Whole Healing Myofascial Release - The Art of Health and Wellness

A Special Q & A: Interview With Expert Level Myofascial Release Therapist, Elena Gournelos

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:02:44 GMT

This blog post first appeared as an interview on the Savvy Health Coach website. Tons of information, and many great FAQ's answered for you all in one place!

An introduction to Elena's work by the Savvy Health Coach:

If you’ve read my previous blogs, you know that I have a strong passion for bodywork and it’s far-reaching positive effects on the holistic health of our bodies. I vehemently believe that releasing emotional traumas from our tissues is an important step to achieving full health and eliminating symptoms or reversing disease. And as you know...that is always my plight!

So how did I come across Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR)? MFR was my most recent exploration in healing. When I became more physically active and started taking figure skating lessons, I noticed that I had many restrictions in movement. I could twist more to one side than the other side, one arm went higher than the other, my hips were very closed off. As I got better and wanted to achieve more in figure skating, I started to explore ways that I could self-correct after practice so I didn’t have to suffer until my next chiropractor or Visceral Manipulation appointment. Icing, stretching, loosening up in the infrared sauna were all part of that plan.

I also started to use the fascia blaster and foam roller. I was mainly focused on my very tight calves. I noticed that I would feel loser and more stable after fascia blasting or foam rolling, but I may end up with a more serious restriction in another part of my body, such as my lower back. At one point, my calves were very loose but I developed a sort of duck walk! The chiropractor was becoming less and less effective for me. It may help for 24 hours, but the rewards were never lasting and usually, once again, I would develop a tweak in another area of my body.

Then I remembered my biological dentist preaching to me the importance of what he called “structure” to the overall health of our bodies. When we study the physical component of healing, many people focus on diet and supplements and not much in the realm of how our body is physically structured. As life has gone on, where are our aches and pains? How has the physical location of our organs and limbs changed as we age?

Knowing that the fascia blaster and foam roller had some positive impact on how I felt, I did an old-fashioned Google search on fascia. “Treatments that help fascia,” “How to heal fascia.” And then I stumbled upon the work of John F. Barnes and Myofascial Relief Therapy. I searched my area for a practitioner and called Elena Gournelos of Whole Healing Myofascial Release Therapy . After speaking with her about her philosophy, I made an appointment.

I have been receiving Myofascial Release Therapy monthly for about 8 months now and I can honestly say it has given me an enormous leap forward in my healing. It has helped my progress in my PTSD treatment dramatically. I have more overall mobility, less body-wide pain, less fatigue and am more empowered overall. I feel I have been able to work on aligning all the areas of myself that needed healing.

I wish this for everyone, so I wanted to share some of Elena’s philosophy and expertise with you today. She shares some amazing insights so please be sure to read and share this Q & A’s with others who might benefit!

Q: Savvy Health Coach - How would you define Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for someone who has never heard of it?

A: Elena Gournelos - First let’s talk about fascia. Fascia is a continuous web of connective tissue that surrounds every cell of your body. It is the “scaffolding” which supports your cells, skeleton, brain and all internal organs, giving your body its shape. Without fascia, you would just be a puddle of cells on the floor! Moreover, it is a self-contained biotensegrity structure. In addition to keeping your body upright, it has both elastic and structural functions, which allows it to act as a shock absorber and to protect the body from injury. In addition, it transmits information throughout the body in the form of electrical, mechanical and chemical signals (more on that later!); this unique property of fascia is part of what makes Myofascial Release therapy so profoundly effective.

In cases of injury, surgery or acute trauma, fascia hardens and solidifies to protect the injured area while it heals. In cases of repetitive trauma, such as poor posture, chronic illness or emotional abuse, the fascia develops bracing patterns to protect us from potential injury. All these types of trauma result in fascial restrictions which wreak havoc on our bodies and health, causing chronic pain and dysfunction. In fact, unless they are released, they often grow worse over time. Those of us who have experienced chronic pain are all too familiar with this pattern; the dysfunction gets more and more complex and painful until we feel like we are living as strangers in our own bodies, stuck in our own internal straightjacket of chronic pain and tightness.

So then, what is Myofascial Release? MFR is a whole body-mind-spirit therapy that uses slow, gentle, sustained pressure and stretching of the fascia to release these painful, sometimes debilitating restrictions. Just like untangling a knotted bundle of string, an MFR practitioner slowly untangles and unwinds the fascia of the body, restoring fluidity and elasticity to the tissue and allowing full mobility and proper functioning to return. And remember that fascia is everywhere and surrounds every cell of your body, including your brain! This unique physiological characteristic of fascia is what makes MFR so powerful, and what gives and MFR the ability to affect all body systems, including the neurological, endocrine and immune systems. It is what allows for powerful emotional release and deep spiritual transformation.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - Would you care to share a brief history of the modality?

A: Elena Gournelos - Myofascial release as it is currently practiced was first developed by John F. Barnes around 50 years ago. The practice is still evolving and deepening. However, the truth is, this work has ancient roots. The power and healing potential inherent in “hands on” fascia work has probably been used for healing in ancient cultures across the globe for millennia.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - What are the benefits? What is it used to treat?

A: Elena Gournelos - Because MFR is a very holistic approach, the benefits are vast a wide-reaching. Of course, most people come for relief of chronic pain, and it is extremely effective for this in every part of the body, from the head to the pelvis to the feet! However, it is also useful for treating other more elusive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, urinary incontinence, prostate problems, vertigo, tinnitus, scar tissue formation, even lupus or multiple sclerosis. Since fascial restrictions are not detectable by any medical tests, including MRIs, many fascially related problems are often misdiagnosed as more serious illness such as lupus or MS.

