Fascia & Bones: Unpacking the Mystery
Some things I love—fascia and bones with a detective mystery. I am practicing manual osteopath and structural integrator and love working with the connective tissue of the body and the holistic systems of the body. I am also a long-time educator in the field of bodywork and movement. My hope is to share some insights in the fields I practice.
I am generalist in my practice, which means I do a little of everything and there are some areas I focus on such as neurodivergence, trauma, birth work and chronic pain.
As an educator, I am connected with many people in my fields of study and my hope is to share their experiences and expertise within the discussions we have.
In the new podcast I will begin with interviewing folks starting with the field of Structural Integration (SI). I want to unveil some sticky points in our field and take an honest look at some bias that has happened due to how the lineage was set up by Dr. Ida Rolf. In the future, I hope to interview a broader range of innovators in the field of fascia.
Fascia & Bones: Unpacking the Mystery
S2E10: Discussion with Kieran Schumaker on metaphors in teaching and working with clients
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Welcome back to Fascia and Bones: Unpacking the Mystery. Some things I love—fascia and bones with a detective mystery. I am a practicing manual osteopath and structural integrator and love working with the connective tissue of the body and the holistic systems of the body. I am also a long-time educator in the field of bodywork and movement. My hope is to share some insights into the fields I practice.
In Season 2, Episode 10, I am with Kieran Schumaker (they/them), ATSI, BCSI instructor Neurovascular Release Courses who is coming to teach their classes in September and November of 2026. We are following up our discussion from Season 2 Episode 6 where we are talking about curiosity and mentioned metaphor. Here we are diving deeper into many ways we teach with metaphor as well as how this supports our clients on becoming more embodied.
Kier wrote Why we use metaphors:
1. To help us feel tissue, finding the right touch or the right layer
- nodule the size of a pea to describe how to feel for the C2,3 nerve roots
- kidney covered in its fat pad feels like a bar of soap
2. To help us understand spatial relationships in a complex system
- glide planes
- stacking the bones
- tensegrity network
3. To describe presence or movement quality
- feels like butter
- fluid movement
4. To help others see what we see
- Rolfing traditionally uses geometric metaphors, such as cylinders
- hourglass figure
5. To name what is frustrating or challenging
- dropped, collapsed, or fallen arches
- blocky vastus lateralis
- jacked up nervous system
Some metaphors we discuss (In no particular order):
- Imagination—to help us sense, touch, feel, and be present with bodies
- Rooted—firmly established, deeply felt
- Back Body—bend, support, not the front
- Fluid (movement)—like water
- Stable or Stability—to stand
- Glide Plane (for intermuscular septum)—relationship between two tissue layers, but not like two plates sliding.
- Grapefruit Sections—muscle compartments in the thigh
- Nerve roots
- Artery branches
- Upstream—closer to the Central Nervous System or central vascular system.
- Beet root analogy—when talking with clients and students about dural restrictions.
And now for the podcast discussion with Kier.
Class Registration Links:
Manual NVR™ Part 1: Head, Neck, and "Roots of Arms" - September 18-20, 2026, Taos, New Mexico (USA) https://learn.neurovascular-release.online/courses/manual-nvr-part-1-sept-2026-taos
Manual Neurovascular Release Part 2: Lower Thorax, Pelvis, and Hips
November 13-15, 2026 https://learn.neurovascular-release.online/courses/manual-nvr-part-2-november-2026-taos
November 16, 2026 Integration and Practice https://learn.neurovascular-release.online/courses/manual-nvr-masterclass-nov-16-2026-taos
Somatic Touch © 2023 by Kirstie Segarra is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
