THE LAW OF FEW
Have you heard of Six Degrees of Separation? The theory, researched by Stanly Milgram and popularized by Kevin Bacon, maintains that we are all just six or fewer social connections away from anyone in the world.

In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell expanded on this idea with his Law of Few. The Law of Few suggests that the 6 degrees from point A to B are really dependent on three types of people: Connectors, Mavens & Salesmen.

Connectors are popular individuals who are highly connected with various networks and bring people together; mavens are "information specialists" who aim to educate and help others; salesmen are persuasive individuals with whom people naturally tend to agree.FASCIA
Just as we have a map of social connection in our world, we have a similar network within our bodies called fascia.

Fascia is a ubiquitous, web-like connective tissue which permeates and surrounds all organs, muscles, bones and nerve fibers. It provides functional structure in the body and enables all body systems to operate in an integrated way.

Much like our interconnectedness, fascia is complex and thus difficult to define. So, for simplicity's sake, we'll discuss it in the context of the Law of Few.

1) Fascia is a connector. It is through our fascial system that our calf muscle is connected to the top of our head, our inner thighs to our chest wall, our shoulder blade to our knee.

In Anatomy Trains, Tom Myers maps out these connections with 12 'myofascial meridians,' where individual muscles join with fascial fabric to form an organized and functional complex.

But fascia attaches to everything, not just muscle! Similarly to how connectors in the Law of Few bring together various social networks, fascia is well-connected to many systems of the human body and brings them all together.

We see this connection when we notice how a movement practice can improve our stress levels, the quality of our breath, circulation and digestion.

2) Fascia is a maven. Like the mavens in Gladwell's Law of Few, fascia communicates and sends information throughout the body. Mechanoreceptors detect changes or stress in an area, give that feedback to the brain (the nervous system), and then different areas connected to the fascia can respond.

For example, if you sit with your leg tucked under you for long enough, your knee might start to feel stress, your brain detects this message and interprets this as pain or discomfort, and you respond by extending your leg and changing your position.

Our bodies are intelligent, and this communication often happens without us even realizing it.

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‍3) Fascia is a salesman. Just as people tend to go along with what the salesmen in their networks do and say, our physical and energetic bodies are influenced by our fascia.

Fascia impacts how we move, how we breathe, how we feel and how we conduct ourselves.