169- How Our Modern Lifestyles Impact Every Tissue in Our Body with Kris Quinones

[00:00:14] Bryan Carroll: If you go back and listen to some of my podcasts episodes with lending perishing now, which by the way. Some of the most downloaded episodes of all time for the show.

[00:00:24] You'll probably remember him talking about taking care of our tissues the same way we would at brush and floss. Which unfortunately, there's probably a lot of people that don't really take good care of their teeth and the same goes for their tissues as well, which is why I have Kris Quinones on the show today because she is going to teach us some ways to take care of our fascia, which is all the tissues in our bodies, so that we are pain-free and we can move freely in our lives.

[00:00:51] What's up everyone. My name is Bryan Carroll and I'm here to help people move more, eat well and be adventurous. And one of the most neglected things within our body is taking care of our tissues. And I know a lot of people don't like to take the time to stretch which is why something like a yoga practice is really good because.

[00:01:11] Kind of forces you into different stretch patterns, but there are quite a few people that don't have a yoga practice or a stretch practice built into their daily routines. So Kris Quinones is, is on the show and she's going to teach us how to add a stretching program into our lives to really take care of our tissues and make sure that we are pain-free in our moment.

[00:01:33] And Kris is. And a massage educator, a licensed muscular therapist and Ayurvedic health counselor with over 25 years of professional experience in orthopedics, competitive sports and natural healing. So let's dive into my conversation with Kris. Thank you, Kris, for coming onto the show. You're welcome.

[00:01:53] Pleasure to be here. Of course, and I'm really excited to chat with you about fascia health and how to keep our fascia healthy so that we aren't in pain and we're able to move freely and enjoy the moment quality that we have. But before we get into all that, let's learn a little bit more about you and what's your backup.

[00:02:12] Kris Quinones: Thanks. I've been working for the last 25 years, professionally in healing. And I started in orthopedics and sports medicine, pursuing a career in that regard as an ortho tech and thinking at the time I go into medical school, but life had a different plan for me. So as a competitive athlete in martial arts and tennis, A I had an injury and like a lot of other people that led me down a path of how to heal from that injury more quickly, what tools were available to me and how I got introduced to these holistic systems of yoga.

[00:02:51] And then later, are you. And I did a career shift through that journey as I was integrating all of this information. And now I work as a lifestyle coach and I coach clients with chronic pain and inflammation. Those who that are looking for more mobility by using these habits and lifestyles from our you Veda and, and yoga, which are natural systems of healing.

[00:03:20] Bryan Carroll: Yeah, it's interesting. You brought up the, the martial arts background. I would assume that just having that exposure with martial arts, you've probably learned just how important one it is to keep your fascia healthy, but how important it is to provide power and strength and all that stuff as well. When your, you know, battling someone else.

[00:03:44] Kris Quinones: Wow. Those are two big questions. I will say that, you know, back then when I was competing in martial arts, we didn't, there wasn't much ado about fascia, right? People barely knew what the word was or, and those that knew of it saw it like most in allopathy as packaging material, something you're cutting away when you're getting to the anatomical structures or systems that you're working.

[00:04:09] It's only in recent years that we've had a real shift in the research available about fascia's role beyond the biomechanical structure. It provides to provide the necessary tension and structure so that we can keep our form and move the way we want to move. Now we're getting much more knowledgeable and privy about fascia's innervation and.

[00:04:37] Connection to our nervous system and our nervous system, as we know, is really at the base of our immune system strength and how we're able to respond to stresses in life like injury or like a bad boss, you know? So that kind of resilience we're really tapping into now with fascia beyond. Biomechanical part of it and into some of the metaphysical and some of the psychological benefits and therapeutic value, particularly with those who might have trauma in their background, who are working with you know, just all different kinds of histories.

[00:05:17] We all have histories. So fascia only now is kind of. Coming out of the closet as this must understand system, which is really what it is as we're understanding it better and its impact on the other systems in our body. And so I'll, I'll leave it at that to answer your first question and be somewhat succinct.

[00:05:42] Cause that's a conversation that, you know, as a Yogi I could have till 2000. 80. You know, and we're just learning more and more about it. And if you want to know more about it, you can follow along with the international fascia Congress which is an annual event with some of the world's best researchers in many different fields, both allopathic and holistic homeopathic, really understanding what this role is and in mobility and in healing as well.

