The ‘living wetsuit’, is a simple and easy to understand way of describing a person’s whole and life-energy-infused body structure. This ‘wetsuit’ refers to the soft and squishy ‘garment’ of flesh that we all wear underneath rather than over our body’s outer skin surface.

The living wetsuit analogy enables us to visualise our body’s naturally whole and alive structure. This ground-breaking way of describing the body uniquely recognises the importance of ‘fascia’ – the body’s pervasive, yet often overlooked, three-dimensional web of soft connective tissue. Our bodies would not be what they are, nor work as they do, without their fascia. Knowing what fascia is, and what it does in the body, is essential if we want to understand our bodies’ naturally whole and alive structure. Including fascia in our knowledge of human body structure (or anatomy) expands our understanding of how our bodies naturally work, and what happens then they are hurt or unwell. Knowing about fascia makes it possible for us to think about maintaining, improving, and, when needs be, regaining our bodies’ health in some powerful new ways.

In her The Living Wetsuit book, Sue Adstrum explores the fascinating relationship between anatomy, fascia, and health care. She explains that there is more than one way of understanding these things, all of which have evolved over time. She describes some of the crucial roles fascia plays in our body’s structural makeup and functioning, explains what happens when our ‘living wetsuit’ is unhealthy or damaged, and offers some practical suggestions about how might improve the ways we look after and heal our fascia-containing bodies.

A unique, engaging analysis on the intersections of historic, cultural and medical knowledge. The Living Wetsuit is an essential read for anyone who has a body.