Beyond the medical applications, however, is the beneficial effect on the whole being and spirit. In addition to the physical, myofascial release is deeply transformative both on an emotional and spiritual level. As clients progress through MFR therapy, many people find themselves happier, more energized, more alive. They make better life decisions and set better boundaries, sometimes even making very positive and deeply meaningful life changes they never would have considered possible before.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - What is your background? What brought you to become a Myofascial Release Therapist?

A: Elena Gournelos - I actually have a medical background, with a BS is neuroendocrinology and women’s health. I was on the track to becoming an MD/Ph.D., but before I made the full commitment, a little voice in my head said, “why don’t you work in the medical field for a while, both in research and clinical applications, before you commit?” And that’s what I did … thank goodness! I experienced first hand how limited conventional medicine really is both in its understanding of chronic illness and in its treatment options. I also realized that conventional medicine had little understanding of the importance of the spirit, and despite centuries of scientific research still couldn’t really explain what being ALIVE really means. So I began exploring other healing systems and treatment options myself, traveling the world as I did so. I eventually found everything I was looking for in myofascial release… a therapy that combines the physical, the energetic, the emotional and the spiritual, that is highly effective and scientifically sound. My inner scientist had finally found a way to harmonize with my heart and spirit.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - If you were to find a commonality among your clients, what would you say it is? What reasons do you find lead people to your treatment room?

A: Elena Gournelos - I see a wide range of clients, from top athletes to people suffering from chronic pain or even terminal diseases. What they have in common is a deep desire to live a full life, to be happy and pain-free. Most of them have already tried many other therapies with limited success, but they don’t give up. They WANT to heal, and they want to be their best possible selves. The clients who receive the most profound benefits are the ones most open to complete transformation of the body, mind, and spirit. One of my favorite quotes from John Barnes is “mediocre goals create mediocre results.” They may not believe it when they first walk in the door since they have been fighting pain for so long, but my clients all have the capacity for deep healing. Over time they discover this and their own power, and they do heal, in so many profoundly beautiful and unexpected ways.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - Let’s talk specifically about chronic pain. Why does chronic pain seem untreatable to so many? Could Myofascial Release help those dealing with chronic pain?

A: Elena Gournelos - We have been taught by conventional medicine that we are just a big bag of cells and chemicals. I am no exception … with my background in biochemistry, I was taught the same thing. But it’s simply not true! We are fascial beings, and fascia has been ignored for decades simply because there’s no test for it. As soon as you start working with the fascial restrictions that put so much pressure on our internal structures and organs, chronic pain starts to melt away.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - How can Myofascial Release benefit, in particular, those struggling with autoimmune disease? Feel free to share some of the science behind it as well.

A: Elena Gournelos - Again, the bag of chemicals fallacy is extremely prevalent when it comes to autoimmune diseases. From personal experience, I know that neuro-immuno-endocrinology is a fascinating field, and comes closer than any other chemical based system to explaining the wholeness and integrated nature of the biological human being, but it still falls short when practical issues of diagnosis and treatment, and thus the lives of real human beings, are at stake.

Unfortunately, autoimmune disorders such as fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and lupus are often over diagnosed and are tragically used to label people with health issues that don’t quite fit into neat little boxes. These individuals are offered little insight into the cause of their symptoms and even less in terms of viable treatment options, and the result is often frustration, stress, anxiety, and depression. It is heartbreaking to witness and even more difficult to live with, as anyone with an autoimmune disorder can tell you!

Here is where myofascial release can help... you are not just a bag of chemicals, you are a fascial being, and two of the most fascinating and cutting edge fields of medicine, mechanobiology, and biophysics, are utilized in myofascial release therapy. These fields study explore how mechanical and electrical forces affect our biological systems, and myofascial release works through two related scientific principles: piezoelectricity and mechanotransduction.

Piezoelectricity means that just like a crystal, applying sustained pressure to fascia creates an electrical current in the tissue, and therefore the whole body. In fact, acupuncture meridians are thought to travel through the fascia. Mechanotransduction occurs when mechanical forces (such as the sustained pressure of MFR) cause chemical changes via receptors located primarily in the fascia. These two principles combine in myofascial release to induce whole body changes. Myofascial release has been shown scientifically to affect the immune system by releasing interleukin-8, the body’s natural anti-inflammatory chemical. Since another word for fascia is the extracellular matrix or the “scaffolding” that holds our cells in place, MFR reduces the pressure on the whole system, therefore creating space in the body and freeing cells to function properly. Sustained pressure has even been shown to revert cancer cells to normal functioning.

The symptoms associated with autoimmune disorders are often alleviated with myofascial release because a whole body disorder that is difficult to define is often best treated by a whole body therapy that aims to balance the whole system instead of treating its individual chemical constituents. As advanced as neuro-immuno-endocrinology research may be, there are still many things as of yet undiscovered. Thus, treating the chemical component alone will always be an incomplete approach.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - How does Myofascial Release help to treat traumas (physical and emotional? Do you have anything to add about PTSD in particular?

A: Elena Gournelos - If Myofascial Release is specific for anything, in particular, it is the treatment of trauma, both physical and emotional. When we have a traumatic experience(s), our entire being goes into a fight-flight-freeze response. Even if we survive, the trauma may not fully heal. It can actually get “frozen” into our bodies, into our fascia, creating chronic pain and mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Myofascial release unlocks the freeze response, allowing our bodies to fully heal an experience which was too traumatic to face at the time. The danger is past, and in a therapeutic MFR session a client is free to release the emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations it wasn’t safe to feel when the danger was present. Often this involves peeling back and healing the layers piece by piece… it is not necessary to face the trauma all at once. MFR never pushes or forces, and clients will only release what they are ready to release in each session. Sometimes memories may surface, but this is not necessary for healing. Often the trauma can be released through feeling alone, and it is not a “re-experiencing” type of trauma therapy. Trauma survivors often find that they reintegrate pieces of themselves that they lost during the trauma and they renegotiate the outcome, rediscovering their inner power, self-worth, and self-love. This creates a foundation for deep transformation in their lives, a life that they choose, not a life dictated by their past traumatic experiences.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - What are therapies or treatments might Myofascial Release complement well?

