Myofascial Release

The myofascial release I offer lives inside Capacity for Self Bodywork™, the physical pillar of my Capacity for Self Method™. If you searched for myofascial release, you are in the right place. This is the same patient, sustained work, held inside a larger way of listening to the body.

Fascia is the connective tissue that wraps every muscle, organ, nerve and bone in your body. Not as separate sleeves for separate parts, but as one continuous web from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet. Because it is continuous, a restriction in one place can pull on places far away from it. The tissue is not passive, either. It responds to pressure and to stretch, and it notices how it is being met.

I am formally certified in the John F. Barnes approach to Myofascial Release. That approach treats the fascial web as living and continuous, which changes what I do with my hands and, more than anything, how long I am willing to wait.

Sessions are 75 minutes, and every one begins in the chairs, not on the table. We check in, and we take a few minutes to connect mind, body and spirit, so that what follows is not being done to a stranger.

Then you lie down, clothed in something loose and comfortable. The work happens directly on the skin or through clothing, depending on the area. There is no oil and no lotion, because I need the tissue to stay where my hands put it. I sink in until I feel the barrier, the exact place where the tissue pushes back. Not through it. At it. Then I hold, and I wait.

The waiting is the technique. A quick pass over tight tissue feels nice for an afternoon. Sustained pressure, held without forcing, lets the tissue respond on its own terms instead of bracing against mine.

You set the pace. You can talk, stay quiet, ask for less pressure or more, or stop at any point. If you would like the longer version, I wrote about what sustained pressure and time actually do.

In my practice, myofascial release is not a separate technique I switch over to. Capacity for Self Bodywork™ integrates myofascial release and cranial sacral therapy with techniques of my own, as one continuous conversation with the same tissue.

That matters because the place that hurts is often not where the pattern began. You broke a wrist at nine, it healed, and the shoulder above it quietly learned to hold itself differently. Decades later the low back aches on the other side and nobody can say why. The past did not disappear. It migrated. A session follows that trail wherever it leads, which is often somewhere neither of us expected.

I have practiced this work since 2003, across more than 8,000 sessions. I am an integrative somatic practitioner, coach, and bodyworker. I am also a California Certified Massage Therapist (CAMTC).

Many people arrive having already tried the obvious things. They stretched. They rolled on something hard. They booked deep pressure work that felt productive while it was happening, and four days later the shoulder was exactly where it had always been. Others come with tension from long days at a desk, a posture they cannot seem to change, an old injury or surgery scar that still feels tight, or a body that braces the moment anyone presses hard.

I do not diagnose, treat or cure any condition, and I am glad to work alongside your doctor and your other care rather than instead of it. What I offer is patient, sustained attention, at a pace your body agrees to. How far that goes depends as much on what you change in daily life as on what happens on the table.

My studio is in Cotati, between Rohnert Park and Petaluma, with Santa Rosa a short drive north. You can book a studio session there. If it is easier for me to come to you, I offer mobile sessions across Sonoma County, with the table and everything else I need.

Is this deep tissue work?

No. The pressure is gentle and sustained, never forced. Deep tissue work often pushes past the body's guard. This works with it, which is why it can feel so quiet from the outside.

Is myofascial release the same as myofascial massage?

People often use both names for this work. The word massage suggests oil, strokes and rhythm, and this has none of those. It is mostly stillness and time.

Do I stay dressed?

Yes. Wear something loose and comfortable, and skip lotion that day so the tissue is easy to work with.

What if I am not sure this is right for me?

That is exactly what the free 15-minute phone call is for. It is not a sales call. If this is not the right fit, I would rather tell you kindly and early.