Lately, I’ve been thinking about my face. There is a lot. Maybe it’s the increase in Zoom meetings I’ve been having lately, or maybe it’s the fact of the ‘rapture’ entering the common language. Either way, I’ve got something new to worry about. (Isn’t it weird being a woman?) And even though religiously packing ice on my face and responding to inflammatory foods has done a lot of good, I’m ready to climb. Enter: a deep dive into the myofascial work I desperately needed.
This journey to myofascial therapy feels like the ultimate beauty secret waiting to be revealed. Not only does it promise to relieve tension and improve circulation, but it also provides a perfect way to rejuvenate the upper body. As I explored how this exercise could improve my facial balance and overall glow, I also learned that myofascial therapy goes even deeper. It’s not just a way to improve your self-care routine, but a resource you can lean on when you need an emotional release. Whether you’re dealing with trauma or grief or looking for relief, myofascial therapy may be the exercise your body and mind have been craving.
Featured image from our interview with Janessa Leoné by Teal Thomsen.
Myofascial Work: Why You Should Check Out This Healing Method
To learn more, I spoke with Brooke Taylor, founder of The Road, an Austin-based destination for all things acupuncture and natural alternatives to health, skin care, and wellness. Taylor has become our way of understanding the power of Eastern medicine and healing methods. So before I go (back) to the filler and Botox route, I decided it was worth better understanding the power that myofascial work can have on both my beauty and overall health.
Brooke Taylor LAc, MAcOM
Brooke created The Road in Austin, Texas to share her knowledge in holistic skin care, acupuncture and Chinese medicine to enhance our own internal healing responses. Previously an esthetician and global skincare educator and product manager, she pursued her expertise in Chinese medicine to help heal others on a deeper level.
What is myofascial release therapy?
Myofascial release therapy focuses on the gentle release of tight fascial tissue to relieve pain, usually associated with the back, neck, jaw, and hips, although anywhere in the body there may be fascial boundaries. Healthy fascia can feel soft and stretchy, while tight fascia restricts movement and contributes to pain points. This method often works with trigger points to loosen the muscles.
Alternatively, many practitioners prefer resistance-assisted range of motion activity to help restore healthy fascia. This method relies on the therapist doing a range of motion test to find your ‘stuck’ areas, then guiding you to work through the range of motion with resistance, realigning the fascia. Through this process, the muscles follow the fascia, allowing for more mobility, less tension and pain.
The Impact of Lifestyle on Our Bodies
I often see fascia condition and tension by looking at the measurements. When the fascia is tied to the structures around the neck, shoulders and head, we see this increase the downward pull on the face that we often refer to as gravity and aging.
With the involvement of more than one muscle group, we can get a cascade effect where tightness in one area causes compensation or weakness in another.
When I look at clients lying on my table face up, I see shoulders rolled inward (off the table), one shoulder higher than the other, or both pulled close to the ears, and I see one foot bent or too far forward. , he said to his hips.
This often comes from our lifestyle—desk work with arms up to the computer, sitting most of the day, texting with our head forward, carrying the baby on one side, sleeping on the side or stomach. I often see the client’s head resting firmly tilted to one side. I carefully adjust the head so that it is ‘straight’, and I feel a pull on the back of the neck from the occiput down to the traps. I can see the asymmetry of the jaw in the face, or pulling to one side, but this requires a little deeper into the mechanics of the jaws. Importantly, tight fascia on the scalp can prevent hair growth due to poor blood circulation, forehead, headaches, wrinkles, and one eyebrow up or down.
Benefits of Myofascial Work
The benefits of improving fascia health will be seen in many signs of aging well:
- Being able to use your body properly, without pain or discomfort.
- Slight sagging, eye strain, or deep lines.
We have a saying in Chinese medicine: where there is flow, there is no ‘discomfort’. This shows exactly why we want our fascia to be in harmony.
A wonderful benefit that many experience with this exercise is the release of trapped emotions. You’ve probably heard of people being emotionally drained by yoga and pelvic floor work. According to Chinese medicine, different emotions are related to different parts of the body. Therefore, a person with folded shoulders may be protecting his heart from injury or trauma. Taking out this area can help transfer grief, and so on.