[00:06:17] Bryan Carroll: So what all makes up the fascia? I know it's not just a muscle. It says it all the tissues, connective tissues, et cetera on the body, or what is it consisted of? It's 

[00:06:26] Kris Quinones: a mixture of components. It's a mixture of college and fibers, which allow those strengths in this connective tissue. It is filled with elastin fibers, which allow for elasticity for us to actually be able to stretch and move and have some pliability.

[00:06:44] It also has. Liquid. It's a, it's a semi-liquid semi-solid system that kind of dances between the states based on different factors in the environment effected by diet effected by our sleep affected by our exercise, by our mindset and ability to adapt to stress. So it is the system. Is three-dimensional it covers every structure in the body's anatomy, from the muscles to the bones, to the organs themselves.

[00:07:23] And it is three-dimensional. So let's see, I've got this model here that might help me explain a little bit,

[00:07:34] if you think of it like a. In the body, in which all your bones, muscles, and organs are suspended in, right? And as we move throughout our body, as we eat healthy nourishing foods, as we learn how to keep this tissue well hydrated, what it allows is for there to be tension, where there needs to be tension and take and absorb compressing.

[00:08:03] Forces and compression as well. And so this allows us to keep the bodies. To just stand up right. And keep our shape as it is. And it allows also wrapping almost like a hug if you will, to every lymph and blood vessel, to every nerve, to every cell and bone and other tissues and systems in your body.

[00:08:29] So the quality and health of your fascia directly impacts and determines that. Of the other body systems and the yogis knew this, you know, we, the first tissue in Ayurvedic medicine is Brossa Brossa is referring to that first tissue formed in the beginning of our digestive process, turning those building blocks of food into.

[00:08:57] Nourishment and to quality tissue. And so this rasa is a, is a liquid state. It's the Kyle that results in the breaking down of our food with digestive enzymes. And so the quality of that Brasa that very first tissue is, is a high priority. When you're talking about the long game in term of the, in terms of the body, being able to continue developing other healthy tissues based on that.

[00:09:30] Because if you don't have a good diet or don't have a good digestion to actually access these nutrients and eliminate the wastes that we don't want hanging around. Then your other tissues and systems, aren't going to be good quality. And so now we're understanding here in the west, how fascia and the fact that it's so unique compared to other tissues in the body with this massive innovation and this ability to change states, depending on the environment is really a living, breathing.

[00:10:10] Dynamic autoregulatory. Biosystem. I know that's a,

[00:10:21] Bryan Carroll: so what's really neat about that. The model you just showed on video is it's following this, this theory of 10 Segretti, where when you influence one part of that model, other parts of the model are also being influenced, which is Kind of how the fascia works to you. When one thing is influenced in other parts of your body, it's influencing the entire body.

[00:10:43] So can you talk a little bit more about that? How all of that is connected and how you might have pain let's say in your neck, but it might not actually be originally thing in the neck. It could be originally all the way from your left. That's 

[00:10:56] Kris Quinones: right, exactly. For years when I got first into holistic work from orthopedics and sports medicine, I became a licensed muscular therapist.

[00:11:08] And so I very much would see the direct impact that fascia. On far reaching places in the body. So you can infer it since my personal experience with my injury from martial arts was a labor of tear in my hip. And so the tear was bad enough that they decided to debried the labor room that had torn. It was about three quarters torn.

[00:11:34] So it was flapping like. Flag in the, in the wind and causing a lot of inflammation for me and pain. So I had surgery to remove that tissue and then was faced with, well, how is my body going to shift and adapt to try to support. Joint now because the labor them is a structure that's lies in the hip joint, right.

[00:12:00] In between the ball and socket. And it helps keep that ball in the socket. And in the process of treating my condition, I also learned I have congenital hip dysplasia, so my sockets are very shallow and the top of that femur is not covered as completely. As maybe someone, you know, my doctor would have liked.

[00:12:24] And so that contributed to maybe why I had the labor room tear. It was just a little less stable and I was a martial artist competing and, and had very intense workouts. Six days a week, two hours. I was a brown belt. So my training was very intense. And so I understood after my surgery that with my PT and the functional strength I was going to need to regain, especially in my hamstrings to keep that hip joint more stable without the labor.

