Hope & the Power of Myofascial Release
Derrick Lundberg CMT is our local expert in John Barnes’ Myofascial Release Therapy (he also holds a master’s degree in Acupuncture and Oriental medicine). I asked Derrick to share what he finds to be so special about Myofascial Release (MFR). My questions included: What do you love most about your work? What do you personally find to be powerful and inspiring about it? What kind of benefits do you personally see for people doing MFR? If you know Derrick, you know loves his work and is deeply committed to his patients–and you won’t be surprised that he had plenty to say!
Derrick sees MFR as more than a modality, but an entire paradigm. As he describes it, this paradigm holds space for healing that may transcend conventional wisdom around what is possible—expanding the imagination and offering hope. In the times we live in, imagination and hope are medicine unto themselves. Whether or not you’ve met Derrick yet, I hope you found as much beauty in his reflections as I did.
Hope: the Power of Myofascial Release
“This is the most hope I’ve had after a session, in a long time.” - MFR Patient, 2025
Derrick: “Often by the time one has begun exploring MFR and other complementary healthcare approaches, they’ve been through the ringer, exhausted all the traditional approaches, and come up with more questions and answers that often seem irrelevant, rather than solutions.
I have seen so many things with MFR and Chinese Medicine. Results which often leave the traditional [conventional] medicine practitioners baffled, with a comment along the lines of, ‘whatever you’re doing, it's working, don’t stop.’
I’ve seen the remission of MS, miracle babies, relief from cycles of recurrent pain, alleviation of relentless chronic pain, results finally realized after years of PT often with only a handful of sessions. I’ve seen people make life-affirming realizations, life-progressing changes, and find the freedom of releasing old patterns and destructive beliefs. Like the exhale of a long-held breath: that adaptation which once kept us safe, but now a burden carried like the burn of holding a hot pan long after the danger has passed.
I think if I were to simplify it, and recognize the most common theme that we walk away with, it's hope.”
Myofascial Release: An Empowered Approach to Healing
“Healing is not an event, it is a journey” - John F Barnes PT, lecturer, author, and the leading authority on Myofascial Release
Derrick: “Like a beacon of light in the dark, MFR is often reported as the one modality which actually gets to the spot that has plagued us for so long, like an itch we didn't know we could scratch. It may immediately be recognized as an essential part of our healing journey.
Often, one of the hardest aspects to accept about the healing journey is that it takes time…but I have seen far too often, that this is interpreted that doing the same thing week after week, will eventually yield results. MFR changes that paradigm. Instead of expecting that things will one day yield better results, we realize that true change takes time, compassion, and most of all presence. Staying with something long enough for it to melt, change, and transmute these long-held patterns into the foundations of life-progressing actions and beliefs.”
Gentle and Kind: the Benefits and Risks of Myofascial Release
“No matter what state of mind you’re in, whatever you’re experiencing, it is human, it is transmutable, it is transformable, because that true self which you got disconnected from is still available to you.” - Gabor Mate
Derrick: “The work of Paul Standley [et al.] at the University of Arizona was able to show in a laboratory setting that at about three minutes of sustained piezoelectric effect [an electric charge generated by applying pressure], the body starts releasing its own anti-inflammatories, specifically Interleukins 1B, 3, and 8, which call the healing faculties of the body to the area we are with. By 5 minutes, these messengers double, and usually around 7-8 minutes we begin to see the body finally completing the inflammatory response as these Interleukins work as the body’s natural anti-inflammatories. They flood the area and the tension, pain, and discomfort melt away with a palpable change to the body’s tissues.
That is to say, it's pretty wonderful: it's often rather gentle, it’s patient, it’s kind, it is love; and through love, our pains and struggles are offered an opportunity for transmutation and growth. It will never injure you.
So, what’s the catch?
In the words of John Barnes, ‘the worst that can happen is nothing. Sometimes, things seem to get worse before they get better as we awaken things that were in quiessence, but change is progress.’”
Derrick Speaks About His Own Experiences Receiving MFR
“Show me the patterns that keep you from stillness, and I will show you the patterns that control your life” - Ekhart Tolle
Derrick: “Healing isn’t always an easy process. I have a friend that was introducing another friend that said, ‘I have to give myself time after an MFR session to really sit with what came up for me, and give myself an opportunity to integrate slowly-- otherwise, I tend to experience things in life that force me to address them -- sometimes in not so pleasant ways.’
I was quick to add, ‘and I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum; bring on the life-changes!’
I often give myself permission to experience the emotions and patterns that show up right there on the table, discuss them as they come up, and dialogue with my [MFR]therapist to get deeper into the insights and take away paradigm-shifting realizations immediately. I’d rather choose a difficult experience, than a drawn-out stage of complacency.”
“May you find hope in times of doubt, resources in times of need, and may your challenges be found as opportunities for growth.”
- Derrick Lundberg CMT
To find out more about Minnesota Integrative Health Studio services, check out our website. You can book online here. Questions? Feel free to contact us, call (612.345.5648), at or stop by “the studio” on our corner of northeast Minneapolis.
