Fascial Spring Cleaning Week – Beyond Physical Movement
For years, I’ve spoken about altering the physical movement practice to be more aligned with nature’s seasonal rhythms. Moving with less intensity overall during the winter time–finding the balance of not-too-much (overexertion) and not-too-little (stagnation) in search of just-right amount for you. If the winter focus is more slowness, rest, recovery, yin… then spring is the time for more growth, strength, skill development, endurance.
”Fascial Spring Cleaning” is an experiment. It’s a flexible protocol to help you smoothly transition into the spring time.
When I say “Fascial”, I really mean Neuro-Fascial, as nervous system and myofascial system cannot be separated. And when I “Fascial”, I also mean your WHOLE BODY, as you have 1 continuous fascial web that connects everything in your body, touching every single cell.
Your fascial web becomes restricted for all sorts of reasons: being too sedentary, injuries, dehydration, inflammation, emotional stress/trauma, toxins.
Before you build strength or layer movement patterns on top of restricted fascia, it’s wise to take some time to free up those restrictions. This is one of the best things you could do for your body, your movement, and your overall well-being.
Preparing the body to shift well into spring will influence all areas of your life. Dedicating some self-care body time to shake, breathe, and wring out the stress, tension, and stagnation that builds up and gets stored & stuck in the body… unless we move it out.
That build up of stress-tension-stagnation can feel like anxiety or depression and morph into coping strategies that become not-so-great habits.
Movement is the most powerful and direct way to influence your nervous system.
Movement can create a positive momentum that you can apply to the other areas of your life that are asking for some attention.
Movement practice for me has always been about more than the mechanics of movement, more than just the physical dimension. I've always been curious about how movement practice can impact every other area of your life.
Movement is synonymous with life itself.
Movement practice = Life practice.
For the next week or two, I want to invite you into something bigger than a just a physical workout.
You can create a full-spectrum reset across six dimensions if your life: movement, environment, mind, food, relationships, and spirit.
I keep reminding everyone in Skool that this week can be as simple as 15 minutes of the Stress Reset to start making progress. Or it can be a deep dive that resets your whole life.
The "Fascia-First" Movement Foundation
First and foremost, have a daily movement session scheduled that is your “formal practice”.
Again, this can be as simple as the 15 minute Stress Reset. I recommend any combination of Fascial Maneuvers, the Somatic Sea Creature (a longtime favorite), and visiting the qigong and dance-inspired classics: shaking, skin stimulation, spine movement.
Inside the Fascial Spring Cleaning module in Skool, we cover a new topic every day:
Day 1: Stress Reset & Intro to Fascial Practices
Day 2: Somatic Sea Creature
Day 3: 10 Core Fascial Maneuvers
Day 4: Cranial/”Fascial Facelift”/Intra-oral
Day 5: Deep Squat Reset
Day 6: Abdominal/Diaphragm/Organ Reset
Day 7: 3 Hour Deep Dive
One way to engage could be to just focus on ONE of these practices and go deep in it. Another way to engage could be go through the 7 days of Fascial Spring Cleaning in your first week, THEN choose 1-2 favorites that you do every day for a certain amount of time.
While the formal practice is great and essential, the real magic happens when you behave more like a cat. A cat does about 50 pandiculations (full body yawn-stretch) throughout the day. You have this built-in reset button. Use it!
When in doubt: Fascial Maneuvers and pandiculation, all day long.
I invite you to think of this as a 7-14 day ritual. A 1-2 week reset for your life.
This is an opportunity to change the quality of your whole next year.
Your Environment: The Outer Nervous System
Our physical space shapes our internal state.
Your environment is direct extension of your nervous system. The room you wake up in, the air you breathe, the light that hits your eyes, the desk clutter, the pile of clothes in the corner, the half-finished projects quietly staring at you from across the room… all these things add up.
Clutter isn’t just visual. It’s physiological, low-grade inputs that create micro-stress via open loops that your system never fully relaxes around.
Especially in winter, it’s easy for a kind of stagnation to creep into our spaces the same way it creeps into our tissues. Windows closed, air gets stale, things pile up. This all creates friction from a lack of movement.
Spring is an opportunity to let things move again.
Open the windows and let in some fresh air as you reorganize and re-energize the room. Strip the bed and wash the sheets, clear out surfaces, clean a drawer, donate things, throw away things.
You don’t need a dramatic overhaul. Take simple actions to remove friction and reduce background noise. Set a timer for 15 minutes and see how much you can get done in that short amount of time.
As you “clean” your fascia through movement, cleaning out your environment goes a long way. Create a little more space externally so your body can feel a little more space internally.
There’s a deep satisfaction that comes with a clean, organized environment. Notice how it impacts your mental space. Notice how it impacts your desire to move in your home.
A clean environment signals to your brain “remember, we are doing things differently this week.”
I’m a big fan of moving things in your environment and leaving yourself notes as reminders to practice.
Your Mental Diet: Protecting Your Most Valuable Resource
"We don't experience life. We experience the life we focus on."
We have these (largely unethical) Big Tech giants fighting like a pack of wild dogs for your attention, pulling out all the stops to get you addicted. Your attention is your most valuable resource. Protect it.
