SAYF Group

The Interstitium: The Body as an Interconnected Fluid Network

For generations, anatomy education described two primary fluid circulation systems within the human body:

• The cardiovascular system, which circulates blood through arteries, veins, and capillaries.

• The lymphatic system, which helps regulate fluid balance, immune activity, and waste removal.
  

Emerging research now suggests the body may also function through a third large-scale fluid network known as the interstitium — an interconnected system of fluid-filled spaces woven throughout connective tissue and fascia. Rather than seeing the body as isolated structures organized like separate compartments, this perspective reveals the body more as a continuous, communicating network.

This is where the SAYF Community can connect and share experiences and ask questions. Please no promotion or spam, or you will be removed. And always practice ahimsa (non-harm) and satya (authenticity)💙

Around 2020, a broader conversation emerged about the use of “Namaste” in Western yoga culture. Some South Asians living in the West expressed discomfort with the way the word was often being used by Western yoga teachers—feeling that it was sometimes inaccurately represented, overly mystified, or disconnected from its cultural context and everyday meaning.

When I first encountered this conversation, I was in the midst of an intensive program called Honor, Don’t Appropriate Yoga, led by approximately 40 powerful women of color.

As I do whenever I encounter something I need clarity about related to yoga, I reached out to my teachers: Swami Omkarananda and Jayakumar Swamysree (always ask your teacher). They both said, essentially, “It’s no problem, can be used at the beginning or end.”

I came back to the group with this perspective, and the group leader responded, “If you can reduce harm, why not just choose another…

First and most important part of this email - ONE MINUTE video (above).

Rotator cuff vulnerability increases significantly with age and is considered one of the most consistent and well-documented patterns in musculoskeletal health. Aging leads to gradual degeneration of tendon tissue, including reduced blood flow, decreased collagen quality, and lower mechanical strength, which makes the rotator cuff less resilient over time. Population studies show that rotator cuff tears become increasingly common with each decade—affecting roughly: 

• 10–20% of people in their 50s, 

• 30% in their 60s

• 50% of individuals over 80.