A: Elena Gournelos - Myofascial Release complements just about any therapy. Releasing the restricted fascia around muscles, joints, and bones make physical therapy, chiropractic, and even personal training easier and more effective, with quicker and more long-lasting results. It is also a great complement to psychotherapy because it helps to release trauma from the body and promote a feeling of active embodiment where the client can actually manifest the changes they are working to create in their lives. It helps them identify emotional triggers and feel safe, confident and powerful in their own bodies, perhaps for the first time in their lives.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - How long is a typical session?

A: Elena Gournelos - Most sessions last between 60-90 minutes. There is also an educational component in which clients are taught how to release their own fascia at home.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - How long does it take to experience the benefits? How many sessions should clients be ready to commit to for acute issues and also for maintenance?

A: Elena Gournelos - Everyone is different. I always tell my clients that treatments are like snowflakes … we are all human, but everyone is a completely unique being, and in fact, no two sessions are alike - even for the same person! Benefits are often experienced after just one session, and the benefits build and grow with time and experience. Often clients may find that their initial issue resolved, but that they discovered many other benefits through the course of treatment, so they choose to continue therapy to address other issues as well.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - Where do Myofascial Release Therapists receive their training?

A: Elena Gournelos - True Myofascial Release training is available only through John Barnes. Manual therapists who are already trained and licensed can elect to study with John Barnes by attending his training seminars throughout the United States.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - What is your favorite part about assisting your clients on their healing journey?

A: Elena Gournelos - Helping people come back to life!! Whether a person’s trauma is physical, emotional, sexual or medical, trauma shuts us down and cuts us off from our very essence. It keeps us from connecting to ourselves and others, keeps us from truly engaging in life. Myofascial Release changes all that. Watching my clients come back to life, reclaiming their power and their joy, is by far the most gratifying aspect of work. It is truly an honor to be a part of my clients’ healing process.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - What kind of responses do your patients share with you after their first Myofascial Release session?

A: Elena Gournelos - For most people, it is a fascinating and eye-opening experience. You feel and experience your body in a way that you never dreamed possible. Sometimes there is an immediate positive change, but sometimes it can take a few days as the body begins to reawaken and adjust to a state of greater health. Sometimes clients experience an energetic detox in which they may feel fatigue, pain or discomfort for a brief period of a few days, but then feel much better after the detox period passes.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - For clients that are not in the Tampa Bay area, how can they find a good Myofascial Release practitioner?

A: Elena Gournelos - Check the MFR directory ( mfrtherapists.com). It’s important to find a therapist that is a good match for you, so pay attention to how you feel speaking or working with a therapist. It’s not just the number of courses a therapist has taken that makes him or her a good match, it’s also their personality, spirituality, and accumulated life skills that will help you gain the most from your session.

Q: Savvy Health Coach - Please share how clients might find you or anything you want them to know about your practice, your mission or your bio.

A: Elena Gournelos - With two offices in the Tampa Bay area, my practice encompasses more than just Myofascial Release. It is a distillation of my entire being and everything I have learned in my life, including martial arts and meditation practices, other cranial therapies, life experience, and accumulated wisdom. My work in Myofascial Release is whole being therapy, and I bring my whole being into the treatment room to help my clients in every way I can. My mission is to help my clients become whole beings with powerful, integrated hearts, minds, spirits, bodies and souls. That’s the meaning behind the name of my practice, “Whole Healing Myofascial Release.”

Want to see the original post by the Savvy Health Coach? Click here!
http://savvyhealthcoach.com/blog/2019/06/03/a-special-q--a-with-myofascial-release-therapist-elena-gournelos

You Don't Have to Grin and Bear It! How Myofascial Release Can Relieve TMJ, Jaw and Dental Pain

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 16:47:48 GMT

For many people, myofascial release offers simple, safe, non-invasive relief of jaw pain and stiffness, and even alleviates clenching and grinding at night. Here's how ...

Is your jaw stiff and painful, or does it “pop” when you open and close it? Have you been told you grind or clench your teeth at night and you should wear a bite guard? How about headaches, neck pain and stiffness? Have you even been told you need jaw or facial surgery to relieve the pain?

Luckily, for most people, Myofascial Release provides a simple, safe and non-invasive solution

Our jaws are held together by extremely strong tendons, ligaments and muscles. When they are tense, they can feel like painful steel cables inside our jaw, and can even pull our jaw out of alignment. This results in a condition called TMD (Temporal Mandibular Disorder), commonly referred to as TMJ.

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofascial Research estimates that over 10 million Americans have TMD. In addition, 10% of adults and 15% of children grind their teeth at night.

That's a lot of stress and tension! To make things worse, tension in the jaw often spreads via the fascia to our teeth, neck and head, contributing to pain, stiffness, and headaches.

We live in a stressful world, and most of us hold an incredible amount of tension in our jaws. We even have idioms that encourage us to do so! When we “grin and bear it” or “keep a stiff upper lip” we may avoid an argument, but our bodies literally pay the price by holding on to the tension and stress we are unable to express.

