The Revolution is in your tissues 
Myofascial Release and listening to the body’s stories.
Transformation and Revolution may lie right beneath the skin suit you’re carrying around everyday.
(This was originally written in December of 2024)
Tonight, as I was laying with one of my kiddos as they drifted to sleep, I was flooded with a memory of massage school. As I was following the fascia (connective tissue) down his sternum to locate each rib attachment, then feeling the fascia move over the wide bone protecting his heart and lungs. I could feel a movement in the skin all the way to his side body and even into his back. I thought about how this could look uncomfortable to someone watching as I stretched and moved his skin but his eyes drooped closer to slumber. I thought, “what is the difference between fascia work and skin stretching, and that uncomfortable game kids play where they burn your skin by pulling on it in opposing directions?”
I reflected on the hours of practice and sensing and feeling that we spent locating just the right depth and feeling the surface compared to the deeper layers. Then a few years later, I started using my feet for similar work.
A couple of weeks ago I met a new-to-me massage therapist who shared her style of massage. I think sometimes it’s hard for people to realize that I can be just as-or even more-so- skilled with my feet than they are with their hands. And because I have been entrenched in the lineage and history of Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage, I know that earlier renditions of this type of massage wasn’t as detailed and specific. That has been our mission at the Center for Barefoot Massage– The company I work with to create engaging and innovative barefoot massage. It is quite the treat when I get to eloquently nerd out about the function and process to how and why using feet can be wildy effective tool in myosfascial release.
Myosfascial release and how it’s become a buzz word.
What the heck is MFR? Well, it’s essentially working with the type of tissue that surrounds and covers everything within your skin. There are several different types of fascia from more dense to more pliable. And there’s lots of beliefs about the extent of what your fascia can/cannot do and what restrictions create. Here’s another take CBM has recently shared that I absolutely loved!
I’m interested in fascia, but that’s not everything. I’m also interested in the nerves that live under the skin and how they respond. I’m also following lines and trends in the tissue and movements. And so much more. I’m interested in your relationship to stress and resilience. And your emotions and how that relates to patterns in your soma (body).
Massage School began in 2008 and that puts me at almost 17 years of full time body work. (The shelf life is around 6!!) I remember when I passed that milestone and I felt a complexity of emotions. I can’t imagine ever working outside of the bodywork and health world–and today, I know that massage therapy isn’t everything. I’m still too invested in understanding more and more. My practice looks very different than it did when I first started and quite a few of my current clients have seen me through that progression. We’ve laughed and cried together, had babies, experienced loss, made missteps and repairs along the way. It doesn’t take long to see and feel my passion that burns for curiosity toward living your best life. My flavor of neurospicy allows me to intake and output relatively coherent inquiries and see correlations between various methods I’ve tried and read about. I’ve continued to dive deep into every modality I’ve expounded upon. Teaching this barefoot massage work for the past 8 years has shown me so much as I’ve watched so many students. **The power of watching is profoundly underrated. Writing courses to reflect these correlations have been my recent endeavor. Along with more training in somatics and how emotions move or restrict our soma.
The Revolution is in your Tissues
One thing I know to be true, our bodies hold the stories of our life and our ancestors. We can tap into this understanding by that deep wisdom we’re carrying around in our bodies everyday. Just like my sons tissue moved across his entire rib cage, there lies a story in the catch or the ache or the pain that prevents that easy sliding of our fascia. Everyday clients come to me with a pain that they don’t truly understand. I won’t claim to know either. However, I can sit with the body and see what story wants to be told. That’s poetic and beautiful and literal. Powerful Listening can be therapeutic in many settings. I have a lot of years of listening and communicating with bodies. You may have heard me say, “bodies talk to me” because I’m ready to listen.
And Revolution. Because it doesn’t matter what changes in the world, your connection to your body will remain until you are released from this lifetime. Build that connection. Explore, play, be curious, and unravel what is stuck. That’s what I encourage in my Body Wisdom courses.
And now further to take my understanding to group sessions. This combines my love of teaching and my love of curiosity for bodies. And I see a growing need to reconnect our bodies in movement in the same room. As the world grows less familiar with human connection, it seems crucial we maintain that thread. As the world grows further divided, it seems crucial we find some way to bridge that divide.
You may have followed my recent traverse through social media and resourcing and here’s another extension of that. I’ve mentioned that bodywork is my first love but that is moving beyond the table. You can join me in Mother Circle, Body Wisdom, and other classes.
Written solely by Sara Newberry.
