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What are Fascia and MyoFascial Release?

By Angela Soberal

Fascia is a vast band of fibrous connective tissue that is found under skin, around muscles, and surrounds and supports organs. In laymen’s terms fascia is the Saran Wrap of the body. Fascia comes together at the end of muscles to become tendons which attach to bones. Fascia has the ability to change from a solid state to a liquid gel consistency, when fascia is warm or well hydrated it takes on this gel like state which allows more fluid motion of the body.

Myofascial Release (or MFR) is a technique that focuses on the fascia of the connective tissue system. MFR along with other therapies can help to improve the alignment and function of the body. MFR is an interactive stretching technique that works with feedback from the client’s body.

Fascial restrictions occur as a result of: physical trauma, inflammation or infection, postural imbalances, structural imbalances or sedentary lifestyles.

MFR treatments are performed without lotion or oil. The therapist will first assess the body for restrictions and then place their hands in the correct position and allow their hands to sink into the clients tissues. At this point the therapist uses different techniques in a very slow motion to help release the restrictions in the body as the body is ready to allow the restrictions to be removed. Where restrictions exist in the body, the technique will slow down even more, or even come to a stop until the tissues release and the therapist can move on. Fascial releases are not a permanent change but will aid in a permanent change. It is still important for the client to acknowledge the cause of their restriction(s) and make change so that the restrictions do not reoccur. MFR can be the only technique used in a treatment or it can be incorporated into a treatment involving other forms of therapy.

18 Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

by Dr. Leesa Kirchner, N.D.

Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. These will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.

Sleep in complete darkness or as close to it as possible. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night. Try to keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as the light is turned on (even for a second) you immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin for the rest of the night.

No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom completely. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. It is also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above.

Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that this reduces the tendency to wake up at night.

Read something. This will help to relax. Don't read anything too stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.

Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts and all the things you need to do the next day before you go to bed.

Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenal glands, do the majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11PM and 1AM-but work best if you are asleep at this time.

Keep the temperature in the bedroom no higher than 21ºC/70ºF. Many people keep their homes and particularly the upstairs bedrooms too hot.

Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the amino acid L-tryptophan that is needed to produce melatonin and serotonin.

Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.

Avoid caffeine. A recent study showed that in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently and therefore they can feel the effects long after consuming it. So an afternoon cup of coffee (or even tea) will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, some medications, particularly diet pills contain caffeine.

Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.

Don't drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.

Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating sleep.

Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it... 2 AM...3 AM... 4:30 AM...

Keep Your Bed For Sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and to think of the bed as a place to sleep.

Don't Change Your Bedtime. You should go to bed, and wake up, at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.

Make certain you are exercising regularly. Exercising for at least 30 minutes everyday can help you fall asleep. However, don't exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Studies show exercising in the morning is the best if you can do it.

Human Touch

By Rosemary Brown-Tucker, RMT

Human contact is what makes us the human beings we are and sets us apart from other animals. Love develops when a child has formed a strong attachment to another human being. This is what is called “infant-mother bonding.” The whole process of feeding, loving, touch, gazing at the face, eye-to-eye contact, voice, the smell of the mother’s body – all elements of physical closeness and touch – help to strengthen the bonding.

In the absence of bonding and healthy attachment with an adult, a child may develop life-long emotional disturbances, becoming withdrawn, disinterested and depressed. Also, the child may suffer pronounced physical consequences such as, being physically small, underweight, sickly, and undernourished. Such a child may survive but not thrive. Psychology has long identified this as “failure to thrive syndrome.”

Human touch is an integral part of health, balance and vitality for all ages.

Relationships with Ourselves

By Dr. Michael Tucker, D.C

The aliveness in each of us longs to have a relationship with the aliveness in others. Relationships with others are necessary to survive and our interconnectedness allows us to thrive.

Each cell, each of our parts and each of our systems such as the immune system, have aliveness. Each of these parts needs to be in relationship with the other parts in order to survive and we can not thrive without all our parts communicating, connecting and staying in dynamic relationships.

If one cell is isolated and unconcerned about its relationship with the whole, it may decide to multiply. This uncontrolled growth could result in cancer. Fortunately, there are many interconnected relationships within us that take care of separated cells that have become out of sync with the whole. If we break ourselves down into parts and give these parts to an expert to fix, we loose trust in our own power to heal.

Many of you have heard me speak about the relationship between our breath and our heart rate. If breath and heart rate are increased we tend to be in a state of excitement. This excitement is a wonderful part of life. After trauma, occasionally, the breath decreases and the heart rate increases. Their relationship is out of sync or dysfunctional. This is when excitement becomes anxiety or panic. If we stay stuck in this state, we stay locked in the past and impair our ability to meet our present stressors moment by moment.

The nervous system coordinates and harmonizes our internal relationships. It does this through interconnected nerves to each of our cells and by controlling the release of powerful chemicals called neuropeptides. Any interference to our nervous system will interfere with our parts to form coordinated relationships that are necessary for survival and also help us thrive.

Old chemical, emotional or physical trauma can get held into patterns in our nervous system. Our body and mind loose relationship and see themselves as separate. When the mind and body are separate and we are holding defensive patterns in our nervous system, our relationships with ourselves and others suffer.

N.S.A. is about becoming aware of the relationship of our parts. We do not need to figure this out consciously. N.S.A. helps the body talk to the mind. N.S.A. helps our breath, our muscle tone and our levels of joint tension find a more peaceful balance. When this new balance feels right, we consciously and unconsciously seek more of this internal sense of feeling right. When relationships become more at ease, more aligned, more coordinated, and more efficient, the energy left over is expressed as emotion. We are more aware of our feelings and use these feelings to keep realigning and integrating our relationships.

We could treat our bodies and particularly our spines as our children. There is a time to discipline our children and our spines. There is a time to give our children and our bodies’ unconditioned love and friendliness so they can evolve, grow, let go, organize themselves and remain connected.