I'll be honest–this is my big dragon. Whether it's things I know aren't good for me, like too much news or mindless scrolling, or the more insidious habit of over-consuming information in the name of "self-improvement", I notice my quality of life is highly correlated with what I'm putting into my mind.
This week, I first invite you to simply be aware of what you're consuming. No pressure to change anything yet if you’re not ready for that. Just observing will often change things for the positive.
Some experiments to consider:
A complete fast for 1–7 days: no social media, no news. Replace it with an audiobook or an uplifting podcast
Track in your journal what you consume — no changes, just awareness
Pre-decide when and how much you'll engage with social media
Check email only 1–3 times per day, then close the app
One experiment that yielded surprisingly positive results for me: listening to NDE (Near Death Experience) stories. It helped me zoom out and remember there are much bigger things at play.
Our Literal Diet: What & How You Consume Food
The food environment most of us are navigating is genuinely toxic — too much sugar, highly processed seed oils, weird chemicals that other countries have banned. These things affect your brain, your energy, your ability to regulate your nervous system, and how long you live. Your hardware matters. Your body matters. We've been taught the opposite.
Most people automatically think about what to eat. There may be equal or greater value in considering how you eat.
Before you sit down for a meal this week — try a quick Fascial Maneuver. It can be as simple a six breaths. Put yourself in a different state before you take your first bite. Consider a simple gratitude practice. Chew slowly. Actually taste your food. Use it as a nervous system practice.
Especially this week: can you ask yourself, in the kindest way possible, to please slow the f*** down? 😊
Some dietary experiments to consider:
No sugar (or no sugar except in fruit)
No seed oils (this one should really be a lifelong habit)
Just eat real food: quality meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts
No screens while eating
My modified liquid fast–consuming as much as I want of two drinks:
Bone broth: I add grass-fed tallow, sea salt, bone broth protein, and gelatin, blended into something that has the consistency of a rich savory latte
Master Cleanse lemonade: organic lemons, dark amber maple syrup, cayenne, clean water. Here’s a recipe.
I’ve done this for 1, 3, 7, 21 days and experienced really solid energy. I’ll elaborate in a future post or video.
Inexpensive supplements to support fascial hydration and detox:
Full spectrum mineral complex (Irish Sea Moss is my pick based on Human Garage’s recommendation)
Food-grade Diatomaceous Earth (supports the intestines and provides silica that environmental toxins deplete)
Every time you drink water this week — connect it to gratitude. Clean water is a gift. One of my past mentors used to say: "Even drinking a glass of water can be a prayer."
How you do anything is how you do everything.
The Social Dimension
Invite a friend to join you. You can stay connected in the Mixed Movement Arts community while we do this together.
And here's the deeper work: take a look at any relationship in your life that has some tension, strain, conflict, or unspoken resentment, regardless of how big or small. Reach out and clear the air. A real phone call if you can. Be honest, be kind. Something like*"Hey, I care about you. I want to take responsibility for my part in this."* Just open the door without any agenda except (re-)connecting.
I don't want to leave this earth with any grudges. Those little things weigh on you. They're energetic leaks.
And while you're at it: what else have you been putting off? Perhaps a phone call, an email, oil change, whatever small thing keeps haunting your to-do list, use the momentum of this week to get it done. You'll feel better fast. That will, in turn, create momentum. Freeing up the fascia can lead to a positive upward spiral.
The Spiritual Dimension
This will be very individual. Whether it's meditation, a devotional practice, stillness, movement, or dance — this week is an invitation to connect to something greater than yourself. To dedicate this whole spring cleaning reset to something beyond the personal.
When I think about fascia, I don't just think about this beautiful spiderweb-y connective tissue. I think of it as the liminal space between the inside world and the outside world. Between the physical 3-D and the quantum field.
Maybe this week is for visualization. For getting clear on what you want to create in this next chapter of your life.
All spiritual traditions have, at their core, some practice of preparing for the moment of death. How do we live so that when that moment comes, we don't freeze, panic, or become filled with regret? I said it earlier, and will say it again here: the experiment of listening to NDE (Near Death Experience) stories yielded surprisingly positive results in my perspective. These people go through a major life change when realizing what really matters–and what doesn’t. You don’t need to nearly die in order to take on these lessons and reorganization of priorities.
Closing Thoughts
That’s on my mind because someone very close to me and my family passed away. I've been sitting with how short life really is.
We don't get unlimited time here. Take good care of your body. Not out of vanity or fear, but because movement is a celebration of being alive.
Life is better when we can connect to our kinesiophilia–the love of movement. You have this one precious vehicle–the miracle we call a human body– to experience everything through.
Don't wait for the perfect moment. Don't wait until you have it figured out. Don't wait to tell your people that you love them.
Start now. Start wherever you are. "Tomorrow" is a trap.
One more time: this week can be as simple as 15 minutes of the Stress Reset to start making progress. Or it can be a deep dive that resets your whole life. There's no wrong way. The choice is yours, and I'm honored you'd spend your time here.
Wishing you a smooth transition into spring!
–Dae
Ready to put this into practice?
The Fascial Spring Cleaning series — all 7 days, fully recorded — is available for you inside the Mixed Movement Arts community on Skool. You’ll also find live sessions, stress resets, a growing practice library, and ongoing fascia, nervous system, and somatic education.
Questions or not sure which tier is right for you?
I'd love to connect: Book a free call