Who would be a good candidate for MRT?
- Anyone experiencing limited mobility, muscle tension, joint pain, lymphatic drainage problems, or asymmetry.
- Athletes hope to improve their mobility and recovery from training.
- Those with neuromuscular conditions that cause tension.
Almost every adult [can benefit from MRT].
How does the shape of our tongue affect the shape of our face?
Where our tongue sits has a huge impact on the shape of our face, from childhood to adulthood. The tongue is responsible for expanding the palate when we’re young, getting our teeth in, and even making our jaws bite.
In my practice, I consider tongue position to be related to breathing, especially at night, and the following symptoms range from fatigue, jaw clenching, and teeth grinding. The tongue also affects the vagus nerve, so proper use and placement of the tongue can also aid in healthy gut/brain communication.
From an aesthetic point of view, I am often asked to split someone’s chin or to get advice on what procedures will help. If we use our thumbs to check under our chin, you will see a soft rise under your chin, or you may feel a very strong rise. This is the muscle of your tongue, and it feels like it’s sticking out because you’ve been working so hard it’s being pushed forward.
How to Establish the Right Language
The ideal tongue position would be for the tip to rest slightly behind your teeth, on the small ridges on the roof of your mouth, and rest slightly on the roof back to the soft palate. More recently, mewing has become the rage for creating a ‘snipped’ jaw—pushing the lower jaw slightly forward and sucking the tongue from the roof of the mouth.
Take a little test of where your tongue rests, and see if you can move it to the right place. If not, you may want to see an orofacial myofascial therapist to diagnose your problem.
How to Use Your Language
We can use our tongue to help it stay more naturally high on the roof of the mouth, helping the jaw to stay upright even when sleeping. This can reduce the incidence of sleep apnea symptoms, snoring, dry mouth from sleeping with the mouth open, and issues related to mouth breathing. So while mouth arching is really useful and useful, you can try to do this muscle to help your jaw stay still and your tongue out of your airway.
A few popular language tests you can do include:
- Language circles. Run the tip of your tongue between your lips in clockwise circles, then counter-clockwise for a few minutes. You may notice your tongue burning slightly during this ‘exercise’, as you would with any muscle exercise.
- Place your head on your shoulders and relax, then stretch your head with your chin up, towards the ceiling. Stick your tongue up and hold for a few counts, rest and repeat a few times. If you tighten your sternum/chest with your hands, you may feel a connection down the front of your chest.
- Using a clean cloth or gloves, hold your tongue and gently pull it forward to your comfort level, creating an easy stretch. Then move your tongue to the side and hold, then to the other side, and release.
- See how far you can open your mouth with a little ease; now suck your tongue to the roof of your mouth, and open as much as you can without losing suction, and hold! You have to work to be able to hold this position for a few minutes at a time. You may feel the urge to yawn if you can get your tongue to touch the soft palate of your mouth – a quick vagus nerve reset!
What is the best way to chew and swallow to see maximum benefit?
I worked with Tracey Brizendine, a certified Orofacial Myologist here in Austin who performed jaw surgery that also required tongue tie release. Part of this rehabilitation included three months of mandatory rehabilitation to relearn the use of my newly freed tongue, as well as how to chew and swallow properly. Turns out I never used it properly at first!
He recommends focusing on chewing, relying on the tongue to move food, and the jaw to chew slowly. After chewing the food thoroughly, mindfully, you create a small bolus (or ball) with the food, take it to the back of your tongue, and swallow with your tongue moving up to the soft palate. This is how we engage in relaxation and digestion. You can practice this movement with saliva. You may find it induces yawning, an ideal mode of digestion.
This method of swallowing was used. I found that I had to do nothing but think about food—no phone, tv or distractions. So many things came from this simple practice. I found myself enjoying lighter meals more, and I was more satisfied with smaller portions of food as I ate more mindfully. And yes, I unexpectedly lost weight as my digestion​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​a. In my TCM training, I encourage my patients to try not to talk during one meal during the week, enjoying their food or the environment.