The good news is, you don't have to live with it. Myofascial Release of the jaw can relieve pain and tension that has been there for decades . Sometimes, our jaws are tight and restricted from orthodontic work we had as children. Sometimes its related to poor posture while sitting at a desk, which puts tremendous strain on our neck, head and jaw. Sometimes it's plain old stress and pent up emotions. But whatever the cause, releasing the myofascial restrictions in the jaw can provide amazing relief you never thought possible!

Myofascial Release as an Alternative or Adjunct Cancer Therapy: Biomedical Research and Scientific Rationale

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Myofascial release can be a powerful adjunct therapy for cancer, reducing side effects of traditional therapy, improving quality of life, and even affecting the cancer cells themselves!

If you are interested in the nitty-gritty of fascia and biomedical research, then this article is for you. And if you are interested in the biomedical research supporting massage or myofascial release for cancer patients, this article is doubly for you!

As you may know from reading my bio here on this website, before I became a myofascial release practitioner I was a biomedical researcher at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Although I no longer do such work, I still have a soft spot for science, and I was compelled to write this article after hearing so much negative, misleading or downright false information about massage and cancer. I found that many cancer patients were not getting the help they needed because they had heard false rumors that massage could spread cancer. So in service to cancer patients everywhere, I'm here to set the record straight.

Unfortunately, research in myofascial release is fraught with difficulty. The main reason for this is that there is no placebo for bodywork ... in other words, there is no "fake" myofascial release. Both the patient and the practitioner know if real myofascial release is being done or not. So, any study on MFR cannot be considered "double blind placebo controlled" and is therefore automatically rejected by the medical community regardless of what the results might be. Still, we can piece together research from many different fields, most notably the fields of biophysics and mechanobiology, and come up with a pretty compelling picture of how the sustained pressure of MFR may benefit cancer patients. Read on!

The John F. Barnes Myofascial Release Approach is a highly specialized manual therapy which focuses entirely on the fascial system. Developed over the last 50 years by John F. Barnes, PT, this work goes beyond conventional massage and physical therapy modalities, and employs slow, gentle, sustained pressure to induce a phase change in the ground substance of the fascia from a gel to a more liquid state (1). This frees the collagenous component of the fascia embedded within the ground substance, restoring fluid motion and relieving the pressure restricted fascia exerts on internal organs and other structures (2) while the extra space created in the extracellular matrix allows nutrients and waste products to flow in and out of cells more efficiently. In addition to pain relief, patients often feel lighter, both physically and emotionally. They often notice benefits such as elevated mood and improved cognitive and digestive functioning, even when these issues have not been their primary reason for seeking therapy. Often, they are simply happier.

The physiological mechanism of myofascial release incorporates both the piezoelectric nature of the fascia itself as well as mechanotransduction to transform the extracellular matrix, ie the environment in which all our cells live; in this way, mechanical forces may be translated into biochemical changes within the cell. Decades of research by Dr. Alfred Pischinger (3) has shown that fascia surrounds and connects every cell in our bodies and provides a mechanism for intercellular communication. Each one of our 35-75 trillion cells is embedded with the fascial bed of tissue, and this tissue is the immediate extracellular environment of all cells. Any substances or vibrations that enter or leave each cell must pass through this extracellular fascia. In addition, the in vivo fascial research of the French surgeon Dr. Jean-Claude Guimberteau (4, see photo) has provided extensive, paradigm shifting insight into the physiology and function of living fascia, showing the fractal nature of connective tissue and the contiguous transmission of mechanical forces from the surface of the skin to the nucleus of the cell and the depths of the bone. In fact, current research in mechanobiology “clearly demonstrates that mechanical forces are as important biological regulators as chemicals and genes, and it shows the immense potential of developing mechanotherapies to treat injury and disease.” (5)

In addition, research shows an increase in interleukin-8, 3, and 1b with sustained pressure (6) and CD19 with myofascial release techniques, (7) and mechanical compression of malignant mammary cells has been shown to not only stop but revert the cells' abnormal growth in vitro. (8, see photo) And of course, there is a significant body of research which supports the use of massage for palliative care in cancer populations. (9,10,11)

Moreover, it must be noted that to date, there is no biomedical research which supports the theory that massage or myofascial release promote cancer metastasis. Neither an recent (June 2017) pubMED search, a National Library of Medicine medical librarian-assisted search, nor inquiries with the National Cancer Institute and The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health have produced any evidence that massage or myofascial release increase the risk of cancer metastasis.

Myofascial release practitioners have seen the positive effects of this work in cancer patients for decades. Unfortunately, research often lags behind clinical experience, since it takes years of dedicated work by scores of scientists before therapies become accepted as “evidence based.” Additionally, alternative medical approaches are particularly difficult to research using standard methodology because they do not lend themselves well to double blind placebo controlled trials. Still, the potential benefits of myofascial release should not be ignored. There is no evidence of harm, and a growing body of evidence of great therapeutic possibilities.

Now that you've got the research, do you want to read a more personal story about MFR and cancer? Read Rachel's testimonial here ...

