Oak Manual Therapy

The fasciae are tissues that are the protective layers of every organ They need to be moist to allow the free flow of energy. They are of varying thickness and strength and are found in all regions of the body surrounding the softer, more delicate organs. Medical books list 120 different types of fasciae. The deep and superficial fasciae hold our skin, muscles, bones, organs, and systems together, offering them a shield of protection and lubrication.

Fasciae are structures for Chi. Large amounts of Chi can be packed into the fasciae to make them strong and keep them moist When they are deficient in Chi, they become dry, hard, and bittle The fasciae are the conduits of Chi flowing in the body. The organ channels pass through the fasciae. When the fasciae are dry, Chi cannot flow well and the body can feel stiff and hard. Movement can become painful.

Good Chi flow through the fasciae means good flow everywhere Healthy fasciae means good energy, flexibility, and structural integrity. Healthy fasciae feel like taut sheets of strong, thin material offering a flexible shield of protection. With Chi Nei Tsang, especially skin detoxification, we improve the fasciae and the organ or system that we are focusing on.

The abdomen has many levels of fasciae, in fact, it has the greatest concentration of fasciae in the body.

In Five Element theory, each of the five elements has a correlating season and organ system pair. For the Fire element, the season is Summer and the organ systems are the Heart and Small Intestine.

This Fire element organ is a bit of an alchemist! It receives material and transforms it, and through the process of separation, sorts what to keep and what to discard. Everything we eat and drink passes through the Small Intestine and is transformed and sorted out through the process of digestion. Nutrients are absorbed into the blood and waste is eliminated.


The Small Intestine’s ability to separate pure from impure also works on a mental, emotional, and spiritual level. In our fast-paced world, our minds have a lot to sort out! With constant input from 24/7 headlines and social media feeds, we have to be able to sort out what serves us and what does not. We have endless decisions to make and a million ways our choices are being influenced. A healthy Small Intestine system gives us the ability to clearly see our choices and make decisions. It gives us the power to find a way to extract what's good and discard the rest.

What do we take in and what do we leave out? What should we absorb, what to eliminate? Because the Small Intestine's job is to separate the pure from impure, it also has the important role of discrimination. But as we are constantly faced with so many choices and influences, this can become an overwhelming task for the Small Intestine to take on.


When overwhelmed, the job of the organ Officials become impaired. When the Small Intestine can no longer discriminate, people can become easily confused or indecisive. We can feel ambivalent, and not even be able to see what we are supposed to be choosing from. We can feel mentally foggy, unable to make decisions, or evaluating what to do next.

The goal is not to go towards extreme purity (of food, exercise, water, spiritual practice, etc), as this also creates imbalances. The goal is to cultivate awareness, listen to our body, and strive for balance in our busy lives. Eating well, manual therapy, sleep, healthy boundaries, exercise, meditation… any of these practices will help support.