[00:13:00] I was also going to need to learn how to release the compensatory patterns that had started showing up in my body. And I saw this as a massage therapist and still see it all the time. The body. Resilient. It's incredibly adaptable and plastic and, and fascia is such a great teacher in this lesson because it will adapt to what you need.

[00:13:27] Fascia will download in the pattern of your movement, good or bad. Right. So if your movement has benefited. Great fascia is going to organize itself in a way to support that optimal movement with the least amount of energy expenditure, the body's divine intelligence will organize itself. I think this is brilliant in that way, but, and.

[00:13:57] If your pattern is to sit on the couch or be on your device for 12 hours a day, then your fascia is going to intuitively build support for that, for you to hold that position. And this is where we see a lot of these chronic patterning over time with fascia organizing itself and not always for the longterm.

[00:14:25] Best result. It depends. It depends on so many factors. So if, in my instance, without the support of this hip joint, I started to have. Left shoulder pain, fatigue, not really pain. I'll say fatigue. And I was just noticing in my yoga postures, I wasn't able to have the same range of motion for my left shoulder girdle.

[00:14:51] My entire mid trap had organized itself with additional fascia to. With what was becoming a pole between the left and right sides of my body as I was just walking a simple activity like walking. So with some education around learning my own anatomy, I came from a sports and orthopedic background. So I had that benefit, but it doesn't take a lot to pull out an anatomy book and just start looking at the directions of these muscle fibers.

[00:15:28] In your body and exploring how to massage them using a foam roller or using a massage or tennis ball. And that was the beginning of my personal embodied knowledge around how plastic and resilience our body and our body's fascia is. And it responds to. Electric currents. It responds to magnetic input.

[00:15:57] It responds to chemistry and alkalinity or acidity in the body's plasma and diet. I talked about that Kyle and that prostate tissue in our you Vedic medicine, it's influenced by how often we move it's influenced by the nature of the movement we're doing. So in the typical fitness world where there's a lot of emphasis on flection and extension.

[00:16:26] In the weight training or in a lot of functional movement patterns, but with fascia, what we're learning is that three-dimensional movements are more advantageous for the longterm. And so activities like yoga, Asana, like dancing, like palabra. Like martial arts or QI gong, Tai Chi. It's the nature of these movements that you're taking your body through its entire range of motion, not just the dominant range of motion.

[00:17:02] And with that programming, the body will organize its fascia and the most optimal way for you. And you will be at less risk of developing compensation patterns that lead to injuries. You'll be less likely to experience organ failure because the fascia that's wrapped around it. Isn't suffocating it all constricted and enabled to.

[00:17:27] You're able to recover from surgery more quickly because the scar tissue that forms after an incision or torn ligament or meniscus, or, you know herniated disc, you know, these are the kinds of soft tissue injuries that by having healthy fascia and developing habits and a lifestyle that supports.

[00:17:50] Healthy fascia giving the body varied movement patterns so that it really maintained that plasticity, but also strength. We're learning that certain connective tissue serves different roles in the body. So some fascia are, is designed to handle more compression. That connective tissue is going to make our ministers.

[00:18:17] And our knees. That's the tissue that is forming our lumbar discs. That tissue is designed for that compressive force, but tissues like ligaments or tendons are going to be more designed to support any tensile stress we're pulling. Right. And so depending on the, the tissues role and our lifestyle and habits, we really have a say in how quickly we can heal and our risk for injury and ultimately auto-immune disease, because we're learning now how closely linked chronic inflammation is tied to our risk for autoimmune diseases.

[00:19:05] Bryan Carroll: Yeah. It's a super interesting, because. Your body will adapt to whatever environment it's in. And so, for example, like you mentioned, if you sit a lot, then your body's going to adapt to that sitting position. And if you sit a lot in your, you know, at a computer, let's say 12 hours a day, and then you get up and you bend down to tire shoe.

[00:19:28] And all of a sudden you injure your back doing something as simple as tying your shoe. Well, that's because your body's not really used to having that actually get down to the ground or get that low Ben fully full flection bend over, and then try to come back out of it safely. You haven't taught it that you haven't trained it for that so that the adaptation patterns are beneficial, but it can be abused if you aren't taking.

