Yoga and Fibromyalgia

As a yoga teacher and former neuromuscular therapist, I frequently work with individuals living with chronic pain. Many experience a cluster of symptoms collectively known as fibromyalgia or myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). For some, it presents as a minor, persistent annoyance; for others, the discomfort and pain are so severe that normal daily life grinds to a screeching halt.

To understand how this happens, it helps to understand fascia. Visualize preparing chicken for dinner: as you remove the skin, you notice a thin, nearly transparent membrane wrapping the meat. That is fascia. You have fascia, too—a vast, continuous network running directly beneath your skin, surrounding you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.

Fascia wraps each individual muscle fiber, separates adjacent muscle groups, and encapsulates every organ, gland, and structure in your body. It is literally the continuous web holding your body together. And when fascia stops functioning properly, there is a heavy physical price to pay.

In its natural state, fascia provides a slippery, Teflon-like surface that allows muscles to slide effortlessly over one another as you move. However, when you experience physical injury, chronic illness, severe emotional stress, or simply the wear and tear of aging, fascia responds by contracting.

In the short term, this contraction serves a protective purpose: it restricts movement to guard against further injury. But when fascia remains chronically tight—or contracts without an obvious trigger—it can leave you feeling as though you were hit by a truck.

Soft-tissue contraction is not strictly physical; emotional trauma triggers the exact same reflexive tightening. Chronically contracted fascia leaves you feeling exhausted, irritable, and depleted. It disrupts sleep, impairs concentration, and can make even the gentlest touch feel uncomfortable or painful.

The most challenging aspect of fibromyalgia and MPS is how quickly it becomes a self-reinforcing cycle of pain. The worse you feel physical discomfort, the more your psychological stress elevates. As stress increases, your fascia responds by tightening further, escalating both your physical pain and your emotional strain.

Conventional treatments often rely heavily on pain medications, and because some clinicians view myofascial pain as largely psychosomatic, it is occasionally treated primarily as a psychiatric issue. Psychosomatic or not, the physical reality is undeniable: when fascia is chronically contracted you will feel very uncomfortable in your body.

Just as "fibromyalgia" serves as a broad diagnostic label, "yoga" encompasses many different modalities. My approach centers on a simple principle: As goes the fascia, so goes the body; and as goes the body, so goes the mind.

Rather than trying to forcefully stretch tight muscles, intelligent adaptive yoga focuses on releasing contracted fascia and restoring its natural elasticity. Because of the deep interconnectedness of our physical and mental systems, releasing restricted fascia has a profound, soothing effect on the entire body-mind connection.

Living with MS for decades has given me an intimate understanding of this terrain from both perspectives—as an athlete and yoga teacher, and as someone navigating a chronic condition alongside aging. Combining this personal experience with formal studies of the human body, I know firsthand how targeted, non-forced yoga can interrupt the cycle of chronic pain and help to move with greater ease.