Myofascial Release

Investing in oneself for personal growth and healing is sometimes a difficult decision for therapists to make for themselves.  What is it that makes therapists as a whole tend to put themselves last on their own list?  We as therapists encourage our clients to seek treatment to help them feel better.  Often, the response is a lack of time and money. 

 On the surface, that just may be so, but what lies beneath the surface?  Do we deserve to feel good, to feel joy in our lives?  Do we deserve to experience the same freedom of movement and pain free lifestyle that we strive to help our clients achieve?  What would life be like without the struggle? 

 I encourage you to live by quiet example and consider the possibilities of your own healing through Myofascial Release.  We see, time and again, therapists who have waited for years to make the commitment in their own healing, wondering why they waited so long.  This is one of the underlying principles of Myofascial Release. ”We can only take our clients as far as we are willing to go ourselves!” 

 My Myofascial Release Seminars and Treatment Centers are breaking records!  The word of the effectiveness of Myofascial Release is spreading across the country like wildfire. 

 Clients are referred to our Myofascial Release Treatment Centers from around the world when traditional therapy, massage, medication, and/or surgery have failed to produce lasting results. 

 Every January and February, we offer a discount on the cost of therapy for those whose finances are tight.  The Paoli Myofascial Release Treatment Center is offering a 30% discount off our Intensive Treatment program and Therapy for the Therapist program to anyone who mentions this post when registering.

 This special courtesy applies to you, your clients, as well as family and friends.   

 To schedule, call Andrea Stauss at 1-800-327-2425, extension 3.

 Dare to “feel” great and to welcome joy into your life!  What you put out there will eventually come back to you.  As a New Year’s resolution, I encourage you to…..Dare to be great! (To read the Therapeutic Insight article titled, “What makes a New Year’s resolution fail”, click on the following link: http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=8373&catid=62&title=therapeutic-insight-the-myofascial-release-perspectivewhat-makes-a-new-years-resolution-fail)

Peace and Joy in 2011!

 Sincerely,

                John

 For more information about Myofascial Release, you can now access two separate excerpts from the Fireside Chat with John F. Barnes, PT DVD on ‘You Tube’!   Just click on the following links:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo>

 Part 2

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU>

 To find us on Facebook, click on the following link: www.facebook.com/myofascial.release

Enhance your beauty! Increase your income! You might be interested in the post below that was on our chat line. I thought that you might find it helpful.

John was asked to contribute his expertise in the ‘Les Nouvelles Esthetiques and Spa’ publication whose theme for the December issue was Unwind from the Holidayswith services and treatments that de-stress, detox and rejuvenate the mind and body.

‘Les Nouvelles Esthetiques & Spa’ is a gorgeous magazine that has an international network that spans the globe; this 57 year old publication was established in Paris in 1952 and has grown into a state-of-the-art publication with a world-wide reputation.

The father of the current Editor in Chief had attended seminars with John in Sedona in the early 90’s and always spoke highly of John and his Myofascial Release Approach. When their magazine was featuring an issue on enhancing the body, face, and mind they immediately contacted John to showcase his Myofascial Release Approach.

Your female patients will love the esthetic appeal of the December issue and as a bonus John explains how Myofascial Release can enhance your internal and external beauty.

We suggest that you purchase this beautiful magazine for your waiting rooms at www.LNEonline.com. You can also view John’s article Fascial Facial Unwinding for a More Youthful Appearance by clicking on Free Digital Magazine.

If you are interested in learning more information regarding the latest research on fascia, I suggest reading my recent Therapeutic Insight article titled, “The Myofascial Release Perspective- 50 Years Ago.”  To access my latest article, click on the following link: http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=10100&catid=62&title=therapeutic-insight-the-myofascial-release-perspective50-years-ago

Sincerely,

John

For more information about Myofascial Release, you can now access two separate excerpts from the Fireside Chat with John F. Barnes, PT DVD on ‘You Tube’! Just click on the following link:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

To find us on Facebook, click on the following link:

www.facebook.com/myofascial.release

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Our brain is a fascial sponge with specialized structures imbedded within it. 