[00:19:54] Caravan and pro providing variety of movement as well because of buddy loves variety. 

[00:20:01] Kris Quinones: Yeah. It's a complex system and we're just really diving into the deep ocean that it is now around the world. I mean, there's that art exhibit. Exhibit that's traveled around the globe with this plastic cation technique used in medicine.

[00:20:18] So now we're actually seeing the fascia in a different context, and we're learning about these motions and movements and the impact they have. On the body's tissues. I remember going through my massage therapy training and part of that involves some cadaver use. And the cadaver that we were looking at had this really broad white band of fascia around the pec major muscle here that was atypical for your average human being and how we move.

[00:20:54] You know, we're not on all fours. There would, it was really interesting to see. Patterning and the body. And so we were all speculating. What was this per what's this? What was this person's story? Right. Cause fascia downloads all the stories. It's your, it's your Ram, it's the operating system, you know, of the human experience and looking at this, we were speculating.

[00:21:19] Oh, they must've been like a boxer. So when that was. Had this repetitive movement in the shoulder, and my guess was a bus driver, like a school bus driver that was always reaching out and opening the door, you know, that lever. And so it it's just for anatomy, geeks like me, you know, really fun to look at these kinds of specimens.

[00:21:39] And now we're learning how different fascia operates in the. Breathing conscious human body. You know, we only had this much knowledge about it because it was from a cadaver with no, none of that. Dynamicism in a living being that makes it so magical and Medea. 

[00:22:02] Bryan Carroll: Yep. Yeah. And every single dog and cat in the world, the first thing they do when they wake up is they stretch and break up all that connective tissue that built up overnight.

[00:22:11] Kris Quinones: I look at any animal species in the kingdom. They don't just lounge around when they wake up immediately, they get up, they do a few strips. And then they're off to their day, right? Humans, you know, are you, Aveda is a system that offers you a really beautiful way of looking to nature and the wisdom of nature and its rhythms and, and how we're really no separate.

[00:22:40] In fact, this 

[00:22:41] Bryan Carroll: disease what are a couple of different ways that we can make sure that we have really healthy fascia and reduce our chances and likelihood of injury or pain. 

[00:22:54] Kris Quinones: It's multifaceted. It's like I said earlier, it's a dynamic system. That's somewhat autoregulatory. So it's going to respond to frankly, your choices.

[00:23:05] So the real question is how aware. Are you about those choices on the daily and those involve your choices around hydration needs and in aryuveda we recommend a habit of the yogis is immediately upon rising. You hydrate with room temperature or warm water, maybe a squeeze of fresh lemon to signal to the body that it's time to rise.

[00:23:33] It's time to go into metabolizing the. Right. And hydrating the tissue and flushing and eliminating wastes that were processed from deeper Lang tissues during the night when you were sleeping, which brings me to 0.2, if your awareness around and good healthy night hygiene and getting the eight hours of deep restorative sleep, I believe every adult needs, especially in the modern world right now.

[00:24:02] Then you're compromising that integrity of. The system and the tissues and your healing capacity. So, and ultimately your fascia, which is the very first tissue formed from everything we take in from our food to our impressions, to our entertainment and the company we keep. And this is, what's so beautiful about the R U Vedic medical system is that it encompasses all of life, not just the medical aspect, which it is a medical system.

[00:24:35] Don't be confused. It's not a religion. It's not, you know called it's, you know, you can have your own spiritual beliefs and religious practices and practice are you Vedic medicine and it offers you the roadmap to getting where you want to be. So I think the real question is about your awareness and decision makers.

[00:24:59] And that's not easy stuff, you know, that requires the right resources. It requires a certain amount of discipline and commitment to learning new skill sets to maybe building relationships with teachers and coaches and choosing really what you truly value. 

[00:25:19] Bryan Carroll: Yep. Sometimes you have to make the hard decisions and hard choices.

[00:25:24] If it's better for. 

[00:25:27] Kris Quinones: Well, it's, it's, it's about being beneficial and non beneficial. You know, it does study of relationship is what it is, which is life itself, right? That we are not necessarily trying to define our lives as good or bad. The yogis would say it's about dosage. It's about timing that any substance in the universe can be medicine or poison.

