East-West Holistic Healing Arts (division of K.I.R.A. Holistic Institute, LLC)

How the Bach Flower Remedies Can Reduce Your Stress

2011-09-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

I am trying out a new blog format this week, so please bear with me as I learn!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend an exciting seminar in the Bach Flower Remedies, continuing a journey I began nearly 10 years ago.

The Bach System is plant-based energy medicine that balances emotional stress. Dr. Bach believed, as I believe, that all disease originates in the emotions.

This month in my newsletter I explain more about the remedies. You will also find a special offer at the end of the newsletter. Please click on the following link to view it:

Learn about how to reduce your stress with the Bach Flower Remedies

Feel free to share this information with anyone you think might benefit from it. And also feel free to sign up for our newsletters on our homepage: www.EastWestHolistic.net.

As always, wishing you the best of health in body, mind and spirit!

Holistically yours,

Maria G. Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCTMB, CH
Founder & Director
East-West Holistic Healing Arts
Scottsdale, AZ

Contrast, and remembering 9/11 ten years later

2011-09-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago this Sunday, the world as we all knew it changed forever. Our nation, the entire world in fact, came to a halt as we witnessed the unfathomable. We were assaulted in ways no one could have prepared for that crisp New York Autumn morning as people innocently rushed off to work, maybe grabbing a quick cup of coffee or stopping off for the New York Times before catching a train.

I was living in New York at the time, the place of my birth. For weeks, from my home on eastern Long Island, I could see the black plumes of smoke billowing in the western sky and could smell the jet fuel, some sixty miles away. Yes, for weeks. You could turn off the television to filter out the images when they got to be too much, but you could not filter out the sad and harsh reality of what had happened as you stood on your porch or drove to work.

And yet, amidst all the horror and darkness, there was beauty and light. When we witness the worst in humanity, I tell you, there is contrast. Perfect strangers reached out to each other. People were there for each other. We were suddenly one big family feeling one collective pain. And we instinctively knew that the only way to help ourselves was to help someone else. People hugged, people talked, people shared, even while I was on line at the Department of Motor Vehicle, the bank, or the grocery store. Strangers who were no longer strangers. And angels appeared everywhere.

I was a student at the time, a little more than midway through my degree at the New York College of Health Professions in the Massage Therapy program. My classmates and I didn't know what to think, what to expect next. We burned a candle outside the school each night before class and just gathered there for weeks, not really knowing what else to do, but knowing we needed that community. The anthrax scares came next. We all went through the motions of our program, but we were all terrified by this new and changing world where all the rules were different.

Then one evening in Neurology class, we were talking about the attacks. The conversation had been high-tension and had a fair amount of negativity. From the center of the room, one of my classmates spoke. He was a softspoken man, who usually didn't say much. Maybe that's why I will never forget his words that day. He said, "There are only two emotions. Love and Fear. We can choose to be in Fear. Or we can choose to come from Love." Contrast.

Some months later in clinic, and then almost a year later as a licensed practitioner, I had the privilege of working on survivors and first responders that day. It was a profound honor to touch those who had been there, to offer what comfort I could by holding the space for their healing. What they gave back to me in terms of wisdom and insight was immeasurable. There in the trenches, as buildings fell to dust all around them, even they spoke of seeing the glimpses beauty through the horror as strangers reached out to help strangers get to safety. Contrast. Love or Fear?

Ten years later, sometimes it feels as if time has stood still, even as I type this from 2500 miles away in the Arizona desert, where I now live. May those who perished that day rest. And may those who experienced the pain of losing a loved one know peace and comfort. And may we never forget that in the darkest and most dismal moments in life, there is always contrast. There is beauty, no matter how seemingly small and insigfinicant. And we always have a choice of what we will focus on.

What do you choose to stand for today? Love or Fear?

Holistically yours,
Maria Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCBTMB, CH
Director, East-West Holistic Healing Arts

Scottsdale, AZ

www.EastWestHolistic.net

John Barnes Myofascial Release Helps Endometriosis Pain

2010-10-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

Endometriosis can be debilitating, causing severe pelvic and low back pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, bowel pain and dysfunction, as well as infertility. The Cleveland Clinic reports that endometriosis affects the lives of at least 5.5 million women in North America. This source also reports that approximately 30-40 percent of women with this condition are infertile, making endometriosis among the top three causes of infertility in women.

