I feel so satisfied watching my clients' lives shift when they give themselves the gift of Myofascial Release. 

Your body deserves to feel comfortable. When you give to yourself and take the time to tend, you can mend your tissues and find lasting relief from pain, inflammation and immobility, so you can get on to the good stuff. You can get back to living your best life.

Your body is made to heal, and fascial restrictions can stand in the way of that healing. I watch people every day move out of chronic pain to feel better, get taller, soften in their hard places and find ease where there was tension. MFR is a gentle, safe and highly effective therapy that delivers superior results.

Fascia is a relatively new study. They were studying it on cadavers until about 40 years ago. They referred to it as a packing material and it was, and still is, one of the most discounted systems of the body.

The more recent research on fascia is eye-opening and the images are breathtaking (at least I think so). These images of live fascia show in real time the complexity of its multifaceted, mysterious nature.

I have a video on my website called Strolling Under the Skin, which shows video images of the study of fascial sheaths, tendons and networks, and their nature, mechanisms and organization. I love her voice and I actually go to sleep listening to this. I know I am a nerd, I can’t help it.

I have a client, Sophia, who has had a difficult journey with trust.

She was molested by her older brother as a child, and she wasn’t that upset by it. She didn’t know better because she was 5 when it started. Her mother and father found out about it, and although her brother was 10 years older than her, and she was 5 when it happened, she was blamed by her family.

When her mom got emotional she would call her a liar many times. Her mom would scream at her as she grew up that she was a liar. So she developed a lack of trust, and when she felt people questioning her this triggered these feelings and memories and led to insecurity.

When she felt blamed in situations it would trigger a feeling deep down. She didn’t feel accepted and loved as a child, so she developed an unmet need.

As a teenager she explored her sexuality, and she began learning how necessary it was to have boundaries. She wanted to connect and share love and she was confused because she had not been shown how to love herself completely.

Sophia went to a party and consumed too much alcohol and was raped. She could not defend herself and she took on shame from this experience.

She tried to hide and block out this experience and other unpleasant experiences. She unknowingly stored them in the recesses of her body.

Over time she had injuries that caused pain and referred pain in her psoas, in her lower back, her sacrum and her leg strength diminished over time. She had weak ankles, which in my experience as a bodyworker correlates to weak boundaries.

She had become a people pleaser in her family so that she could keep connected to her sense of belonging in her family unit. Any time she spoke up for herself she was ostracized, shunned and told to be quiet.

All of these incidences made her shrink and hide. She tried to make herself invisible and would go off to cry in her blankets, where she felt safe. Or she would check out, disassociate and float or hover outside of her body, leaving and abandoning herself to get away from the fear and pain she felt.

She often times felt isolated even from herself. Her mother would yell at her when she came into the house so she would disappear herself and imagine she was invisible.

And she became a fraction of who she was. She was polite, and did as she was told, and sometimes she would get wild and act out, tearing through the house with her anger, in defiance. These behaviors began to eat away at her and she felt like she was dying inside.

The people around Sophia, having no clue on how to deal with trauma, saw these ways that she coped as weak. She was criticized for showing her pain, for talking about what had happened to her.

She was told to get over it, to hide her trauma, to be happy and never think about it again. And especially don’t talk about it.

So she began to front. On the outside she smiled and made herself acceptable to others, and on the inside she felt trapped and miserable and she was screaming.

Sophia’s body was contorted and winding up in attempts to cry for help. And she tried ignored her pain, as she was told to.

She had pain cycles that increased over time and this drew her to finding help. The pain moved, it was in different joints and it would diminish and then increase to the point of being unbearable. Most of these experiences were psychosomatic, which means her body was a reflection of her emotional state.

As Sophia grew into a young woman, she realized how much energy she had inside of her. That part of her pain had to do with the self judgement and separation stories she was storing inside of her and once she recognized what she was carrying she didn’t have to anymore.

She could speak to those who were skilled at holding space to help her feel cared for when she would experience the sadness, guilt and pain that remained and as she was powerfully witnessed she could lay down her burden. This happens when two or more are gathered with this intention.

It was like a universe of wisdom was contained within her cells. She was taught how to listen to these internal subtle worlds, and she learned how to do the inner work of loving herself.

As she practiced these tools of awareness with Myofascial Release and Presence Centered Awareness Therapy she healed.

Through movement, sound and meditation she found and unearthed elaborately simple ways in which to feel to heal and establish, restore and strengthen connection. It was reflected in all of nature around her. She saw these demonstrations of love in the creations in every living thing if she focused on the living love that breathes, receives and gives.

Like water this energy is made available to each one of us. We are the light we seek.

Since working with me she has changed her physical structure. She is inches taller and she applies her study of awareness to her everyday moments, micro adjusting to feel more grounded, to rise up like a plant, and to bloom and open in places she senses tightness.

She ripped her hamstring off while she was doing the side splits at the age of 20 and so her whole pelvis has compensated for not having a hamstring on the left side.

She had one shorter leg. Her pelvis had torsion and was being twisted in opposite directions. The shorter leg tipped the pelvis anteriorly and the longer leg the pelvis shifted posteriorly.

She often presents with a jammed SI joint. This causes low level scoliosis and lower back dysfunctions migrate up to rounded shoulders and hunching to protect the heart.

We have done repeated sessions of the movement sequence for the hip flexors with great success and she has had great progress. We have pulled her leg length to even, we have balanced her pelvis and gotten her hip height close to even.

She is no longer medially rotating her shoulders and her pelvis, chest and head are in alignment. We are working now on her neck and head with great success.

Sophia is blooming like a rose.

Our stories of pain can lead us to the greatest opportunity. If we allow ourselves to feel the depths of our pain, in the safe space of another we can release ourselves from it.

This life is precious. All living sentient beings are precious. You are precious.

Care for yourself by receiving loving caring touch, so your cells can dispel the lies of separation and division and transform by remembering the truth of who you are and what you are made of: truth, wisdom, love, empathy, compassion and trust.

Often times it takes us valuing ourselves to feel the value from the outside. And anyone who has been hurt or traumatized by another did not deserve it.

When we spend time to be with ourselves and receive the support from people who truly care about our wellbeing, we can soar to new heights.

Loving our vessels, loving our bodies exactly as they are, and giving them the support they need to heal and thrive is key.

A woman said today as I was touching her, "I can feel the way you’re loving me, you love me so well."

What would it be like if we loved wholeheartedly? What would it be if we were not afraid when others showed their fear, anger or pain?

Who would you be if you were essentially your essence? How would you live if you were living fully, if you took a chance to be your whole self? How would you be different and how would you show up?

Who do you think you are?

Who... do you... think... you are?

When we can be like the Buddha at the base of the Bodhi tree, sitting and residing in tranquil peace and internal harmony, we can hold space for ourselves and others, choosing our own resolve to practice excellence.

I practice Myofascial Release as an Injury Specialist. If you are in pain, I can help. I enjoy challenges and I get results with MFR.

I practice awareness and consciousness tools before, during and after called Presence Centered Awareness Therapy to get to the heart of the matter.

If you have chronic pain patterns, MFR can help you get out of pain and back to living your best life.

Angela Rose practices at Sol Bodyworks in Grass Valley.