Courses are offered throughout New Zealand and online. See details below. For 2022 a teaching schedule has not been created due to the pandemic. The situation is being monitored with the hope to get back to teaching live, so check back for updates, or consider doing an online course.
Beth has an infectious passion for myofascial release therapy and loves to share her knowledge, experience and passion with others.
Myofascial release could be the ‘missing link’ to your treatment practice, offering a new perspective and technique to facilitate effective change in clients’ structural balance, compensation patterns and old protective memories. These classes are great for all hands-on and movement therapists including Massage Therapists, Physiotherapists, Chiropractors, Energy Workers, General Practitioners, Osteopaths, Sports Therapists, Trainers, Yoga Instructors, Pilates Instructors, etc.
These courses will change how you look at the body and how it functions!
Beth has created five two day courses which she teaches throughout New Zealand:
Cost is $425 per course
The two day Fundamentals course provides a solid foundation to understanding the anatomy and physiology of fascia, why fascia dysfunctions and how to identify and release fascial restrictions superficially and deep. Key principals of how to effectively engage and stretch the fascial layers are reviewed, and then there is lots of hands on practice time to ensure you feel confident with the technique.
The two Advanced MFR workshops, the Advanced Upper Body and Advanced Lower Body build on the skills learned in The Fundamentals course, and delve deeper into the muscular layers and expand our understanding of fascia’s role in the body. In the advanced courses therapists will further develop their skills of sensing and working with fascia on all levels and build confidence in creating effective protocols to work with specific medical conditions. We will learn to separate the fascial layers between muscle groups to enhance the functioning capability of each muscle and to restore space and movement in the body.
Micro Fascial Unwinding & Micro Fascial Unwinding II explore a whole new approach to working with fascia and connects deeply on a subtle level. The work invites practitioners to sense into the body, the tissues, stored memories and body consciousness in a profound way. Unlike MFR which works through the tissue layers superficially to deep, ‘from the outside, in’; with micro fascial unwinding (MFU) we will essentially be working from the ‘inside out’.
In each course we explore the mind body healing connection and fascia’s role in communication and storage of our life experiences. Recent evidence has confirmed that fascia holds the consciousness of our whole mind body experience, meaning that there is a ‘knowing’ or memory in the fascial web of everything that has ever happened to us. When we have an injury the body will often hold or restrict our movement of the area to protect us from experiencing pain or limit us from further injury. These stored memories become restrictions in the fascia and impact our ability to relax and move freely. Over time these protective patterns can create postural distortions, change how we move, alter how we use specific muscles and ultimately have a huge influence on how our bodies function.
We will explore this concept of consciousness further by looking at how eastern medicine views the body with each area of the body having a much deeper and richer meaning. We have all heard the phrase ‘carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders.’ Shoulder consciousness is about carrying responsibilities or burdens. If we are experiencing shoulder pain it may be related to an imbalance in our life where we are trying to do too much or feel like we have to do it all. As we work each area of the body we will look at the consciousness of that area to provide further insight and healing potential for the client.
Scars & Adhesions 101 Course:
This one day online course is held live several times a year to a group audience on Zoom. Learn how scars and adhesions form, and how they can influence the body causing restrictions, pain and dysfunction locally as well as throughout the body. During this live online course you will learn how to test the mobility of a scar, treat the scar and retest to ensure you have created change in the tissue. There will be live demonstrations of scars on the upper body, abdomen and lower body with discussion on the effect locally on the tissue as well as the potential influences further a field. There will be several times set aside for questions & answers throughout the day.
If you have wanted to have a clearer understanding about scars and adhesions and their influence on our anatomy and physiology this course is for you. The course includes:
The Fundamentals, Advanced Upper Body & Advanced Lower Body myofascial release courses:
The online version of these courses are done individually at your own pace versus online live to a group audience. Each course includes:
Testimonial:
“I want to thank you for the opportunity to work with you and experience your course via long distance learning and Zoom. I must say that I found it far more informative and definitely more personal than live classroom learning. You have an amazing ability to communicate exactly where my hands need to be and how they should move. You are so knowledgeable and personable!!! I absolutely loved our experience. I am looking forward to taking all of your courses right here from my home in Dayton, Washington! Thank you again!”
The Fundamentals:
The Fundamentals course begins with an introduction to fascia, where we will cover the anatomy and physiology of fascia, explore what causes the fascia to dysfunction and learn how to release the fascia through myofascial release. At the end of the lecture portion we will have an exploration with our hands, learning to connect in with the fascia on the back. We will learn to sink into the superficial layer of fascia, engage it and stretch the fascia. We will feel into the deeper muscular layers and begin to identify adhesions and release them as we move through the tissue.
