129 Comments
User's avatar
Dea Devidas's avatar

Seth, this isn’t just education: it’s an initiation into deeper embodiment. 🔥

We talk about releasing trauma, but rarely do we acknowledge where it actually lives. Not in the past, not in the mind alone, but in the web of the body.

When I studied shiatsu, fascial work was the core of everything. Every tension, every story, every unprocessed experience - it’s all there, woven into the body’s fabric. The idea that fascial tension isn’t just tightness but a held survival story: that shifts everything.

What you’re sharing here isn’t just knowledge; it’s a permission slip to move differently, to listen differently, to heal differently.

Damn good work.

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

Wow, deeply appreciate this reflection. Grateful to be in conversation with people who truly get 'it'.

Expand full comment
Dea Devidas's avatar

I couldn’t agree more - finding your words felt like striking gold. So few people truly get that everything is in the fascia, and seeing someone articulate it so clearly was a moment of pure joy. Grateful to be in this conversation with you. Respect. ✨

Expand full comment
Garry's avatar

Wow fascinating. Thanks for your insight!

Expand full comment
Moe Aloha's avatar

Love this bro! First place I have seen articulate the power of the fascia at this level!

I watched the fuzz video in my YTT a few years back and more recently started to understand much more in relation to healing.

My co-facilitator on my retreats describes it the internet of the body. The same way the internet of the world creates the matrixes we exist in, the internet of the body creates our own matrix we exist in.

Super important with the rise of nervous system repatterning becoming mainstreamed that we don't forget the fascia - its fascia-nating stuff!

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

Absolutely love “the internet of the body”—what an incredible way to describe it! That concept deeply resonates with me, and I’ll definitely be ‘weaving’ it into the way I share about fascia.

I always love to honor lineage, so I’ll make sure to let people know it’s from Moe Aloha’s co-facilitator. You two are now officially part of my forever lexicon!

Expand full comment
Anna Wermuth's avatar

Fascia is indeed the mycelium of the body. My work as a trauma survivor and mycologist with chronic pain is all about this. Glad I stumbled upon this piece, thank you for sharing!

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

Love hearing this from a mycologist’s perspective—so many parallels between fascia and mycelium, both as networks of connection and resilience.

Grateful you stumbled upon this and shared!

Expand full comment
Amanda Forrest's avatar

Oooh you made my little massage therapist/somatic healer brain so happy talking about the ins and out of fascia! Wonderful article 🙏

Expand full comment
Nurse Maggie's avatar

Do try Rolfing! It’s fascia mobilization by a trained practitioner. My practitioner, Lu Müller Kaul, reset my feet, lower back (vía my abdomen!), and scapula. It can be painful, but the rewards are golden

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

Absolutely—Ida Rolf’s work has been a huge influence. Rolfing can be incredibly powerful for structural integration and deep fascial release. Glad to hear you’ve had such transformative experiences with it!

Expand full comment
Susan Gray's avatar

Finally, I am a fellow trainer and exercise therapist with nutrition consulting, I have been preaching this for years but you can’t get any of the main stream thinkers to understand the concept of “no pain, no gain, is INSANE”. The schools keep preaching the same fake crap and the students go out and regurgitate their school. Just like the medical field. I’m ready to change the dynamics. Love your article.

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

I hear you—there’s so much outdated, harmful thinking still dominating the industry. ‘No pain, no gain’ has done real damage, and it’s time for a smarter, more regenerative approach. Glad to be in this work alongside you!

Expand full comment
Oliver Elizabeth's avatar

I am delighted to see that there is a discipline that explains some thoughts I had on my own, learned through my healing journey. I have a connective tissue disorder, and have been wondering more about its role/history/function/potential in my own healing journey.

The medical model of connective tissue disorders, while it has its uses for some, I dislike for myself. I wanted to learn more about holistic solutions to managing this disorder, and am so pleased to have read this article.

