I am here to listen – to you and to your body – and want to be with you, in partnership, on your healing and wellness journey! The goal of MFR is better whole-body balance and function.

All customized sessions include:

· A postural and movement (re)assessment looking for structural imbalances

· Review and discussion of treatment goals

·  A 60-minute custom, hands-on treatment

·  A Mind:Body connection experience

·  Practiced, self-treatment applications

·  Planning for your next visit, focused on outcomes

Setting aside at least 60 minutes for your session(s) is recommended. MFR is performed skin-on-skin (no lotions or oils) to prevent sliding on the skin. Plan to come to your session with clean, dry, fragrance-free skin, and bring or wear a bra / sports bra (women) and gym shorts.

BENEFITS OF MFR

  • Overall increase in health, as the body enjoys an increase in hydration (lubrication, delivery of nutrition, elimination of waste)

  • Relaxation and improved sense of well-being

  • Decrease in pain and discomfort

  • Increased proprioception (body awareness, perceiving position and movement) and interoception (sense of self)

  • Optimal joint range of motion and muscle function

  • Improved digestion, absorption, elimination

  • Postural corrections, alignment corrections, and restored balance

  • Recovery and rehabilitation from trauma events

  • Promote mobility and performance related to training for sport

  • Increased awareness of emotional issues and action planning for resolution or prevention

MFR SPEAK:

Fascia

Fascia is a body-wide, three-dimensional web of connective tissue that intertwines, supports, envelopes, and protects every other structure of the body (to include muscles, bones, organs, nerves).  Made of collagen, elastin, and a gel-like ground substance, fascia shapes, forms, and hydrates our human body. 

Myofascial Release (MFR) Approach

 MYO means muscle and FASCIA means band (connective tissue) that covers muscle

With trauma, inflammation, or poor postures, fascia tends to solidify, shorten, and thicken.  Trauma to the body can be physical, emotional, or spiritual.  It can be controlled or uncontrolled.  In response to trauma, the body “binds down,” unable to escape what becomes a straitjacket.  Imagine a body restricted from its optimal potential – it is prone to more trauma, pain, and limitations in movement.   

Pressure and restrictions in one area can cause pain in other, unrelated, areas.  MFR is a hands-on approach that works to release restrictions, undo the binding, and restore flexibility and movement.  The results are longer lasting.  MFR goes beyond specific muscles and works with the entire fascial matrix - therapy for the whole body! 

A fascinating look at fascia in action

Warning: Surgical-like procedures are detailed in this video

How is MFR different / similar to physical therapy or massage?

MFR has roots in other treatment approaches – for example: soft tissue work/massage, chiropractic, physical therapy, and craniosacral therapy. Like these approaches, MFR is treatment, therapy, and a tool for rehabilitation.

MFR is bodywork. A hands-on approach, MFR uses gentle, deep pressure into areas of restriction. Client feedback is important in the process, so there is information exchange (dialogue) therapist-to-client to promote awareness. The area of pain is not always the source of the pain. Unlike massage, there is no gliding on the skin – no lotions or oils. Rather than the use of draping (sheets, towels), clients wear shorts and a bra top (women), allowing for constant visual monitoring of the body’s responses to treatment.

The goal of MFR is for tissues to release and rearrange. This takes time, so slow and steady holds are used to melt the tissues. Force is never used. The result is longer-lasting change. Most importantly, MFR treats a continuum of tissue – twists and turns of the fascial network – from head to toe. MFR treats beyond muscles and symptoms – it treats the entire person in body, mind, spirit, memory, emotion, and thought. Clients are encouraged to become aware of their bodies, to soften and listen and respond, judgement free.