The following quotes are from Dr. Carol Davis, DPT, EdD, MS, FAPTA the editor of a  wonderful book titled, Complementary Therapies in Rehabilitation: Evidence for Efficacy in Therapy, Prevention, and Wellness, (3^rd Edition) ₁ (http://www.slackbooks.com/ctr).  Carol has been researching the latest articles about fascia, as well as some previously published information, for an update of her chapter on myofascial release for a well known neurological textbook she has contributed to.

    Fascia has been hypothesized to play a role as the seat of consciousness in the body/mind system. (Oschman, J. Energy Medicine- The Scientific Basis. 200. Churchill-Livingstone)  As one example, there are 10 times as many connective tissue cells as nerve cells in the brain. Previously thought only to provide support and nutritional pathways to nerve, the latest brain scan research indicated glial cells “light up” during certain brain states, particularly emotional states. They have been shown to play a role in regulating neuropeptides and neurotransmitters, thus thought to play a role in helping to regulate mood.(Koob A. The root of thought: What do glial cells do? Scientific American, Oct 2009)

     I would highly recommend Carol’s book, Complementary Therapies in Rehabilitation: Evidence for Efficacy in Therapy, Prevention, and Wellness, (3^rd Edition) . Dr. Davis continues to study and write about fascia, and has written an important book that features up-to-date research on Myofascial Release and many different therapeutic approaches. It covers the latest research on the fascial system which I think you’ll find fascinating.  She can be contacted at cmdavis@miami.edu

Sincerely,

John 

For more information about Myofascial Release, you can now access two separate excerpts from the Fireside Chat with John F. Barnes, PT DVD on ‘You Tube’! Just click on the following link:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

To find us on Facebook, click on the following link:

www.facebook.com/myofascial.release

   Most of you know of my love for animals.  Myofascial Release can substantially reduce their pain and enhance their motion.  There is a new movie that just came out that I would highly recommend to everybody called “Secretariat”, who was the greatest racehorse ever.

    The movie is very inspirational, beautiful, and the visuals are incredible watching this powerful beast in action. The story is one that we can all relate to and is about a very strong woman who is responsible for Secretariat’s success. She went through every imaginable adversity. Her determination, tenacity and will broke through all the resistance. 

   Secretariat became an amazing racehorse and went on to win the Triple Crown. The last part of the Belmont Stakes race in New York City is considered the most difficult part because it is so long. Secretariat was known for speed, but they did not think he had any endurance. It is exciting and inspirational to watch his final race.

   Secretariat was neck and neck with one of the top horses in the world and about three quarters of the way around the track, all of the other horses were becoming exhausted.  Then all of a sudden, Secretariat takes off and sprints to the end!    Usually in a horse race against the top horses in the world, a horse is lucky to win by a nose or a length or two, but Secretariat took off and passed the finish line winning by 31 lengths!   This was thought to be impossible and his record has never been broken. I think it is a very beautiful, touching and inspirational movie that you would all enjoy.

   For those of you who have animals at home or that own or work with horses, Myofascial Release can be very beneficial for animals.  Animals are very intuitive and often will become an active participant in their own treatment, by “guiding” the therapist in certain ways. Sometimes animals will lean into your pressure more or often times they will place an area of pain that they have under your hands.  Working with animals can be quite fascinating and can be a wonderful learning experience for the therapist and can be extremely therapeutic for the animal.

  For a true story of how Myofascial Release has helped racehorses and other animals, go to my most recent Therapeutic Insight article titled, “Equine Myofascial Release ”.  To access the article, go to www.massagemag.comand then click on the techniques tab on the left of the web page.  Then click on Therapeutic Insight:Equine Myofascial Release, title to read the full article.

Thanks,

     John

For more information about Myofascial Release, you can now access two separate excerpts from the Fireside Chat with John F. Barnes, PT DVD on ‘You Tube’!   Just click on the following links:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo>

Part 2 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU>

To find us on Facebook, click on the following link: www.facebook.com/myofascial.release

    Is fascia the physical basis for the emergence of consciousness?  Recent discoveries support this suggestion.  Two of the leading researchers on consciousness, mathematical physicist Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff, M.D. have stated that past brain consciousness research had been severely limited by scientists not looking deeper than the synapse of the nervous system.             