Endometriosis is an inflammatory process which creates abnormal growth of tissue outside the uterus, attaching to other structures in the pelvis, including the ovaries, intestines, rectum, and bladder. In extreme cases, this tissue build-up can even reach beyond the pelvic cavity.

Allopathic treatment may include pharmaceutical drugs for pain or to slow the growth of the endometrial tissue. Surgery to remove the endometrial tissue is sometimes performed. When these methods are not effective, sometimes a complete hysterectomy is suggested to remove both the uterus and ovaries. In rare cases, however, even after a complete hysterectomy, endometrial tissue can grow back.

The John Barnes Approach to Myofascial Release (MFR) offers a different view of the condtion, a non-invasive, awareness-based, compassionate, body-mind approach, without the side-effects of drugs or the risks of surgery.

As endometrial tissue grows, it becomes part of the fascial web. As fascia wraps around our muscles and organs, it also wraps around the endometrial tissue, much like Saran Wrap(TM), creating a dense web of entanglement and dysfunction, placing up to 2,000 pounds of tensile strength on pain-sensitive structures, affecting blood flow and nerve transmission throughout the pelvic cavity. This stranglehold on the endometrial tissue solidifies and further stagnates this abnormal tissue. The end result is great pain and dysfunction.

MFR is a gentle form of manual therapy that takes the stranglehold off these structures, allowing inflammation to decrease, thereby easing pain. In the case of endometriosis, the focus is on the pelvis, and softening the structures that have become bound with restriction from the tissue build-up. As we turn these solidified structures from a hardened dense state to a more fluid, soft, and open state, the body can function as it was designed to. Blood can flow again. Nerves can communicate again. The person is able to stand more erect. Back pain and pelvic pain are alleviated. Function to the affected organs is restored.

MFR is an awareness-based therapy, and so the client is encouraged to experience and explore emotions that might surface during the session At the core of MFR is the belief that the body and mind can never be separated.

Maria G. Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCTMB, CH
Founder & Director
East-West Holistic Healing Arts (a Division of K.I.R.A. Holistic Institute, LLC)
Old Town Scottsdale, AZ
www.EastWestHolistic.net

MFR for PTSD, Anxiety, and Depression

2010-09-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

The John Barnes Approach to Myofascial Release (MFR) relies upon the notion of tissue memory. The fascia experiences and records stress and trauma over the course of a lifetime, often not becoming a problem for the individual until a critical mass is reached.

Barnes describes this effect as "splat art." It is not one event that creates the dysfunction, but a series of events. Layers and layers of restriction form slowly over time, and when the body/mind reaches a certain point, physical or emotional symptoms occur. And at the root of every physical complaint is almost always an emotional memory.

Allopathic medicine gets it wrong when it seeks to separate body and mind. It is impossible for these aspects of the human experience to be separated.

Core Releases and the Chakras
MFR begins with core releases, essentially opening the chakras that run along the core of the body. Restrictions at each chakra level can tell us different things about the emotions that might be involved. Pelvic restrictions might have to do with a root chakra imbalance, with emotions related to basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. Also at this level is the sacral chakra, associated with creativity and sexuality. Those whose creative gifts have been denied over a long period of time might hold tension at this level. Sexual abuse survivors often have restriction at this level as well.

Additionally, we also see a structural connection between the pelvis and the jaw as the position of one automatically affects the other in the body's attempt to create balance. Interestingly though, there is also an energetic connection between the throat chakra and the sacral chakra. The sacral chakra is where we grow and house our creative energy, but the throat chakra is the level at which we express our creativity. The physical anatomy reflects the energy anatomy, and vice versa.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
We often see people with PTSD who have deep-set restrictions in the pelvis, throat, face, and jaw as well. The iliopsoas muscle is our fight/flight muscle and is sometimes called the "leap muscle," as it brings the leg into flexion and allows us to run from danger. The muscle originates on the lumbar spine and discs, and attaches at the inside of the femur (thigh bone). Those with PTSD often have a very tight iliopsoas. If the imbalance continues too long, it can lead to chronic back and hip pain.

It is also not uncommon for these individuals to have associated neck or shoulder problems, or TMJD as the position of the hip will directly affect the neck and head posture in the body's attempt to create balance. Few PTSD patients associate these conditions, but once the restrictions at these levels are released, emotional memory may also be released, giving both structure and emotions the chance to heal.