I have many other thoughts, but I will re-read this and explore some of your other works.

Expand full comment
Sharon Bullard's avatar

Love how you blend Eastern and Western thought on this! Wonderful to read!

Expand full comment
Shannon Connolly's avatar

Wow! This is the best & most thorough explanation of fascia I’ve ever read & loved the somatic lens! I’m saving this article for future reference to use to help me educate others. Thank you for sharing this beautiful wisdom. Our bodies are pure magic ✨

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

Thank you! ✨

Expand full comment
Evy Y. Parkinson's avatar

"healing is not linear or compartmentalized but holistic and interconnected." Totally!

Great info. Thank you. Qigong practice is excellent for all of these as well...

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

Totally agree—Qigong is an incredible practice across multiple dimensions. Appreciate you sharing!

Expand full comment
Antoinette Beard's avatar

I love this post so much! I used to work with clients with neurological disabilities (stroke victims, cerebral palsy, autism, Rett Syndrome) and many of them were unable to communicate their aches and pains to me. Each session with them involved me tuning into their fascia by watching the way they moved or responded to my touch. I remember particularly a stroke client, unable to speak no more than a few phrases was terrified of falling. I watched her foot drag and her body guard itself with every step. Yes, she had a stroke and lost function but there was so much more there. Her body was instinctually guarding itself. We explored her pain, narrowing it down to a memory of her foot getting twisted at some point during the stroke. This led to extreme pain in her hip, digestive issues and depression. I had her talk to her foot, gently touch it and on that day, together we made it move. I watched her take a complete stride with no drag for the first time. She cried and yelled out "OH MY GOD!" It's amazing how intuitive our bodies are and if we just listen, it speaks.

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

Yes! This is such a powerful story. The way you attuned to your client’s fascia, not just as a structural system but as a living record of experience, is so deeply moving. That moment of breakthrough, when her body finally felt safe enough to release and move freely, is everything. Thank you for sharing this.

Expand full comment
Rosie Langridge's avatar

Thank you for sharing. I've had no stroke but now I understand why one of my feet drags when I'm super stressed.

Expand full comment
Talie — Very Freqy Girl®'s avatar

Wait till they learn about plasma :)

Expand full comment
the bast's avatar

🙌🫶✨

Expand full comment
Suburbia's avatar

Amazing information, thanks so much.

Expand full comment
Susanna Musser's avatar

This piece is so clearly and interestingly written! Thank you for sharing it!

Expand full comment
WhiteFeather Hunter, PhD's avatar

As a tissue engineer with a textiles background, I have grown connective tissue cells on woven matrices. I also conceptualize this work in more esoteric terms, as these frameworks are certainly interdimensional. If you want to see theory and practice converge in a materials-focused way, you can check out my latest Substack post. I think you might like it! We speak the same language, but manifest it through unique approaches.

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

Thank you so much for sharing! My wife and I took a look at your work, and to say we’re fans is an understatement! The depth and creativity of what you’re doing is truly inspiring. We love how you integrate the material and the metaphysical in such a grounded way. So happy to connect, and looking forward to exploring more of your insights!

Expand full comment
WhiteFeather Hunter, PhD's avatar

Thank you, and same! Happy to have come across your work. :)

Expand full comment
Dmitry Pavluk's avatar

Michael Edward Johnson has a great framework for this: Principles of Vasocomputation. The thrust of his argument is that we encode priors in vascular tension: restrict bloodflow to an area and nearby neurons can't update. Basically tanha originating in fascia.

https://opentheory.net/2023/07/principles-of-vasocomputation-a-unification-of-buddhist-phenomenology-active-inference-and-physical-reflex-part-i/

Expand full comment
Seth Kaufmann's avatar

Appreciate you sharing this—such a fascinating framework. I completely agree that vascular tension and fascia play a huge role in how we encode and experience patterns in the body and mind. This will make a perfect reference for another essay I’m working on—really grateful for the connection!

Expand full comment