References

(1) Pollack, GH. Phase transition: a mechanism for action. In: Pollack, GH, ed. Cells, Gels, and the Engines of life. Seattle WA:Ebner and Sons, 2001: 126-129

(2)Barnes, JF. Myofascial Release: The Missing Link in Traditional Treatment. In Davis CM. Integrative Therapies in Rehabilitation: Evidence for Efficacy in Therapy, Prevention and Wellness. Fourth ed. Thorofare, NJ: Slack Inc, 2017: 57-74

(3)Pischinger, A. The Extracellular Matrix and Ground Regulation: Basis for a Holistic Biological Medicine. North Atlantic Books, 2007

(4)Guimberteau JC, Armstrong C. Architecture of Human Living Fascia: The extracellular matrix and cells revealed through endoscopy. Handspring Publishing, 2015

(5)Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard. “Newfound strength in regenerative medicine: A promising new approach uses direct mechanical stimulation to repair severely damaged skeletal muscles.” ScienceDaily, 25 Jan 2017. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160125185041

(6)Cao TV, Hicks MR, Campbell D, Standley PR. Dosed myofascial release in three-dimensional bioengineered tendons: effects on human fibroblast hyperplasia, hypertrophy, and cytokine secretion. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics. Oct 2013;36(8):513-521

(7)Fernández-Pérez AM, Peralta-Ramirez MI, Pilat A, Moreno-Lorenzo C, Villaverde-Gutierrez C, Arroyo-Morales M. Can myofascial techniques modify immunological parameters? J Alt Compl Med. 2013;19(1):24-28

(8)University of California – Berkeley. “to revert breast cancer cells, give them a squeeze.” ScienceDaily, 17 Dec 2012. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121217140544

(9)Lee SH, Kim JY, Kim SH et al. Meta-Analysis of Massage Therapy on Cancer Pain. Integr Cancer Ther. 2015 Jul;14(4):297-304.

(10) Taylor AG, Snyder AE, Anderson JG et al. Gentle Massage Improves Disease- and Treatment-Related Symptoms in Patients with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. J Clin Trials. 2014; 4:1000161.

(11)Toth M, Marcantionio ER, Davis RB et al. Massage Therapy for Patients with Metastatic Cancer: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. J. Altern Complement Med. 2013 Jul; 19(7): 650-656

How Myofascial Release Became the Next Step in My Journey of Self Discovery and Healing

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Tue, 23 May 2017 20:24:39 GMT

Meditation and yoga were once the most transformative practices I had in my toolbox, but now it's myofascial release. Here's why ...

There was a time in my life when meditation was the most profoundly healing and transformative practice I had ever encountered. It changed me like nothing else ever had. Over years of 10-day silent retreats, long-term service at meditation centers, and daily practice, I slowly tapped into areas of myself I didn’t know existed. I tapped into my strengths and faced my fears. I confronted my erroneous beliefs and my false images of the world and myself. I became more calm and peaceful, more level-headed and better able to function under all types of pressure. I was able to free myself from so many “patterns of being” that were keeping me from living a contented and joyful life.

My ashtanga yoga practice was pretty cool too. I was “good at it” … which, at that time in my life, meant my body was able to do most everything I asked of it (now I know better!) I felt great while I was doing my practice, and there’s no question that it was beneficial for my body, spirit and mind. It worked for a while, but deep down I knew something was missing . These practices, as beneficial as they are, only took me so far.

But when I started experiencing myofascial release, it was another story altogether! My other practices had never touched me so deeply … what was going on??? Had I been missing something all this time???

I found myseIf entering another dimension of transformation and healing, a place of deep and authentic feeling . I realized that in the past, I had trained to myself to sit still for hours on end observing my inner landscape, but I was just an outside observer. I felt everything in (sometimes excruciating) detail, and yet I was not really feeling. I was training my mind and body to be what I thought was best. I was controlling and regulating myself from the outside in , meticulously following the meditation techniques and yoga sequences I had learned.

But I was not honoring my authentic self. I was not truly inhabiting my own body from the inside out, or experiencing the depth of my humanity in the way myofascial release has helped me experience. This was the difference for me. Myofascial release helped me feel and come alive … to dive into the feeling, no matter how uncomfortable, with all my heart and soul, and come out the other side a resounding YES!

Now I know that I am not just a peaceful soul. I am a survivor. I have tasted my own strength, and the power deep within my being. My heart and soul expand daily. It has been a personal revolution that has changed my relationships, both to myself and others. I feel connected and inspired. And I haven’t lost any of the things I gained from my former practices; in fact, myofascial release has only deepened and broadened those skills. And I am more alive today than ever before!

Top 6 Reasons Myofascial Release is So Special

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Thu, 18 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT

What makes the John Barnes' Myofascial Release Approach different from other therapies? The answer lies lies in science of fascia itself

The John Barnes' Myofascial Release Approach is like none other. What's the difference? Its strong scientific foundation, its effectiveness where other therapies fail, and the uniquely wonderful feeling it gives you!

#6: Addresses the whole system simultaneously

Fascia is an uninterrupted web of connective tissue that runs through our entire body and surrounds every cell. It’s like the internet of our bodies! When we do myofascial release techniques in one area, the physiological changes spread through the web of fascia and affect other areas as well. It is common to feel effects in areas of the body the therapist never touches.

#5: Works on a cellular level

Unlike other approaches, myofascial release actually affects our tissue on a cellular level. Other methods use force to break apart fascial adhesions – not only is this painful, it only addresses the outermost layer of the problem.

The slow and gentle techniques of myofascial release, however, actually cause a physiological change in the tissue itself. Through the biological processes of "mechanotransduction" and "piezoelectricity," the fascia is converted it from a thick, inflexible “gel” state to a softer, more pliable “liquid” state. (More on mechanotransduction and piezoelectricity in coming blog posts ... stay tuned!)

The result? A soft, flexible and responsive body that is able to perform and adapt to what life requires!

#4: Addresses the root of the problem

The spot where we feel the pain may not be where the problem is! Try this experiment: while standing up, grab hold of the bottom of your shirt and give it a good, steady pull down towards the floor. Where do you feel the pull? In the spot where you are pulling, or up top near your shoulder?