Anxiety
Anxiety often manifests in the root or sacral chakra, but mostly emanates from the heart chakra. The pelvic imbalance creates a collapsed posture, cutting off the heart energy. Often this creates a feeling of being unable to catch the breath. Interestingly, there is also a connection in Chinese Medicine between the heart and the pelvis, specifically the Heart Qi and the Kidney Qi (while the Heart is located in the chest in the Chinese model, the Kidney is considered to be housed in the pelvis). The Kidney grasps the Qi, which allows one to catch a full breath. The Lung Qi is instrumental in this process. In the Chinese system, the Kidney is associated with the emotion of Fear and therefore is integrally involved in treating anxiety. The Kidney is also said to control the Heart, and so both organs play a vital role in the treatment of anxiety. From the chakra standpoint, this means restrictions will likely be found in both the pelvis and the chest. My experience in practice proves this to be true.

Depression
Depression can be more varied from a fascial perspective. Most often though, depression seems to correlate most to the heart chakra. However, it can have fascial lines that pull into the pelvis, solar plexus, or throat, and thus energetic connections to the heart chakra can be found in the first, second, third, or even fifth chakras.

Each MFR session is an exploration into the body-mind complex. Tissue memory is far-reaching, and some believe it can even connect to past-life memory. Whatever the source of the physical or emotional pain, MFR gives the body and the mind an opportunity to reconnect, integrate, and authentically heal.

Maria G. Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCTMB, CH
Founder & Director
East-West Holistic Healing Arts
Old Town Scottsdale, AZ
www.EastWestHolistic.net

Stress, Fear, and Love

2010-07-08T01:06:00.000-07:00

I've noticed something of a pattern in the office these last few weeks. Most clients have described it as stress, and being that they are coming into a massage therapy practice, that doesn't seem so odd. The pattern though seems to be much more specific than just "stress" and in my experience, patterns such as these usually point to something in the collective consciousness.

Since I've been in practice, I've seen this happen quite a bit, not only as a therapist, but even while supervising the student clinic. As I'd go from treatment room to treatment room to sign off on student charts, the first hour would bring a hallway full of right hip complaints. The next hour would bring a hallway full of left shoulder complaints. And so on. I was never sure what the point was, but I always sensed some quantum phenomenon was involved.

In these last few weeks, it has seemed that stress for most people breaks down to a single, more defined collective emotion: fear. Given media headlines these days, that shouldn't be too surprising.

Taoism teaches that there is only Yin and Yang, two opposing forces upon which all nature is reliant. Newton's Third Law of Motion echoes a similar concept: for every force, there is an equal and opposite force.

Fear has such an opposing force. It is called love.

This was never more evident to me than during the days following September 11, 2001. I was living in New York at the time, within the sight and smell of the toxic black smoke that filled our skies for days. I was also a student, in the last year of my program at the New York College of Health Professions. I wasn't licensed yet, and so I was not allowed to volunteer for MERT (the Massage Emergency Response Team that mobilized at Ground Zero to support the rescue workers). I could only offer my hands to my fellow classmates in school, though my teachers had asked me not to. This was because at any given moment I would find myself overwhelmed with tears. But I insisted that I needed to treat, that treating somehow grounded me. And it did. The tears would immediately stop the moment I was hands on. My teachers didn't understand it, but they agreed that treating was not only healing to the person on the table, but healing to me as well.

It was some nights later, while in Neurology class, when a classmate tied it together for me. We were now being plagued with headlines about anthrax being found in the city, in a building where one of my classmates worked. The fear was palpable. What else? What else that was familiar, trusted, and safe about our lives would be taken away from us?

Our instructor decided to forgo his Neurology lesson that night to allow us to share and sort through our emotions. Everyone's words resonated fear. Then there was Julian, a quiet man in his mid-thirties. So quiet, I'm sorry to say I don't recall his last name, or much else of what we might have ever discussed in school. But I'll never forget Julian's words that night. In the midst of the panic around him, he simply stated, "There are only two emotions. Fear and love. And we have the choice right now to choose love."

The class grew still. And I don't know about the others, but it was a moment of illumination for me. I understood why treating my fellow classmates grounded me. In that moment, when my hands were upon them, fear didn't exist. My focus has shifted to love.