[00:25:55] It depends on how you use it and what your intentions are and what the dosages, and if it's given the medicines given at the proper time, right. So you can apply that to any aspect of living. And I think it's really helpful for people to frame it more in that way of what's going to allow me to stay connected to my truest nature.

[00:26:25] That's a big question, right? That takes a lifetime to figure out that's why these are lifelong systems and practices, not the latest diet, fad, and trend to be. I don't care how many Mala beads do where it's about the discipline and the actual lived experience of who you really are, and peeling away the years of social conditioning and patterning, and maybe values that don't belong to us or habits that we just don't even think about because they've become so automated to, to really frankly, just decide.

[00:27:01] You know and make a decision as to where, what kind of access to your own power do you want 

[00:27:09] Bryan Carroll: to have? Well, Kris, are there any final things that you want to make sure you share with us when it comes to taking care of our fascia and just how to make changes to avoid some of the modern ways that can be impacting our movement quality and our life.

[00:27:28] Kris Quinones: Yeah. I mean, I think that there are some really easy, accessible things you can start with right away and you don't have to know yoga and you don't have to pay a lot of money to do them. One is to have an earlier lighter. Finish your dinners and meals earlier in the day and work yourself backwards in 15 minute increments over the weeks to adjust your schedule and other areas of your life to make that happen.

[00:27:58] We're eating too much and too late, and it's causing a real strain on our guts and overall body's ability for inflam inflammation control. So. Stop that right now, like stop eating earlier. You'll be fine. And, and you can start there with a simple early light dinner or fasting for dinner, make your main meal lunch of the day and just start there and watch and feel and allow the sensations and your own intuitive knowledge.

[00:28:31] Your body is why. It's evolved and survived and got us here over hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Trust that it knows what you need. Just lighten the load a little bit and you'll be in morphine. And if you want to have a conversation with me and learn more about my work or talk about a specific health issue you might be working with, I do offer free 30 minute strategy sessions and breakthrough calls via zoom, and I'm happy to break down if and how I might be able to help.

[00:29:06] Bryan Carroll: And people can find more about [email protected] You're also on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And you also have an online program. Can you talk about that? 

[00:29:17] Kris Quinones: Yeah, I've taken all of this knowledge from both the west and east and healing with the tissues. And then as I learned these other realms and systems and combine them into my year long coaching program, clear mind, strong body, where I take a small group of select women through a transformative process.

[00:29:40] And. At inhabit evolution, how do we automate our habits? How do we architect our daily lives so that we can tap into these rhythms and habits of the yogis for healing? How do we find more flow and ease in our lives with our schedules, with our eating and weight management and sleep patterns. And we do all kinds of fun things.

[00:30:07] It's an online program. So you can join from anywhere in the. We meet twice a week and a real time. And then we have lots of live events throughout the year. Retreats, detox, weekends, master formula, making sessions, guided medicinal plant walks. I'm located in Colorado Springs and I have members all around the country and our next group begins mid January of 2022.

[00:30:34] So, if you want to talk now would be the time to get in on that group and be led through a transformative process, a dynamic process with other women doing the same thing. And that momentum, I find gets people to their goals a lot faster than the one-on-one consults I used to do years ago. I still do those, but those are a lot more, I'm a lot more limited in my time now.

[00:30:59] So those are a bit more limited this year long program. Really what I find people need a year to really automate and operationalize these habits and change their lifestyles for the longterm, for their benefit. And we have a lot of fun along the way. So that's clear mind, strong body, and that's my main coaching.

[00:31:29] Where I help people who want to stay mobile, who want to stay with their vitality into their nineties and beyond. If you want to keep that mobility and autonomy and healing, we don't just want to live long. We want to actually feel great doing it so we can fill our purpose in life. And I help people with that.

[00:31:50] So 

[00:31:51] Bryan Carroll: awesome, Kris. Well, that program sounds really neat, especially taking people on a journey for an entire year. There's so much that you can cover and just change among someone over the course of a year. So that's really, really cool. 

[00:32:05] Kris Quinones: Yeah. Thank you. I, like I said, it find, I find it takes at least a year just to really get started when we're talking about, like I said earlier is unpeeling the layers of.

