More about myofascial release (MFR) 

Please read this explanation if you are coming in for a MFR session so you know what to expect! 


What is a MFR session like? 

In a MFR session, you can expect a discussion of your goals and a brief physical evaluation related to your primary complaint. The bodywork itself involves long holds using gentle sustained pressure applied to areas associated with or related to your symptoms. No two sessions are the same because I will respond in-the-moment to what you tell me you are experiencing, and what your body is telling me about how to support the release of an emerging pattern. 

For your appointment, please wear shorts and a tank top or sports bra, or a two-piece bathing suit. You will be covered with a sheet and comfortably on a massage table as usual during a massage, but having some undergarments helps us access areas around your torso and hips, which are often involved in the restrictions we're unwinding, while making sure you are comfortably covered.

IMPORTANT>> Make sure your body is clean and dry when you come in, as MFR involves no oil (no sliding!).


How does MFR work?

I am a practitioner of the John Barnes approach to MFR. John has written extensively about MFR; here is a link to his writing.

MFR specifically addresses the fascial system, which is the connective tissue web that interweaves the entire body, down to (and inside) the cellular level. Not only do fascia permeate the body, supporting and creating space for every cell, nerve, muscle, bone, organ, gland, etc.; scientists are beginning to appreciate the fascial system as a fiber optic continuum enabling coordinated communication of the entire body.

Fascial restrictions are therefore broadly interpreted as interruptions in the normal, healthy flow of consciousness. Restrictions arise naturally when you go through traumatic experiences which can be accidents, surgeries, emotional events, etc. Physical consequences of the disruption of bodily communication can include pain, loss of sensation, loss of emotional range or emotional dysregulation, loss of mobility, and so on.

Considering that the body is the transducer of your perceptual experience, and fascia interpenetrate everything, it makes sense that fascial restrictions would have multilayered effects--the whole web of you is affected! Interestingly, fascial restrictions are not visible with modern imaging technology like MRI--so they might exist and be causing real problems, but "fascial restrictions" may not be what a traditional diagnostician points to as the cause of pain, loss of function, etc.

Many types of more traditional medical interventions separately label and treat symptoms that arise from fascial restrictions (cut this out, take this pill)--but treating a symptom is different than treating the underlying cause. The intention of the MFR approach is to ease the fascial restrictions themselves. (Of course, there are appropriate and life-saving times and places for surgical and pharmaceutical interventions, but those are clearly not solving all of our health problems.)

In MFR sessions, we engage the fascial system to open, soften, unwind and unbind; destabilizing constraining, maladaptive patterns. This creates space for your body's innate wisdom (your set of design principles to build a healthy, whole, complete self) to express itself, so you can heal.

Yes, the underlying philosophy is that you heal yourself--we are built to do this--your power comes from within. The therapist creates a container that enables YOUR ability to self-heal. 

In practical terms, we engage the fascial system with relatively gentle, sustained pressure, with hands directly on skin. To open the deeper connective tissues, this connection is important, so it's important that we do not use oil, and that your skin is clean and dry (no sliding!)


How should I work with MFR as a therapeutic process?

If you are interested in receiving this work because you have a specific goal, it is recommended that you book a block of sessions in relatively close proximity, then follow up as needed. Periodic tune-ups help keep the body (etc.) open.