A serene backdrop for healing welcomes you at Rivermede Retreat at 230 Southside Road in quaint York, Maine.
Healing Arts at Rivermede
What to expect from your MYofascial session
After taking a brief medical history, discussing your goals with you, and assessing your needs, we will together work to customize a unique, therapeutic session to help you reduce stress, increase circulation, decrease pain, and improve your overall range of motion.
In addition to Myofascial Release, you’ll find a vast array of other healing tools listed and described below – including Cranial Sacral techniques that are at your disposal here at Rivermede Retreat. We have your healing needs covered!
John F. Barnes’ Myofascial Release Approach®
Before moving back to Maine, Leslie was awarded first place in the Best of Metrowest Boston for massage therapy.
MFR Articles
Myofascial Release is a safe and very effective hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure into the Myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motion. This essential “time element” has to do with the viscous flow and the piezoelectric phenomenon: a low load (gentle pressure) applied slowly will allow a viscoelastic medium (fascia) to elongate.
Trauma, inflammatory responses, and/or surgical procedures create Myofascial restrictions that can produce tensile pressures of approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch on pain sensitive structures that do not show up in many of the standard tests (x-rays, myelograms, CAT scans, electromyography, etc.)
The use of Myofascial Release allows us to look at each patient as a unique individual. Our one-on-one therapy sessions are hands-on treatments during which our therapists use a multitude of Myofascial Release techniques and movement therapy. We promote independence through education in proper body mechanics and movement, self treatment instruction, enhancement of strength, improved flexibility, and postural and movement awareness.
BEMER Therapy
BEMER stands for “Bio-Electro-Magnetic-Energy-Regulation.”
The BEMER generates a low frequency PEMF (Pulsed Electro Magnetic Field) with various wave-forms and frequencies that stimulate healthy muscles in order to improve and facilitate muscle performance. Uniquely, the BEMER device temporarily increases local blood circulation. It is used as vascular therapy, which not only improves vascular function, but also builds healthy bones.
PEMF devices are safe because the waves they produce are located towards the lowest end of the electromagnetic spectrum, which means they are safe to pass through the human body. BEMER is an FDA Class II cleared consumer medical device designed specifically to target circulation within the musculature in healthy leg muscles – the core system necessary for optimal health. In short, BEMER Therapy simply helps the body do what it already does naturally and is one of many offerings at Rivermede Retreat.
Far Infrared Sauna
Far-infrared saunas offer a range of potential benefits, including detoxification, improved cardiovascular health, relief from pain, and stress reduction. Plus it just FEELS good! The deep penetration of far-infrared light into the body’s tissues allows for increased circulation and sweat production, which can help to flush out toxins and promote overall well-being.
The far-infrared sauna at Rivermede Retreat is available to clients for an additional fee of $20 for up to 40 minutes following their MFR session, and can be followed up with a cleansing shower in the neighboring room – so you can get back to your day refreshed.
Far-infrared and Lyme:
Research shows that infrared light used in such saunas can successfully help combat Lyme disease as a supplementary or alternative treatment. Infrared light mimics the sun’s natural healing powers without any of the harmful effects of UV exposure. Instead, the long, low-frequency wavelengths of this type of electromagnetic radiation safely penetrate deep beneath the skin down to the cellular level and deliver immense health benefits. Unfriendly bacteria from Lyme disease excrete toxins that trigger oxidative stress. This happens when harmful free radicals win over the body’s protective antioxidants.
Earthing
Earthing, also known as Grounding, is when you stand barefoot on the earth or have direct contact with a product that’s grounded into the earth.
The Earth has a constant negative electric charge. When you touch the ground, electrons flow into your body, helping it align with the Earth’s natural frequencies. When you’re grounded, your body returns to its naturally balanced electrical state.
Your body runs on electricity. Your heart beats, your brain thinks, your muscles move, and your immune system responds—all using tiny electrical signals. Just like a house needs grounding to stay safe and stable, your body needs a connection to the Earth for the same reasons.
When that connection is lost, an important part of how your body stays working properly is missing. Most people don’t realize that being un-grounded can affect how they feel.
Before modern life introduced rubber-soled shoes and concrete cities, humans were naturally grounded every day—walking barefoot, sleeping on the Earth, and living in constant physical contact with the ground.
Today, we can reconnect with that lost connection by using grounding products that restore what was once an effortless part of life.
During your MFR session at Rivermede Retreat, you may be asked if you would like to be grounded on an earthing mat during your session.
Earthing or grounding reduces inflammation in the body. I sleep on grounding sheets every night and can happily report a massive reduction in pain as well as sleeping far better each night and waking rested and ready to enjoy my day.
INTRODUCING SOUND BATHS
A sound bath is a meditative and therapeutic experience that uses resonant sounds from instruments like singing crystal or 7-metal Tibetan bowls, crystal pyramids, gongs and chimes to induce deep relaxation and promote well-being. Participants typically lie down on a thick yoga mat or a zero-gravity chair with comfy pillows and blankets and listen as the vibrations wash over them, leading to reduced stress, pain relief, and improved mood. Sound baths are a form of sound therapy, with roots in ancient cultures, and can be enjoyed in group or private settings, acting as an accessible introduction to meditation for beginners.
Since we are vibrational beings, the resonant sounds are designed to trigger the body’s relaxation response, activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which regulates heart rate and breathing.
Participants may experience visual phenomena like colors and patterns, or a sense of deep calm and mental presence.
Coupled with a steaming cup of Ceremonial-Grade Cacao, your meditative Sound Bath at Rivermede Retreat, is guaranteed to send you on a journey within and bring you a sense of calm and relaxation that is unmatched.
INTRODUCING CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY
CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on healing modality that facilitates the body’s natural capacity for self-regulation to help bring the central nervous system into balance.
Pioneered by Dr. John Upledger at Michigan State University beginning in the 1970s and now taught and practiced internationally, CST is a complementary treatment that releases tensions deep in the body to help reduce pain, relieve dysfunction, and improve whole-body health and performance.
Leslie has taken a 30-hour CranioSacral Therapy seminar (CS1) through Upledger Institute International and intends to continue the coursework to become fully certified.
CranioSacral techniques are now among the growing offerings offered at Rivermede Retreat.
John F. Barnes discusses the basics of Myofascial Release.
Treatments Mini-intensives or Single Session bookings
Here at Rivermede Retreat, we offer single sessions of 60 minute, 90 minute or up to two hours.
For someone looking to quantum leap their healing, you might consider a Mini Intensive. This offering includes a stay in one of our well-appointed guest rooms, and a schedule of Myofascial sessions over 2-3 days – customized to your unique needs. A major benefit of investing in a period of intensive therapy, is the rapid catapult of your healing. In between sessions in your downtime, you have access to bicycles, kayaks, and the mowed paths of our 5 acre field. You may choose to sit and meditate on the bench by the river, sit by a fire, or relax on the brickyard deck overlooking the river with a cup of tea. There is no shortage of nooks for quiet reflection or to do some journaling. Rivermede Retreat is also a short bike or car ride to several lovely beaches, and Mount Agamenticus is near! Please contact me directly for information on booking an intensive, what it would involve, and what it would look like for you.
MYOFAScIAL release
Scheduling and Rates
Please contact me via text/email/or phone if you have questions, or to schedule. Cell 207-994-9050
For your convenience, my schedule at Rivermede Retreat is on line. Use the “BOOK MYOFASCIAL RELEASE” link to access.
My rate is $150 hourly. I take all forms of credit/electronic payment/cash and check at the time of your appointment.
Before your first appointment, please fill out the following Confidential Medical History form, and bring it to your first appointment.