What Myofascial Release Has Done For Me
August 29, 2001
(this is the essay I wrote in application for acceptance into MFR III, the most advanced course offered by Myofascial Seminars/John F. Barnes, PT)

What has MFR done for me?  Oh!  Let me count the ways…

Because of MFR might right sacro-iliac joint no longer rips open every few months, leaving me barely able to work.

Because of MFR my left IT band is no longer tight as a banjo string, leaving me unable to enjoy hiking.

Because of MFR I can now turn my head to the right AND the left!

Because of MFR I am no longer doubled over on the floor for two days every month trying to breathe through menstrual cramps.

Because of MFR I have moved from feeling sorry for myself for all the injuries and surgeries and “mistakes” along the way, into anger (three years ago I couldn’t feel anger), and beyond the anger into compassion for myself and for the people who were involved in my hurts, and for the whole world that is suffering so much.

Because of MFR I sometimes feel I can hear the scream in the collective consciousness, which we humans have brought on ourselves through our pride, arrogance and fear.

I hear it in my clients who are desperately trying to hang onto some idea of who they have been told they are supposed to be, taking anti-inflammatories and antidepressants and trying to get away from the pain with everything from shopping to surgery.

I hear it through stories on NPR about places in the world that have known nothing but war for generations, and where children are not allowed to have childhoods.

This is what threatens the future of our world, and this is where true healing/love on a giant scale is desperately needed.

Because of MFR I can tell my clients that living with the pain isn’t the best possible outcome, and they can be safe in this world.  I can help them get started or go farther along their path of healing.  It is a great honor, a huge responsibility, and a true blessing.

My goals for MFR III are to get quieter, to feel more, to think less, and to breathe more fully.  I hope to make a deeper connection with my fellow therapists, with the work, and with myself.

Measurable goals?  OK – how about 45^o neck rotation with no pain, decreased tenderness around my left greater trochanter, and getting past coughing and sputtering during unwinding, into whatever is the next thing.

To see the Grand Canyon with a really open heart.  To feel a vortex.  To dream those fantastic Sedona dreams where the grizzly gears come to me to take me berry picking with them, or chase me and lunge at me with huge teeth and loud growling, just before I wake up.

These are my goals for my time in Sedona in October.  Thank you for the opportunity.

Peace, Love, Namaste,

Glenda LaLiberte, LMP, NCTMB