Then we will move into specific areas of the body and address specific musculature. We will start with the head and neck. The anatomy of the area will be reviewed, common medical conditions discussed and the consciousness aspect explored. I will provide a demonstration of the protocol, and then we will pair up and I will walk you through an exchange where you will give and receive the protocol. During the exchanges I will walk around to answer specific questions, provide adjustments on practitioner positioning and to do strokes on each client’s body for comparison.
After each exchange we will share what each student has experienced with the work. Often students will remark that they feel taller or lighter, and that their body feels more fluid. It is not uncommon for students who have issues to experience pain relief, increased range of motion and a greater sense of ease in their body. It is wonderful to experience the work in your own body so you know how it feels to receive the work, as well as understand how quickly it can change patterns in the body.
On day two we will delve into the shoulders and the trunk & hips. We will review the anatomy and common medical conditions of each area, I will provide a demonstration of the protocol and then I will walk you through an exchange with another student. I will walk around during the exchanges to support each student with any specific needs or questions. After each exchange we will again ask the clients to share their experience. It is fascinating to hear how different everyone feels and it offers us confidence and experience to know how the work can effect the body.
The specific muscles that are covered in each area are:
The Fundamentals is a prerequisite for taking the advanced courses unless you have previous experience and training with myofascial release therapy. The Advanced Upper Body and Advanced Lower Body courses can be taken in any order.
Advanced Upper Body
In the Advanced Upper Body we will cover advanced techniques for the head, neck, shoulders, and then work on the arms and hands. Common medical conditions in the upper body will be reviewed including headaches, migraines, TMJ disorders, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and repetitive strain injury. We will explore fascia’s role in these conditions and how to create treatment protocols to address them.
We will cover four areas of the body. With each area we will review the anatomy, discuss common medical conditions and then learn the protocol for that area through my demonstration and then guided exchanges.
The muscles covered in the Advanced Upper Body course are:
Advanced Lower Body
In the Advanced Lower Body we will cover advanced techniques for the trunk and hips, and then cover the legs and feet. Common conditions of the trunk and lower body will be reviewed including breathing issues, Sciatica, lower back and hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, knee pain and rehabilitation, plantar fasciitis and more. Students will learn techniques to address these common issues.
In this workshop we explore the significant impact that stress has on the body. Research tells us that up to 90% of all illness is related to stress. Stress increases adrenaline, raises our heart rate, depresses our immune system, causes postural distortions and impacts our breathing. Overall stress causes a lot of tension and restriction in the body. We will also explore the importance of proper breathing and look at ways to open up the body so that we can create more space and mobility in the chest, diaphragm and abdominal areas.
The course is divided into four different areas of the body. With each area we will review the anatomy, discuss common medical conditions and then learn the protocol for that area through my demonstration and then guided exchanges.
The muscles covered in the Advanced Lower Body course are:
Micro Fascial Unwinding
This course is a whole new approach to working with fascia, and connects deeply on a subtle level. The work invites practitioners to sense deeply into the body, the tissues, stored memories and body consciousness, to create change on a mind, body & emotional level. Unlike MFR which works through the tissue layers superficial to deep, or ‘from the outside in’, Micro Fascial Unwinding (MFU) works with the tissue from the ‘inside out’.
We will connect with the client by placing our hands on specific areas of the head and body. There are 7 primary holds which open up the opportunity to create change on a physical, mental and emotional level. By being present and using deep listening skills, we will create a space for the client to feel safe and allow their body’s inner wisdom to guide us. In essence we will be following the tissue, like I teach with MFR; but this work will take the concept to a much deeper level. We will learn skills to further develop the ability to trust our intuition and develop our ‘listening hands’.
This work is very calming and invites clients to down regulate their nervous system, switching off their fight or flight mechanism so they can drop into their parasympathetic nervous system. This is when profound healing can occur. It allows guarding and protection patterns to fall away and allows emotionally charged stored memories to be released.
I often use this technique as a stand alone approach with clients, but I also find it works extremely well in conjunction with MFR techniques. I find it particularly beneficial at the beginning of a session to allow the client to sink into their parasympathetic nervous system, and also at the end to integrate the work.
Micro Fascial Unwinding is an effective approach for working with any client, but I have found it particularly effective and useful for clients who:
For many of you we will be exploring a new paradigm of how the body is designed and how if functions. I find that some therapists are intuitively drawn to work with the fascia and these courses offer the framework and explanation as to what you are doing and why you are getting great results with this type of work. Working with the fascia is a key component to any hands-on treatment protocol. It is highly effective on its own or can be incorporated in with any other hands on therapy.
Micro Fascial Unwinding II
In Micro Fascial Unwinding II we will take a deeper dive into this subtle way of working to expand our understanding further of what is possible when we connect with clients in such an intimate and profound way.
We are going to dive deeper into:
This course like Micro Fascial Unwinding is very experiential and invites you to have a somatic experience of the concepts presented, as well as experience the often profound healing effects that are possible.