The same thing happens in the body. Fascial restrictions cause tightness which creates a “pull” in the system, and the effects can be felt in areas far away from the original spot. There may be pain in the original spot as well as several other areas of the body, and it’s all linked.

Myofascial release addresses all the “linked” areas of pain and restriction in our body as one system, giving us deep, full body relief.

#3: Helps conditions which cannot be adequately treated by standard methods

Fascial restrictions have a tensile strength of 2000 lbs per square inch ... that's like being encased in concrete! If the functioning of a muscle, joint, or body organ is compromised by the squeeze of restricted fascia, there are no drugs or procedures which can cure the problem. Some pills and procedures may mask the pain for a while, but they often have risky side effects, including addiction. Sometimes, healing from surgery can create even more scar tissue in the body, actually making the problem worse in the long run!

Myofascial release goes straight to the root of the problem, restoring free movement and vitality to the body gently and safely.

#2: Releases emotions memories traumas safely

Back in the 90’s, we used to talk about the “mind-body connection.” Now we know that it’s more than a connection; the mind and the body are actually inseparable parts of a larger whole. On a physiological level, the nervous, endocrine, immune, and fascial systems are all parts of one big master system.

What does that mean on a practical level? Emotions and memories can be accessed by engaging the fascial system. In fact, myofascial release is one of the best ways to safely navigate past traumas and renegotiate our relationship with them. Trauma, whether it is emotional or physical, leaves a residue in the body, usually via habitual body and movement patterns. Releasing these holding patterns can free us of the hold a past trauma has on us.

#1: The feeling of true myofascial release is like none other!

Many massage modalities feel great for a short time, but way too soon, you’re right back where you started.

When fascia truly releases, though, it’s a different story. Your body changes on a level that you never thought possible. You feel lighter, like there’s more space inside your body, and the changes run deep through your core. Your posture may change, and without knowing why, you may feel happier and more peaceful than you’ve felt in years!

The Dreaded "C-Word": How Myofascial Release Therapy Provides Hope and Healing for People with Cancer

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Read Rachel's real life story about her cancer diagnosis, and the personal healing she has experienced with myofascial release ...

There are few diagnoses that strike fear in our hearts more than CANCER. Whether it is you yourself or a loved one, it can turn your life completely inside out and upside down.

I have seen in my practice that Myofascial Release Therapy can induce profound levels of personal healing and transformation in cancer patients. This work is so important, so life transforming, that in this article, I've decided to take a side seat and let my patient Rachel Schneiderman speak for herself. About 6 months ago, Rachel was diagnosed with stage four cancer of the lung, bone, and liver, and is currently in hospice. Please read on ... please read Rachel's story in her own words ...

"In my 40 years of bodywork, after a series of wonderful practitioners, I never expected to find one with such a gift as Elena Gournelos possesses, and gives in such generous measure. From my first session with her, I realized that in spite or because of all I’d experienced before, I’d been on a search for a truly collaborative yet guiding healer, yet hadn’t known it.

Over a year ago I remembered one exquisite component of a session with a chiropractor in NC. It was called myofascial release, and after moving to FL and dealing with unresolved body problems, I longed to find someone who did exclusively that kind of healing. I searched online and Elena’s website appealed to me in its language and approach. Little did I know how much fortune smiled when I was drawn to her.

The moment she began to map my body, I could feel a transformation flowing over it on all levels at once: physical, emotional and spiritual. She went into a silent healing zone and, by example rather than words, she showed me that the less I talked, the more I could focus with her, on allowing my body to speak to her so she could heal it. I learned and am still learning how to express what my body needs to keep and what to let go, in a way that helps our teamwork.

Elena brought out the strength and resilience that lay in my body waiting to emerge through the layers and layers of emotional stress, spiritual trauma, physical injury and the combination thereof. I was also amazed that each session, there was still more within me to discover, uncover and set free.

Then I was distracted from the healing process by a vain attempt to improve my financial and professional situation. Ironically, as if in answer, I was further distracted by a diagnosis of stage 4 cancer of the lung, liver and bone. My veteran oncologist, who was unfailingly kind and empathetic, gave me the finest available treatments. Nonetheless, I was allergic to all of them, my colon failed, and everything else began to break down. I was so depleted I felt very close to death.

I lost touch with myself in the face of overwhelming demands on my body and spirit, and thus lost touch with my healer, Elena, when I needed her guidance the most. Finally I regained my natural wisdom and reached out to her. When I returned I was a withered, drained, shadow of my former self, and had a thick layer of edema on one leg that seemed intractable.

We both now recall that Elena could hardly touch me, I was in so much pain. Yet, she was able even under that limitation, to make her way back through the initial layers. The next morning I not only felt amazingly limber and lighter of heart, but the edema had all but disappeared. I knew this was a metaphor, a shedding of unnecessary “protective” matter, and a sign that things were moving again, I had not become stagnant after all. Since then she has made the kind of progress with me that would take another practitioner years to uncover.

With Elena, healing is revealing, not just a result but a fluid, ongoing process. Though it takes practice in deep breathing and surrender, it’s beyond worth it. It's ever easier to let her go gently but firmly, deeper and deeper into the layers of pain, until they release into positive, powerful fuel for living, my own sustainable energy program. This transformation occurs more easily and quickly each time, as if I’m learning a language through repetition, yet exploring new avenues of expression as each one is understood.

She’s guiding me on a journey we’re taking together, for we both share the same sense of wonder in the miracle that is the human body. We celebrate each breakthrough. I can only hope to be so fortunate as to keep releasing the old layers, to return more and more to my essential self, and to collaborate with her until my last breath on earth."