And I realized that though the world would never be the same again, we could still choose how to respond to the darkest and most frightening of moments in our lives, even a moment as dark and as frightening as the terrorist attacks on that bright and clear September morning.

Headlines today about our various collapsing systems have many of us feeling like we have a foot on the brake and on the gas at the same time. Overwhelmed, we label that feeling as stress. And it's not just people who are experiencing signs of stress. We see evidence of the planet's stress in earthquakes, wildfires, floods, and the hemorrhage of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

Work stress. Family stress. Financial stress. Geological stress. We feel all of it, don't we?

But rather than panic at the headlines and feed the energy of fear, we can pause and breathe. We can choose. We can break the pattern.

For every force, there is an equal and opposing force.

By choosing love, we can help to shift the collective consciousness away from fear.

Holistically yours,
Maria G. Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCTMB, CH
Founder and Director
East-West Holistic Healing Arts
Old Town Scottsdale, AZ
www.EastWestHolistic.net

Treating Fibromyalgia with the John Barnes Approach to Myofascial Release

2010-05-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

The individual faced with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia often finds themselves confused as to what the diagnosis really means and what has caused it. Modern medicine offers little in the way of an explanation beyond a "faulty immune system" or "inflammation." The patient is almost always handed a prescription, which often holds serious side effects. Compounding the pain and confusion, unsympathetic people will tell the person their pain is in their head and the diagnosis is a cop-out. But fibromyalgia pain is real, and the John Barnes Approach to Myofascial Release (MFR) finally gives people an explanation as to not only the cause of the condition, but also a way out of the pain.

What is fascia?
Fascia is a tough three-dimensional web of connective tissue. Trauma, poor posture, stress, surgical scar tissue, and even chemical exposure cause fascia to bind and become "glued."

It is important to note that while nerves run through fascia, fascia is not innervated by the nervous system. Therefore, unlike muscles, nerves do not tell fascia what to do. On the contrary, fascia actually governs the nervous system!

When damaged, fascia holds up to 2,000 pounds of tensile strength per square inch. Not only do nerves run through this tissue, but so do blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. Additionally, this fascial straight jacket wraps around muscles, organs, bones, joints, and even cells, causing pain, and dysfunction all the way down to the cellular level. It's also very important to note that fascial restrictions cannot be seen on x-rays, or other diagnostic images.

What is MFR?
MFR is an advanced form of bodywork developed by physical therapist John Barnes. It is based on the piezo-electric effect, an engineering term meaning "pressure electric." Gentle sustained pressure of at least 90-120 seconds turns glued fascia to a soft, fluid state, allowing the system to spontaneously move. The patient will often come to a significant position in space that can bring up stored tissue memory. This spontaneous movement is specifically known as Myofascial Unwinding and allows the body's electrical current (also known as Qi or vital life force) to course through the area again, eradicating pain. Other forms of bodywork do not wait long enough to engage piezo-electricity and therefore can not get the same level of results.

The role of the emotions and the "Thaw of the Freeze Response"
MFR focuses on the role of the right brain in healing. The right brain is associated with feeling, intuition, and inner wisdom. The crux of MFR is that the body and the mind cannot be separated, or as Barnes says bluntly in his MFR seminars, "any technique that ignores consciousness is bogus."

Barnes has based much of his work on the research of Dr. Peter Levine, author of Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma. Levine suggests a response beyond Fight or Flight, something he dubbed the Freeze Response, an autonomic phenomenon that is believed to predate the reptilian brain, and which is unfortunately disregarded in traditional therapy. The Freeze Response is seen when an animal is caught by a predator and plays dead, dissociating and separating from his body, physiological function momentarily coming to an actual halt. The trapped animal has two options: (1) if torn to pieces, dissociating will allow him to feel the pain less intensely, or (2) if the predator is not terribly hungry, he might look away in distraction, allowing the captured animal an opportunity to jump back into his body and flee to safety.

If the latter happens, we've all seen what follows on the Discovery Channel. Once safe, the animal's whole body will tremble fiercely. This is an innate response, which Levine terms the "Thaw of the Freeze Response," and it enables the animal to discharge all the trapped energy associated with the fear of imminent death.

