch and help down-regulate muscular tension.

When a bodyworker touches fascia, these receptors are the very first structures to respond. Slow, sustained contact helps melt hypertonicity because Ruffini endings signal to the nervous system, “It’s safe to soften.” Deep or directional stretch activates Golgi receptors, signaling muscles to lengthen. Gentle vibration or oscillation stimulates Pacinian receptors, enhancing proprioception and enabling joints to move with greater confidence. Even the quietest technique, a still fascial hold, stimulates interstitial receptors, which can modulate pain and reduce sympathetic overdrive.

Altogether, mechanoreceptors weave the sensory intelligence of fascia. They are the reason the body can adapt, coordinate, stabilize, and move with fluid grace rather than mechanical force. They turn every subtle change in tension into information the brain uses to refine posture, balance, and movement patterns.

So when we work with fascia, we’re not just stretching tissue. We’re communicating with an enormous sensory network that shapes how someone moves, feels, and inhabits their body. Mechanoreceptors are part of the reason fascia is both biomechanical and deeply emotional.

~Body Artesians

11/17/2025

I am doing some continuing education. If you are interested in this type of work, comment below, and I will let you know when I offer it in the future. 👣

09/08/2025