Blog:
Wonderful Women’s Health
I just completed the Women’s Health Seminar with John Barnes in Myrtle Beach, SC.
This is a fabulous seminar which focuses on the pelvic floor. I learned how to release restricted areas that effect our everyday function and comfort. I feel much better after receiving treatment and have learned so much in giving treatment.
Who would’ve thought a sore shoulder could be related to a tight pelvic floor!…. This is the beauty of myofascial release. The interconnectedness of the fascial tissue to our complete body-mind-emotional being and function is awe inspiring. And taking it further….we are part of a greater whole that includes all life.
Less can be better
I’ve been doing Myofascial Release for about 25 years. It is a wonderful technique that allows the client’s body to direct the therapist. With a light, prolonged touch the therapist is able to “read” tension and be guided as it changes in the client’s body. The light touch allows the tight muscles to feel comfortable and safe to let go of the tension and the therapist follows the loosening path. Muscle and fascial tension “melts” away to facilitate greater freedom of movement.
Sometimes deep pressure is welcomed and appropriate but often a greater result can be achieved with a softer, sustained contact. Thus, less is more!
Fascial Pelvis
This past November I was able to attend the Fascial Pelvis class in Asheville given by John Barnes’ Myofascial Release seminars with Joan Miller as the instructor. It was a wonderful experience! Joan has been teaching this course for at least 25 years yet delivers tremendous joy, awe and enthusiasm throughout the entire course.
The course focuses on the pelvis and lower extremities. It also demonstrates how that region of the body is so very connected to the neck and shoulders. During the weekend at least two people reported having positive changes in the flexibility of their neck even tho no one had touched their neck.
This can happen because the spine connects the two regions. If a kink is released at one end some changes will occur at the other end of the of the spine.
In February I will be attending the Cervical Thoracic counterpart to Fascial Pelvis. I look forward to the complimentary information. I took these classes 25 years ago and look forward to refreshing my skills and gaining renewed light on the information and technique I’ve gained over the years.
Macro Micro
This past April I had a wonderful opportunity to study with a famous Foot Reflexologist, teacher/innovator in Ireland. Her name is Hanne Marquardt and she lives in the Black Forest in southern Germany. At 85 years of wisdom she continues to teach and learn. In her method of Reflexology she draws many parallels in the feet to the body in full.
For instance, we can see bony structures in the great toes that mirror bony structures in the brain near the base of the skull. When the two great toes are placed side by side with the inside or medial edge of each toe touching the other, a bony structure is revealed; it resembles the sella turcica in the sphenoid bone located in the base of the skull. In the toes this is the reflex to the pituitary gland which is protected by the sphenoid bone.
Hanne is the only Reflexologist that I’ve studied with who shows the relationship of the foot and ankle to a sitting person. If one observes the foot in a sideview of a reclining person one can, indeed, see the way that the great toe reminds us of the head, the ball of the foot resembles the curve in the thoracic spine, and the instep resembles flexed hips with the legs outstretched going along the ankle (You may need to look at a picture of a foot from the side to get the gist of this vantage point)
Hanne’s method has helped me find more reflexes that are pertinent to a person’s pain or issue. With the knowledge I’ve gained from her I am better able to bring people relief.
Kinesio tape “lift”
One of the wonderful aspects of kinesis tape is how it lifts up restricted tissue while you go thru your daily movements (which may have been painful). The other day I taped a client’s upper back, neck and shoulders in such a way that the rotation of her head makes the opposite shoulder muscles stretch. Pressure is then taken off her upper back and her neck movement is eased.
My client’s chiropractor has noticed that adjustments are easier and more profound after the soft tissue work. The client is becoming more mobile and is able to withstand the day’s stressors more easily. Yay!!!
Myofascial Release and Foot Reflexology
Recently I was reminded again of the efficiency of combining techniques. A client had deep low back pain that was not releasing easily. I added intermittent stimulation to the appropriate reflex point on the foot and the low back muscles began to soften!
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