Katja Maaß
MASSAGE THERAPY & BODYWORK
massagehackney.co.uk
Myofascial Release
Here are a couple of videos that give more in depth information of how fascial restriction can impact the body over time and the resulting impact on posture and pain in the body. A particularly good video is the visual representation of what is happening in the body.
Fascia, mental health & wellbeing
Restriction can be both emotional and physical, and these can be very much connected. Whether you feel pain in your body or not, Myofascial work can open you up to what's going on with your body and where, and sometimes why those connections are there. Over time we can switch off from pain and adapt from that discomfort. If you are experiencing mental health symptoms you may be overwhelmed by your body's responses, and it can also be common to feel quite disconnected from your body.
Myofascial therapists recognise that the body and mind can become stuck in a fight, flight, freeze response. Our role is to facilitate the responses in your body in so that whatever is showing up can start to change, be recognised and released by you. This feels like a natural response, and that's because it is - your body knows what to do!
Receiving treatment
The therapist feels into the tissues and stays on the barrier or restriction, holding a space for you to release when you are ready. We encourage clients to be in the their body as much as possible, rather than their "thinking" brain. This is to allow the instinctive compassionate elements of your mind to join your body in the healing process - this can take some time and that's quite normal.
During a release myofascial unwinding can occur. This is when the body moves through different positions to release, and this provides an opportunity to change, resolve or start to resolve past trauma, pain or both. This is also where memories and emotions can become very powerful. Its therapeutic benefit comes from the body re-experiencing within the fascial web, which holds a feeling of "tissue safety" many people will not have experienced before. Most commonly, clients report being able to move or feel in ways they didn't previously, or a reduction in symptoms such as pain or headaches or feel differently emotionally after treatment.
Mental Health
Having adequate support over the time you are receiving treatments may be advisable in some circumstances, as body therapists cannot offer you the guidance or emotional support that a talk therapist can. However it is also recognised that you may already have had talk therapy or have yet to. It can be difficult to receive treatment on the NHS with long waiting lists; if you have good emotional support at home this can also help with anything that may arise in treatment.
If you are already working with a therapist, treatments can have an amazing impact of your progress as you connect more and more with the compassionate loving part of your brain and realise your body's capacity to heal.
Some useful reading resources;
Myofascial release:
CBT
https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/
Polyvagal theory (credit diagram above)
https://themovementparadigm.com/how-to-map-your-own-nervous-sytem-the-polyvagal-theory/