~Rachel Schneiderman, writer and Spanish translator, age 65

As Rachel's myofascial release therapist, I can say she is making amazing progress. When she first came to me after her unsuccessful attempt at chemotherapy, she was haggard, shrunken and grey. But after just one session, the color returned to her skin and the sparkle returned to her eyes. After just a few sessions, she stopped walking with a cane. With every session, her energy and vitality increase, and her body becomes stronger. She is finding that Myofascial Release is helping manage the pain and restoring proper functioning to her body, including her appetite and digestion.

More than anything, it is an honor to be her companion as she walks this road. I have witnessed a spiritual and emotional transformation in her that is humbling to behold. She has a radiance that is so rare these days, in anyone. She even tells me people can't believe she has cancer.

Our work together is having a profound effect on her quality of life, and we both agree that it is prolonging her life. Rather than every day being a battle with pain, every day is a gift and a blessing for her. We are both looking forward to the future, and hopeful about the healing that is still unfolding ...

I’m exhausted! Do I have adrenal fatigue syndrome?

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT

There are many possible causes for fatigue. Regardless of your diagnosis, or lack thereof, myofascial release and cranial work can help you rest, re-energize and rejuvenate

Millions of Americans suffer from chronic feelings of exhaustion and a lack of well-being. Symptoms such as poor sleep, poor digestion, lack of stamina, stress, headaches, and depression have become more common than apple pie. But despite decades of neuroendocrinology and immune research, conventional medicine is not always able to give a clear explanation … or a solution.

Unfortunately, many diagnosable diseases must reach an advanced level of severity before showing up in standard medical tests. Early symptoms of poor health are too common to fit into any one “box.” The result? People can unknowingly suffer for years , pushing themselves to the limit and getting progressively worse, before they receive a clinical diagnosis such as adrenal insufficiency, fibromyalgia, or lupus. Even after being diagnosed, many of these conditions are difficult to treat effectively with conventional methods alone.

And here’s the rub … even though pre-clinical conditions such as adrenal fatigue are not detectable in any test, the symptoms are very real! So what can you do?

Luckily, non-invasive therapies such as myofascial release and cranial work can help. These therapies are virtually risk free and can help balance the neuro-endocrine-immune system safely and effectively. Regardless of whether your symptoms are pre-clinical or you have received a formal diagnosis, myofascial release and cranial work often have a profoundly relaxing effect on the mind and body, building energy and a deep sense of well-being. Stress, depression and anxiety decrease, while sleep and digestion improve.

How is this possible? It may have to do with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or “HPA axis” for short. This is a neuroendocrine pathway in the body that connects the brain to the pituitary and adrenal glands, regulates our response to stress, and is even tied to our immune system. Myofascial release and cranial work may have a calming and balancing effect on the HPA axis.

Either as a stand-alone approach or in combination with other therapies, myofascial release and cranial work are wonderful ways to restore your mind, body and spirit. Rest, rejuvenation, and healing are possible!

My feet hurt! Getting to the root of plantar fasciitis and other foot pain disorders

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Your foot pain may not actually be coming from your feet ... how fascial restrictions in the legs, hips and even cranium may be causing your symptoms

You don’t have to be a dancer or security guard, on your feet all day, to have foot pain. In fact, the root of your foot pain may not even be in your foot … it could be in your hips, spine, or even your cranium.

Imagine you are holding a two foot rope in your hand, with your arms stretched so that the rope is taut. Now twist one end of the rope. What do you feel at the other end? Do you feel the increased tension on the other side of the rope?

That is exactly what happens in our bodies. Our skeleton, and especially our spine, is like the rope. If one end gets twisted, or even if it gets twisted in the middle, the tension is bound to be transferred down the line through our connective tissue and fascia. This is a natural phenomenon called biotensegrity.

So often, it is this dynamic that is at play in plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia, and other types of foot pain. Your skeleton is the rope … one end is your feet and the other end is your cranium. If tension is exerted on the cranium (possibly from the neck, shoulder, and upper back muscles that are involved in poor posture), that tension will have a tendency to spread out all along the skeleton via the fascia. It will continue until it has nowhere else to go … in other words, it will send the tension all the way down to your feet!

The pelvis also plays an essential role in the structure and tension of our bodies. It is the foundation of our axial skeleton, and just like a house, our foundation has to be strong and level to support the structures above. When the pelvis becomes twisted or rotated due to injury, poor posture, or fascial restrictions, it sends the tension in both directions … down to our feet and up to our heads … and can result in chronic pain conditions such as headaches, back pain, and plantar fasciitis. Often, the feet have to work overtime to compensate for the weakness of the pelvis and core, causing a lot of extra strain just to stay upright.

Unfortunately, modern life requires us to spend a lot of time sitting, whether it’s at work, in the car, or at home, and our pelvis pays the price. Most of us have fascial restrictions in the pelvis/hips that over time, will contribute to a chronic pain condition.

Myofascial release and cranial work are extremely effective ways to untwist the rope and relieve the extra tension. Just like untwisting the rope, untwisting and releasing fascial restrictions in the connective tissue of our bodies produces positive effects that can be felt from head to foot. In this way, myofascial release and cranial work effectively kill many birds with one stone, creating a feeling of openness and relaxation in the body that eliminates pain and restores ease of motion.

Do I need surgery? Maybe, maybe not

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Your reluctance to get surgery may be your intuition at work. Get a second or even third opinion, and try a non-invasive approach like myofascial release before you make your final decision

Surgery is a big decision. Considering all your options can be overwhelming, especially if you are experiencing significant pain and discomfort. Perhaps you've tried other therapies such as physical therapy, massage, and chiropractic, but with limited success, and you feel like there are no other options available to you.

