So… what is Myofascial Release (MFR)?
Over the years I’ve seen my personal practice swing like a slow giant pendulum from…
super-strong Hot Power Vinyasa practice in Australia, through numerous injuries (many from my “past life” of martial arts and heavy gym training)to softer, more therapeutic practices such as Yin Yoga and Gong Meditation here in England.
This gradual shift has opened me to a much deeper appreciation of both the philosophy of yoga and the remarkable anatomy of the human form.
When we look at the body in the context of everyday movement like walking, cooking, lifting and playing games we tend to think in terms of bones and muscles working together.
But when you look more closely, you start to see that muscles and bones are not isolated parts like components of a car. You can’t “fix” one without affecting the whole.
So for example if the brakes on your car wear out you can repair them without affecting how the doors open or the boot locks.
The human body doesn’t work like that. If your back hurts, it can also directly influence:
· your hamstrings (and below)
· your shoulders (and above)
· your rib cage and heart (and other organs)
· and maybe even …your toes!
Tjis is because everything is interconnected in the human form.
Why?
Because unlike a car, which distributes force through separate metal parts, our bodies distribute force, to precise varying degrees, through a continuous web of load-bearing connective tissue called fascia.
It’s like an internal, three-dimensional spider’s web woven through everything, connecting everything to everything else.
So if you cross your right leg over your left while sitting, you can feel the counterbalancing forces travel all the way up across your shoulders as they stabilise the movement pattern. That’s fascia at work.
And fascia is absolutely ‘fascianating’ (sorry, my little joke).
Fascia is essential for transferring load throughout the body so we can move smoothly and gracefully. It’s especially efficient when it’s new—just look at how effortlessly babies move.
It also contains six times more nerve endings than muscle tissue, which means the brain listens to fascia even more attentively than it does to muscles.
Another important truth: fascia functions best when it’s well-hydrated, allowing its layers to glide and slide freely over one another.
But the very sensitivity that makes fascia so intelligent also makes it vulnerable. When I experience fear, tension or trauma (including long-term stress or PTSD), my fascia stores the physical imprint of those experiences so that I can keep functioning.
As Bessel van der Kolk describes in The Body Keeps the Score, our physiology retains these impressions long after the moment has passed.
Over years and decades, this stored tension has a drying effect the fascia, reducing glide, stiffening movement, and affecting
· range of movement
· posture
· and mood
· ultimately causing PAIN
Healthy fascia feels like linseed-oiled cloth gliding over polished wood. Rich and smooth.
Tension-holding fascia feels more like sandpaper. Coarse and painful.
So how do I help my fascia release that old tension and rehydrate so it can move freely again?
My path has led me to two powerful methods:
1. Yin Yoga
2. Myofascial Release (MFR)
In recent years, MFR has moved from the margins of therapeutic work into mainstream movement, yoga, and rehab. But what exactly is it?
Myofascial Release refers to gentle, deliberate techniques like
· Rolling
· Compression
· Cross-fibre stimulation
to the higher-level fascia that wraps the entire body.
We therapeutic balls of different sizes and densities to meet the needs of different tissues. Softer balls for sensitive areas, firmer ones for deeper layers, and specific shapes to follow myofascial tracks.
The goal is release held tension by warming, softening and subsequently re-hydrating the fascia so movement becomes smoother and the nervous system feels safe enough to relax. Sustained, mindful pressure helps the body shift from chronic sympathetic (fight–flight) activation into the parasympathetic state where healing and recovery are possible.
My Training With Jo Phee (pictured above)
A huge influence on my approach to fascia is Jo Phee—international 1st generation Paul Grilly educated Yin Yoga teacher trainer, fascia educator, and recently appointed CEO of the Fascia Research Society. Her science-based, innovative teaching has helped thousands better understand how fascia shapes movement, emotion, and wellbeing.
I had the privilege of training directly with Jo in Miami, immersing myself in her most up-to-date research and hands-on techniques. Bringing that knowledge back to Hamsey Green means my students don’t have to travel across the world to experience this internationally respected method.
December and January will see our first MFR (Myofascial release) discovery workshops and we invite YOU to come and find out who valuable this process will be for you in your body.
AbaYoga’s Evolution Into YinWave
My MFR training is part of my wider dedication to offering therapeutic, safe, and non-injurious yoga at the studio. As I transition AbaYoga into YinWave, myofascial release becomes one of the main pillars supporting slow, intelligent, nourishing practices grounded in the latest fascia and sound wave science.
In a world where stress builds up faster than we can process it, MFR offers a simple, accessible, and deeply regulating way to unwind the body and soothe the mind.
I invite you to pay more attention to yourself, your body and your mind - you never know when you’ll need them most!