Barnes calls this a "profound moment of healing." Animals do this instinctively. People almost always do not. People are taught to be tough, shake it off, and move on. And in the instance where people might exhibit the Thaw of the Freeze Response (i.e., after surgery, or if in shock), modern medicine seeks to stop the Thaw with medication or with physical restraints. The body-mind connection is overridden and the trauma simply embeds deeper, waiting for the next layer of stress to drive the body deeper into chaos and pain. This is what is meant by the phrase "the issues are in the tissues." The body is a fascial hard drive, logging all of it. In the case of fibromyalgia, the hard drive has crashed.

Clinical Investigation supporting MFR
An exciting development in this field is the International Fascia Research Congress. The first congress, held three years ago at Harvard Medical School, revealed that cells are "built like tents with an intercellular framework." The congress presented the tensegrity model of the cell, supporting Barnes' long held premise that there is a micro-fascial tension system in the cell itself, which creates structure through an opposing and stabilizing force, much like a tent-pole holding up a tent. As structure determines function, the tensegrity model is a key concept in cellular health. Tensegrity is a term coined by Buckminster Fuller, the architect who developed the Geodesic Dome. If one aspect of that dome is off, even by a fraction, it collapses because tensegrity is lost. And so it is with the tensegrity of our cells.

This is the essence of MFR, all the way down to the cellular level, finally offering fibromyalgia patients an answer that makes sense and a way out of the physical and emotional pain.

Maria Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCTMB, CH
Founder and Director
East-West Holistic Healing Arts
Old Town Scottsdale, AZ
www.EastWestHolistic.net

Treating TMJ Pain with Myofascial Release

2010-03-07T22:11:00.000-08:00

An effective bodywork session should always validate the site of the client's pain, while looking beyond the complaint for the true source of the problem.

John F. Barnes, physical therapist and developer of the Myofascial Release (MFR) technique, teaches that Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJD) is not only related to the head and neck, but is directly related to the position of the pelvis. As such, the entire craniosacral system needs to be considered with TMJD. If your TMJ therapy only includes treatment of your jaw, head, and neck, only part of the faulty mechanism creating your pain is being addressed.

TMJD clients almost always present with a rotation and a torque in the pelvis. This contributes to a forward head posture, which sets up the structure for a TMJ imbalance: a protracted mandible, clenching of the teeth, and muscle strain in and around the TMJ. Many people also experience excruciating headaches, migraines, and sinus, ear, and neck pain from this imbalance. Stress, injury, and trauma will exacerbate the symptoms further. Interestingly, many TMJD clients also present with hip and low back pain, but no one ever made the connection between the two complaints.

The MFR treatment for TMJD focuses on assessing the craniosacral system. In addition to releasing the sacrum and restoring symmetry to the pelvis, the MFR therapist is trained to work inside the mouth with gloved hands, gently releasing the cranial bones from the tourniquet-like restrictions of the fascia, a thin layer of connective tissue that places up to 2,000 pounds of tensile strength on pain-sensitive nerves and blood vessels. The MFR therapist also releases the external restrictions around the head, neck and shoulders.

Fascia also holds memory and sometimes there may be an emotional connection to the physical pain. Since stress and injury do not just happen to one single body part, but rather to a whole human being, this emotional release is encouraged in the MFR session and the therapist is trained in how to support the client through that process. Holding on to physical and emotional pain for months and years wears people down and can break their spirit. MFR helps them let go of the physical pain, and the emotional connection to the pain. Clients often feel lighter after a session, both physically and emotionally.

After a session, many TMJD clients will ask, "How did you even know it hurt there?"

The answer is simple. As John Barnes teaches, "Find the pain, look elsewhere for the cause."

Maria G. Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCTMB, CH
East-West Holistic Healing Arts
Scottsdale, AZ
www.eastwestholistic.net

Myofascial Release for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

2010-01-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

All too often people diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) have surgery only to find that their symptoms have not improved.

One reason for this is a phenomenon known as "Pseudo-Carpal Tunnel Syndrome." Another is "Double Crush Syndrome." Both are reversible soft tissue imbalances easily treated with the John Barnes Approach to Myofascial Release (MFR).

When I was in school, my medical massage therapy instructor would say, "He who treats the site of pain is lost." And so it is with Pseudo-CTS and Double Crush. Because medical specialists are trained to focus on the area of complaint, they rarely investigate other non-symptomatic but causative structures, often leading to misdiagnosis and unfortunately, sometimes unnecessary surgery.

