Welcome to this week’s edition of ‘There is Always a Connection”.

I will be describing my experiences first since I always refer to myself as “the perfect Guinea pig”.

I have had many physical mishaps inn my life so far, mishaps that have left a mark! I am also deeply invested in the belief that if the therapist can not relate to the client, there will be a great deal missing in the relationship.

I don’t need to have felt the same pain but I have felt unanswered pain with little to no relief from standard health care.

I am going to describe my last appointment with one of my MFR (Myofascial Release) therapists.

This was a 2-hour appointment @Monadnock MFR in Keene. I see either Molly or Ariana.

Molly is a 30 MFR veteran & an educator for John Barnes. As a matter of fact, Molly is the only other educator I have ever had a seminar with other than John Barnes! I consider myself very lucky to Have had a such an educational experience. However, our education as MFR therapists is never over for we repeat as much as possible.

Anyway, back to me. As I drove to Keene, an hour’s drive, I understood I had been keeping a lid on a slow boiling pot called my body & it had been simmering for about three weeks.

What do I mean.

 Awareness of edginess, short temper, tossing & turning in bed, tired but wired, heart racing, scattered thoughts.

Molly asked how I was feeling and when I described this she went into instant assessment mode & went to work.

As she worked with my pelvis which is our foundation, I told her I felt like my skull was a ballon & it was being squeezed, feeling tighter, like it could pop (if it were a ballon) and that at the same time my frontal bones(forehead) were being lifted to the ceiling.

Now, no one was working on my head.

This is the fascinating world of our fascia system & our bodies.

As she moved around my body to different spots of restriction, she stopped at my right quad, my left foot started tingling, my right knee began to throb & a red mark developed on my chest.

So, you might ask, why? Why are these other areas, not related to the place where she is, lighting up?

FASCIA. The magical integral web within our body that governs our ability to move & move freely. If there is a restriction the web can be pulled in a completely different space causing unanswered pain, like… “Why would my jaw hurt if my pelvis is unbalanced.” Ah but id will & it does however that is a story for another blog day. But if the restriction is being worked on by the therapist, wherever the web is pulled will also have a sensation. It could be pain, it could feel like warm water running, it could be a tingle, sparkle, Icey hot. The key is, as the client, let it roll. Feel into it, let it do what it needs & then like magic, it’s gone. You have forgotten about it. So many times, I ask “how is that discomfort you told me about?

“Oh!  It’s gone! Wow, I didn’t even realize. Says the client.

That is because we stay with the restriction. Waiting, patiently for a shift, a change.

This is a big reason why MFR works. There isn’t a “bounce back” like with any other modality that uses deep work & constant motion. Or deep work with tools. The tissue needs to be able to “float” it needs time.

So back to my appointment, at the end I was in such a beautiful happy state. Loose, calm, my brain felt like it could process calmly, not scattered & wired. I felt taller, thinner, more fluid.

How does this sound to you?

This is what MFR is and it is my goal to make it mainstream to the masses.

Help me spread the word & make an appointment today.

Greetings, Hello & Welcome to my first blog post titled, “There is Always a Connection”. 

My name is Sheila Murray of Release Therapeutic Bodywork. I am a Licensed Massage Therapist located in Florence MA, who no longer practices traditional massage because I have found John F Barnes Myofascial Release. 

Myofascial Release is technically so new on the scene of alternative therapy (John Barnes has been teaching, developing, experimenting, and investigating for 40 years but in the scheme of things, that is new) that the masses are not aware of it, I am making it my mission in my corner of the world here in western Massachusetts to make it mainstream.

However, as far as most other therapists practicing JFB MFR (John F Barnes Myofascial Release) this is what we all desire.  8 billion people walking the planet, 8 billion different restrictions to unwind. 

Myofascial Release is the answer to unanswered pain. 

You might ask “What does that really mean? “

Unanswered pain is pain you have been living with for weeks, months, YEARS. You have gone to the doctor and had all the imaging, but it is inconclusive. Nothing is wrong. Yet your pain is real. So, you live with it by taking NSIDS or try a massage or a chiropractor. But nothing corrects it & then it moves. Something else hurts now. 

This is the reason for this blog. To broadcast there is another way. To have trust in your therapist to understand something you do not quite understand fully, but you know you feel better. 

I have been practicing MFR since 2018. I previously had a practice on Cape Cod that I started in 2008 & it was a thriving massage practice. However, when I discovered how MFR was able to release structures & pain patterns, nagging headaches, carpal tunnel, TMJ (this list goes on and on), I was determined to be the best I could be for my clients.  

True JFBMFR cannot be practiced with any oil or cream. I had to decide, and it was very scary as my only means of income, but this is how much I believe in Myofascial Release. When I explained to my clients why I was doing what I was doing, retiring from massage and only providing MFR, they trusted & followed me. That was 2019 and we were all so grateful for the shift. 

This is where this blog comes in. I have so many fascinating & amazing stories of ailments, pain & hopelessness that I felt to further my goal of bringing MFR to the masses and making it mainstream, I needed to share some of the remarkable tales. In the process, as you read these blog submissions you may see a similarity in something you or a loved one is experiencing & give MFR a chance to help you.  

I want to broadcast my global view of our bodies. How much of a role our feet play in our comfort and health, and how our hips & pelvis affect our feet. The knees tell their own story connected sometimes to the ribcage, a shoulder, and on & on. Shoulder pain that comes and goes or maybe not, perhaps that pain is chronic. Is it the shoulder? Or is it something else that is caught, and tangled? “That is where my pain is” AH! Find the pain, look elsewhere! 

Then there are our beautiful heads and necks. Trouble swallowing? Experiencing headaches, teeth, jaw pain, sinus issues concussions, braces, and on and on?

This will be the space where I will share amazing symptoms & outcomes. 

Something will jump off the page because you have been feeling the same thing I am detailing, thinking “You’re just going to have to live with it.”

I say, “Maybe not.”