   With the help of new, sophisticated electron microscopes capable of incredible magnification, Penrose and Hameroff have discovered fascial microtubules filled with fluid within the cytoskeleton of the cell.

   Reductionists tend to overlook the fact that neurons are alive and traditional views of the hierarchical organization of the brain stop at the synapse as the fundamental switch, analogous to bytes in computers.  The complexity of neurons and their synapses, however, are closer to entire computers than individual switches.  This implies the mechanism of consciousness may depend on an understanding of the organization of adaptive (cognitive) functions within living cells.

   For more detailed information about fascia’s role in consciousness, refer to my new Therapeutic Insight titled, “Piezoelectric Transformation” which will be available to read in the first week of October.  To access my Therapeutic Insight article, go to www.massagemag.com and click on the green “techniques” tab on the left of the page. You can then click on my most recent “Therapeutic Insight” article.

Thanks!

   John

For more information about Myofascial Release, you can now access two separate excerpts from the Fireside Chat with John F. Barnes, PT DVD on ‘You Tube’!   Just click on the following links:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo>

Part 2 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU>

    Most people have at least heard of the term “body memory” or “tissue memory.”  The Myofascial Release perspective believes that it is within the intricate matrix of the myofascial, or connective tissue that holds this memory and the myofascial tissue is literally the “record keeper” of memory in the body/mind complex.

   When trauma occurs, whether physical, mental, emotional or a combination of these, people respond with a flight/fight or freeze response.  It is this unresolved freeze response that MFR therapists believe is what holds us back from fully and naturally healing from a traumatic event.

   Kathy Monkman, BSN, LMT, who is a Myofascial Release therapist with over 20 years of experience, has had a very creative idea that I would like to share with you.

 “I’m excited to share with you a project I’ve launched this week that you might want to affiliate with and/or help me promote.

    Last year I had one of those “aha” moments related to returning service persons struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and how I (we) could help them with Myofascial Release but really didn’t know how or where to begin.  Life went on and this summer a pebble got kicked in me that started a momentum to get this project started and the “In One Peace Project” was born.

 The “In One Peace Project” is created to offer once per month, 100% free clinics to returning service persons using John F. Barnes Myofascial Release to help them resolve issues with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and/or body/head injury.  At my office the 3 of us MFR therapists are going to offer this service to this population each month for a full day of free sessions.  As I say in the mission statement, “we are here to serve those who are serving us.”

 So, please take a look at my site, and friend me on Facebook and affiliate if you’re so inclined and help me get the word out!  Thank you to John for giving me this opportunity to get this out there as well!”

    Thank you, Kathy. We look forward to participating at my Myofascial Release Treatment Centers in Paoli, Pennsylvania (http://www.myofascialrelease.com/fascia_massage/public/treatmentcenter_paoli.asp) 

and Sedona, Arizona (http://www.myofascialrelease.com/fascia_massage/public/treatmentcenter_sedona.asp).

    If you are interested in helping those brave men and women who have risked their lives protecting us, please contact Kathy at: http://www.inonepeaceproject.org/.  For more detailed information about this project, you can also access my new Therapeutic Insight column titled, “Wounded Warriors!”, at the following link: http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=9623

Sincerely,

           John

For more information about Myofascial Release, you can now access two separate excerpts from the Fireside Chat with John F. Barnes, PT DVD on ‘You Tube’!   Just click on the following links:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo>

 Part 2

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU>

   Not only do Myofascial restrictions create pain, headaches, and the symptoms of Fibromyalgia, but they also seem to speed the aging process internally and externally. 

   In my Myofascial Release I seminar, I teach therapists the importance of doing self treatment, so they can treat themselves and  so they can also teach their clients to treat themselves.  As the therapists take my advanced Myofascial Release seminars, those that take my advice of doing regular self treatment state that they look and feel younger!