Pseudo-CTS happens when other muscles are tight along the arm, neck, or chest on the same side as the symptomatic wrist. A tight pronator teres, a muscle located near the elbow, can affect the median nerve, causing neurological symptoms in the wrist. So can the scalenes, a muscle group found on the front side of the neck. So can the pectoralis minor, located deep to the pectoralis major in the chest. When tight, any of these muscles can clamp down on the median nerve or the brachial plexus, a nerve bundle that supplies the median nerve.

In the case of Double Crush, there may be a minimal impingement to the median nerve at the wrist, but sometimes not enough to create symptoms if only that one structure is involved. But add to this imbalance a tight pectoralis minor, or scalenes, or pronator teres, and that nerve is now crushed at two locations (hence the name "Double Crush"), creating enough impingement on the nerve to now create symptoms in the wrist. Take the pressure off one of these other structures, and the wrist is often no longer symptomatic. And after a course of MFR therapy, surgery is often not necessary.

A MFR session takes both these syndromes into account for the client presenting with CTS. When a MFR therapist assesses a client with a wrist complaint, we immediately look further up the line for another possible source of the problem. We are always looking beyond the site of pain.

MFR is an effective, non-invasive, and cost-efficient option that gets to the root cause of a CTS diagnosis, and corrects the dysfunctional pattern in the connective tissue. Each MFR session is a discovery process as we seek to find the cause of the problem.

Healing Low Back Pain After C-Section and Hysterectomy

2009-11-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

It is logical to think that low back pain should be addressed by focusing on the back muscles. However, particularly in the case of women who have had cesarean sections and hysterectomies, it is vital to treat the front of the body to release scar tissue causing the low back pain. In the words of physical therapist and bodywork pioneer, John F. Barnes: "Find the pain. Look elsewhere for the cause."

The basis of the John Barnes Approach to Myofascial Release has to do with trauma and cellular memory.

What most people don't realize is the body perceives a surgical incision as a traumatic injury, which begins a cycle of dysfunction in the body. Peter Levine, Ph.D., author of Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, discovered that in addition to the well-known phenomenon of Fight or Flight, there is something called the Freeze Response. When an animal is captured by a predator, he will freeze and play dead in an attempt to fool the predator in the hopes that he will look away, giving the animal a chance to scurry to safety. Levine's work revealed that this traumatic episode is recorded in cellular memory, creating the roots of dysfunction, unless the memory is shaken off and released. This theory applies to a surgical incision as readily as it does the moment of attack by a predator.

Let's revisit the animal that has played dead and fled to safety. Once he knows he is safe from danger, the animal will begin to tremble uncontrollably, described by Levine as the "thaw of the freeze response." The animal is literally shaking off trauma, releasing it from cellular memory. Barnes refers to this as a "profound moment of healing."

Humans are typically not encouraged to do this in a hospital setting, although almost always, post-surgical patients will experience a thaw of the freeze response. Often the hospital staff will try to stop this trembling because it is viewed as abnormal. As a result, trauma gets logged at the cellular level and goes deeper. Over time faulty structural patterns begin to form and pain sets in. This is true of all traumatic experiences, not just surgery. This phenomenon happens as a result of car accidents, physical abuse, birth trauma, and even chronic emotional stress. While these individuals may appear fine upon observation, often they deal with inexplicable chronic pain that takes a toll on the psyche as well as the body. Many are given labels like fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome, or even arthritis. Worse yet, many are told the pain is in their head.

The John Barnes Approach to Myofascial Release allows the opportunity to shake off trauma and release pain-sensitive structures which have been entrapped by myofascial restrictions clamping down on blood and lymphatic vessels, nerves, muscles, and organs. These restrictions hold up to 2,000 pounds of tensile strength, a tremendous force.

Until the connective tissue is directly engaged by a skilled therapist and cellular memory is released, however, the pain cycle will continue, which is why most other forms of therapy only get temporary results. Myofascial Release is a powerful way to break the cycle of dysfunction and pain, restore balance, and achieve lasting results.

What is curious during these sessions is that the client often experiences an actual physical "shaking off" of the trauma while on the table and they begin to tremble and shake. Sometimes they experience an emotional release as well. What often follows is silence and an awareness that something significant has shifted. The body-mind relationship is different because the body and the subconscious mind have had the opportunity to revisit and release the stored traumatic event. The body is freed, the mind is clear, and the pain is no longer.