[00:32:18] And patterning, right? That takes time. It takes reflection. It takes honesty, courage, vulnerability, safety, and these are not things we typically find in isolation. We're human beings. We were designed to be part of a tribe. And so this tribal get you there a lot faster. 

[00:32:38] Bryan Carroll: Awesome, Kris. Well, thank you so much for coming on and teaching us about the fascia and different ways to keep the fascia as healthy as possible.

[00:32:45] So thank you. Awesome. Now I'm 

[00:32:47] Kris Quinones: a stay and thank you. 

[00:32:50] Bryan Carroll: I hope you enjoyed that episode with Kris. And if you are interested in the program that she was talking about, it is open for a couple more days. So head on over to summit for wellness.com/ 1 6 9, and you'll see links to that program in the show notes there next week, I have Steven Wright on the show.

[00:33:08] Let's go learn who he is and what we'll be talking about. I am here with Steven, right? Hey Steven, what is one unique thing about you that most people don't know? 

[00:33:16] Steven Wright: I will order anything from anywhere if it's going to give me a health advantage. And so I've ordered all kinds of interesting things out of Russia and Japan and China, and tested those on my side.

[00:33:29] Bryan Carroll: How do you hear about them? First? I've 

[00:33:32] Steven Wright: been ordering from random websites for over since I was 13. So over two decades now. And so I, I just can't stop like looking at the cutting edge of how can we feel as good as we want to feel. Think as clearly as we want look as good as we want. 

[00:33:49] Bryan Carroll: Nice, nice.

[00:33:50] And what are some of your favorite things that you have purchased that you think have helped the most. 

[00:33:57] Steven Wright: I, you know, I really love sleep tracker, so I use the ordering currently, but I've used like four or five other ones throughout the last, a little while to track my sleep. I find sleep correlates pretty directly into how I feel.

[00:34:10] And then the new HR-V tracking on the aura rings also helps me kind of realize that like, oh yeah, alcohol doesn't do me good. Or, you know, exercise actually really does impact how I. 

[00:34:21] Bryan Carroll: Well, what will we be learning about in our interview together? 

[00:34:25] Steven Wright: Well, I think we're going to go deep into a little bit how the stomach can impact the brain and some of the, like what your what's your vegetables actually turn into at the end that are pretty important for gut health.

[00:34:38] And you know how the fact that if you have a gut issue, you probably have a brain issue. And if you have a brain issue, you probably have a gut issue. 

[00:34:46] Bryan Carroll: And what are your favorite foods or nutrients that you think everyone should get more of in their diet? 

[00:34:52] Steven Wright: I think that You, you really need to look into eating vegetables or taking fibers or prebiotics for butyrate production.

[00:35:00] And so that often looks like cruciferous vegetables or it could be supplements like like prebiotics, things like that. Beyond that, I just try to eat as organic as you can. 

[00:35:12] Bryan Carroll: Does the type of fiber make a difference soluble versus, and soluble does it 

[00:35:17] Steven Wright: does do not. I, I'm not a big proponent of taking Metamucil.

[00:35:20] Obviously, if your doctor has you on it, stay on that plan. But insoluble fiber is kind of like a Like the big ball, unclogging your pipes and sort of roughing up your gut the whole way down versus something like partially hydrolyzed guar gum which has been shown in research studies to be very beneficial and very well tolerated by people with bloating, IBS, et cetera.

[00:35:39] And it can help produce a better beater beat rate as well as resistant starches. So, yes, it's a very nuanced conversation and not all fibers created. 

[00:35:50] Bryan Carroll: And then what are your top three health tips for anyone who wants to improve their overall wellness? 

[00:35:56] Steven Wright: Top three tips is number one, get out, get some sunshine and your eyeballs every day, the sun helps set your circadian rhythms and does some magical things for our brains.

[00:36:05] Number two would be to meditate, if you can do a gratitude list, if you can. And number three, You know, take a, probably take a beat rate supplement or an enzyme supplement. I look at those as anti-aging. And if you're not on vitamin D three, I guess I assume that, but that's, 

[00:36:23] Bryan Carroll: once again, we are talking about the gut in different ways to keep your gut nice and healthy.

[00:36:28] So until next time, keep climbing to the peak of your health.