    Over the years from habitual pain expressions, grimacing, and gravity the fascia tightens and deepens the lines and wrinkles in one’s face and neck.  Of the many techniques that I teach is the “fascial facial”.  These techniques can provide a much more youthful appearance to your face and neck.

    Obviously, the internal beauty of physiological health is also very important.  The environment of every cell, the fascia’s ground substance, ideally should be fluid.  Trauma and thwarted inflammatory responses tend to solidify the ground substance.  This limits the amounts of oxygen, nutrition, biochemicals, hormones, information and energy that the 50 trillion cells receive.  The pressure of the restricted fascial system is interfering with the delicate inner mechanisms of the cell.  Recent research is showing that debris, waste products, and toxins that become trapped in the cell may be what can lead to the decline of the aging process. 

   I believe the solidification of the ground substance blocks cellular excretion and does not allow this and the toxins to reach the lymphatic system so they become trapped and cannot flush out to purify cells. 

    I believe that excessive pressure and dehydration of the fascia’s ground substance forces our molecules to tangle and stiffen with age.  Cross links form, gluing the molecules together.  Cross links stiffen our collagen and make our skin wrinkle.  Chemists call this the advanced glycation end products, AGE.

    The goal of Myofascial Release is to release the cross links and eliminate the pressure on our cells and their important environment. 

 Thanks,

         John

For more information about Myofascial Release, you can now access two separate excerpts from the Fireside Chat with John F. Barnes, PT DVD on ‘You Tube’!   Just click on the following links:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo>

 Part 2

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU>

   As mentioned in last month’s blog, Myofascial Release can be beneficial helping many Women’s Health issues, including fibrocystic breasts.  Fibrocystic breast disease refers to benign (non-cancerous) changes in the tissues of the breast.  Often times, fibrocystic changes occur during ovulation and before menstruation, due to changing hormone levels.  The breast cells can start to retain fluid and develop into nodules or cysts.  With Myofascial Release, the skilled therapist can help to release the restriction in these tight areas as well as addressing other restrictions in the body, on order to eliminate and prevent the cysts from occurring. 

   My new article titled, “We are not Mindless Machines”, will be available in the print/newsstand version of Massage Magazine in July.  This article discusses some new thoughts and theories about cancer and disease and I discuss how Myofascial Release can help many disease processes, while often times helping to avoid surgeries and/or unnecessary procedures.

   You may also want to read my Therapeutic Insight Column titled, “Breast Health” on the Massage Magazine website under the techniques section or at the following link: (http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=9186).

 Sincerely,

         John F. Barnes, P.T., L.M.T., N.C.T.M.B.

 For more information about Myofascial Release, you can now access two separate excerpts from the Fireside Chat with John F. Barnes, PT DVD on ‘You Tube’!   Just click on the following links:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo>

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU>

    Myofascial Release techniques are successful in resolving many of women’s health problems such as: fibrocystic painful breasts, menstrual and pelvic pain, painful intercourse, and urinary frequency, urgency and incontinence.

   You can now access my latest Therapeutic Insight Column titled, “Breast Health” on the Massage Magazine website under the techniques section or at the following link: (http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=9186).  Also, be on the lookout next month for my new article titled, “We are Not Mindless Machines,” which will be featured in the July issue of MASSAGE Magazine, and discusses the treatment of cancer with myofascial release.

   Myofascial Release is safe, highly effective, and creates the possibility of avoiding medicine and surgery.

 Thanks,

          John

For more information about myofascial release, you can access two separate excerpts from the Fireside Chat with John F. Barnes, P.T. DVD on YouTube. Just click on the following links:

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWRuS9xAbMo

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

    Myofascial and Myofascial Rebounding techniques are successful in resolving many of women’s health problems such as: fibrocystic painful breasts, menstrual and pelvic pain, painful intercourse, and urinary frequency, urgency and incontinence.

   You may want to view the following ‘You tube’ link on Myofascial Rebounding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QrvlwtBOU

    Myofascial Release is safe, highly effective, and creates the possibility of avoiding medicine and surgery.

 Thanks,

            John