Foot Pain, PMS Treatment, and AMMA Therapy®

2009-07-31T15:37:00.000-07:00

In AMMA Therapy®, foot pain can be an indication for local treatment as well as an assessment tool for an underlying organ condition.

Foot pain along the anterolateral aspect of the dorsum of the foot, between the area distal to the junction of the 4th and 5th metatarsals, indicates stagnation on the Gallbladder meridian, specifically GB 41. This point, also known as "Foot Verge of Tears," is a powerful emotional release point and is an important point in the AMMA Therapy® PMS treatment. As this point on the foot is most specifically indicated for hormonally-related breast tenderness, when working on a female client with foot pain in this area, I will ask if she suffers from PMS symptoms, specifically breast tenderness. Often this is the case and it allows us to address more serious energetic imbalances.

As the Gallbladder energy relates to the emotions of anger, frustration and irritability, common emotions with PMS, I will also inquire about the client’s emotional state if this area of the foot is sensitive. These questions usually open the door for treating a deeper organ condition and alleviate symptoms well beyond foot pain. Focus often shifts from treating local stagnantion on the foot to promoting the smooth flow of the Gallbladder energy and the energy of the Liver, the Gallbladder's Yin pair.

Apart from treating PMS, GB 41 is also indicated for the treatment of unilateral or occipital headaches, vertigo, and even sciatica.

Through knowledge of the meridian system and astute palpation skills, we can reach a deeper understanding of the energy body, and offer our clients greater insight into the body-mind-spirit complex.

If we consider that disease begins in the spirit and that structural injury will never occur in an area where the energy is strong, AMMA Therapy® can be a very powerful tool for not only treating your clients, but also educating them.

In health and service,

Maria G. Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCTMB, CH
Founder & Director
K.I.R.A. Holistic Institute, LLC
Kindness ~ Intuition ~ Relaxation ~ Awareness
www.KIRAHolistic.com

"Journey of Transformation"

2009-05-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

Caroline Myss is among the greatest modern teachers of consciousness we have. And we are certainly going through a monumental time in history where higher consciousness is needed. As such, I was inspired to share this link to Caroline's latest newsletter: http://www.myss.com/news/archive/2009/052809.asp.

Having been involved in energy medicine for nearly ten years now, I know without a doubt that when we set our intention, we bring about profound change. And when we share our intention with others, I believe profound change increases exponentially. Research in quantum physics supports this notion.

If Caroline's "transformation dinner party" idea speaks to you, I encourage you to form your own "crew" for your "Journey of Transformation." If that seems too daunting an effort, get creative. Even the smallest efforts can yield great results.

In health & service,

Maria G. Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCTMB, CH
Founder & Director
K.I.R.A. Holistic Institute, LLC
Kindness-Intuition-Relaxation-Awareness

Root Cause of Disease

2009-05-23T01:34:00.000-07:00

Too often in our current medical system, we attempt to resolve disease by treating symptoms. However, ancient medicine teaches us that before symptoms arise, there is a break in the energy field, subtle communication in the body becomes distorted, "dis-ease" gradually sets in, making the way for pathology, diagnosis, and clinical disease. Five thousand year old medicine, and the basis for AMMA Therapy, teaches that this break in the energy field begins in the emotional plane -- in the spirit.

In Chinese Medicine, there are five elements which we rely on to heal energetic imbalance. Each of these elements have a corresponding organ and emotion. Fire is associated with the heart and its corresponding emotion is Joy. Earth is associated with digestion and the emotion of Worry. Metal is associated with the lungs and the emotion of Grief. Water is associated with the kidneys and the emotion of Fear. Wood is associated with the liver and gallbladder and the emotion of Anger.

Consider for a moment this different paradigm for health. Those with heart problems, wherein lies your joy? Those with digestive problems, what is it that you cannot digest? Those with breathing issues, what is the source of your sadness? Those with chronic low back pain (the structure associated with the element of Water), what is it that you fear? Those with with liver congestion and high cholesterol levels, what is it that angers and frustrates you?

When we begin to reach for the answers to these questions, we begin to heal in the truest meaning of that word.

Maria Troia, MSEd, LMT, NCTMB, CH
Founder & Director
K.I.R.A. Holistic Institute, LLC
Kindness - Intuition - Relaxation - Awareness
Chandler, Arizona