Don't despair! Myofascial release often succeeds where other therapies fail. And you don't have to abandon your current doctor, therapist or chiropractor to reap the benefits.

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Why is the myofascial release approach so important? Myofascial release, especially when combined with cranial work, acts on a cellular level to release restrictions in the body that other therapies aren't able to address. Fascia is a matrix of connective tissue that is present everywhere in your body, surrounding and connecting every cell. It does not appear in X-rays, MRIs, or any other standard medical test. However, when fascia gets restricted, it can wreak havoc inside your body.

Fascial restrictions have a tensile strength of 2000 lbs per square inch, and they can exert a lot of force on surrounding muscles, joints, and even internal organs, causing severe pain and dysfunction. Releasing these restrictions releases the pressure safely and naturally, returning your entire body to a fluid and responsive state. The result? Less pain, better functioning, and a healthier body.

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So do you really need surgery? Maybe, maybe not. Myofascial release may be able to alleviate your symptoms and spare you the significant risk, expense, and inconvenience of surgery. And if you do decide to go under the knife, myofascial release can be used both before and after surgery to promote healing. Addressing restrictions in the connective tissue before the procedure may make your surgeon's job easier and decrease the risk of complications. Myofascial release after surgery may decrease the amount a scar tissue formed and speed up recovery time.

In fact, myofascial release can even act synergistically to enhance the effects of other therapies. Because it never works in opposition to the body, combining myofascial release with chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga, or physical therapy can be a powerful approach to healing. When the fascia has been released, chiropractic adjustments hold longer, energy flows more easily through the body, yoga becomes easier, and physical therapy becomes more effective.

So whether you choose to use myofascial release alone or in combination with surgery or other therapies, the benefits are immense, both for your body and your spirit. The sooner you are able to get back to living fully the better!

Fibromyalgia? Fear not! Myofascial release can help

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 17:27:32 GMT

"MFR is by far the most effective treatment I have found to unstick the fascia and reduce fibromyalgia pain" ~ Ginerva Liptan, MD

Aches and pains, physical weakness, poor sleep and fatigue, foggy mind, stress and anxiety … In her new book The Fibro Manual, Dr. Liptan shows how all these symptoms are linked together as part of our body’s response to stress. She explains how the fascia is the missing link in this condition … and how MFR can be a way out of the pain.

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It begins with our brain’s normal mechanism for dealing with stress, called the fight-flight-freeze response. In the face of any perceived danger … whether it’s a saber-toothed tiger, an auto accident, or conflict with a co-worker, our brains rev us up to fight or run away … or if neither option is possible, freeze until the danger passes. In this state of vigilance, deep, restful sleep is impossible. We tighten up, braced for whatever action the danger may require us to make. And when we tighten up, our fascia tightens up, ready to spring into action .

If all goes well, we discharge this excess energy as we navigate the danger, and our system relaxes and returns to normal after the danger passes. But sometimes, for reasons beyond our conscious control, our bodies stay stuck in the danger-response and we may not even realize it. After all, these days, stress has become the norm! So the spring stays chronically coiled. Our bodies and brains can’t quite relax. We can’t really rest, and our bodies are robbed of the essential time they need to repair and rejuvenate. Our fascia is not given the time to heal, and poor sleep contributes to foggy-thinking and lack of energy.

It becomes a downward spiral . Our fascia not only stays tight, it may continue to tighten since there is no reprieve in the unconscious signals coming from the brain. Fascial restrictions don’t discriminate, and can even affect our digestive system, possibly contributing to leaky-gut or irritable bowel syndrome. Tight fascia can put extra pressure of 2000 pounds per square inch on sensitive nerves and blood vessels , causing pain and tension throughout our bodies. Inflammation can occur. Over time, the pain and stiffness caused by our fascial restrictions can become unbearable, and even lead to a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

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The good news is that these issues can be addressed with John Barnes’ Myofascial Release Approach and cranial work. In her book, Dr. Liptan presents scientific research which supports the effectiveness of Myofascial Release for reducing fibromyalgia pain. She also discusses in detail how these approaches were instrumental in her own healing from fibromyalgia. Both as a physician and a patient, she believes the fascia is the missing link in the successful management of this condition. She states,

"MFR is by far the most effective treatment I have found to unstick the fascia and reduce fibromyalgia pain. When I stumbled across it after being diagnosed, I saw a huge improvement in my pain levels, particularly in my back, neck ,and jaw. I also noted changes in the way my body felt: my tissues finally started to relax. For days after treatment, I slept deeper and woke up feeling less tight. Looking back on it from a medical perspective, the therapy was reducing the flight-or-flight nervous system influence so my tissues could unlock. "

You don’t need to have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia to start healing … if you are experiencing any of the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia including body aches and pains, general weakness or fatigue, poor/unrestful sleep, “brain fog,” stress and anxiety, or “leaky gut syndrome,” MFR can help you now. MFR and cranial work help the body return to its natural, fluid and relaxed state, freeing the restrictions that contribute to our pain and distress. Your body can be yours again!

Welcome to ... my new blog!

elenagournelos@gmail.com (Elena Gournelos) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Hello everyone! As many of you know, I have always been a person who prefers personal, one-on-one communication. However, as time goes on, I'm finding there are some great topics that come up over and over again, and there are so many people who can benefit from these conversations. So, I have decided to start a blog in order share these insights and information, both yours and my own, and support our mutual growth and healing. Keep coming back to this site and check for updates right here on the blog!

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their contributions, especially those of you who have shared your personal stories in the form of testimonials. Your healing experiences help to inspire others as they take their own steps toward health and wholeness.