Myofascial Release Courses for Massage Therapists, Acupuncturists, and Touch-based Practitioners
Learn the art of listening touch that transforms both practitioner and patient
Myofascial work is more than just stretching tissues.
A way of communicating with the deepest organizing forces in the body through gentle, precise touch.
What if the “secret” to more effective bodywork isn't working harder, but learning to listen better?
Myofascial work is sometimes regarded as a monologue—find the restriction, stretch it out, move on. But fascia has its own intelligence, and when you engage with it in conversation, everything changes.
When we move at fascia's pace—slow, attentive, responsive—something remarkable happens.
The nervous system shifts into a state of witnessing itself, creating space for the body to reveal its own story.
Beyond stretching tissue, myofascial work is really about creating conditions where people can feel and understand their own patterns, where bodies can finally be heard on their own terms.
By slowing down and truly listening, we transform bodywork from something done to someone into a collaborative exploration. With this kind of approach, you can learn to feel when tissue wants gentle compression rather than stretching, how to trace pain patterns back to their actual source, and why moving slowly creates more lasting change than forcing results.
When you develop "listening hands" that can respond to what fascia is actually asking for, everything shifts. Your clients experience not just physical change but newfound understanding of their own bodies. And your own practice transforms, too—the work becomes easier on your own body while being profoundly more effective.
The three skills that turn myofascial work into intelligent collaboration
And how you’ll develop your own “listening hands.”
Moving Mountain Institute's myofascial approach builds on three interconnected skills:
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Myofascial Mapping
Bodies tell stories through their connected pathways, not isolated parts. Myofascial mapping teaches you to perceive the fascial relationships that conventional anatomy often misses. This relational understanding transforms how you see pain patterns. Instead of focusing on where symptoms appear, you'll learn to trace them to their source through fascial connections. When your hands can follow these pathways, you discover a level of effectiveness that feels like reading the body's own map—working where the work actually needs to happen, not just where complaints manifest.
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Listening Hands
Developing "listening hands" means cultivating a tactile intelligence, a quality of touch, that can feel what's happening beneath the surface. We slow everything down because fascia speaks quietly, and rushing means missing the conversation. When your touch becomes responsive rather than directive, you'll find yourself working with remarkably less physical effort while creating profound change for your patients.
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Techniques
Here's where mapping and listening skills come together in practical application. Instead of memorizing protocols, you'll learn principles that adapt to what each body presents, and that can gain depth through practice and attention. As your skills develop, the same technique becomes more nuanced, more responsive, and more effective. This creates a learning spiral where your work continuously evolves, preventing the burnout that can come from mechanical repetition.
“There isn’t another course like this that will get you from ‘never done this before’ to ‘really comfortable and curious to explore more.’
The lectures are bite-sized, engaging, and knowledge dense. They link directly to the work we do in the clinical workshops. Michael and his assistants are outstanding practitioners who are quick to share their decades of experience in the context of their new insights working with the anatomy.”
Myofascial Release Courses at Moving Mountain Institute
Myofascial Release: Upper Body + Core
TLF, Diaphragm, Thorax, Neck, Shoulder, Upper Extremities, and Core
We start at the center with the thoracolumbar fascia (TLF). You’ll learn to understand how this structure is connected to the cylinder of the torso, including the diaphragm and the thoracolumbar junction. Orientation at the thoracolumbar junction is part of what positions the shoulder girdle in space. Fixation and misalignment at the TLJ can be part of the root cause of shoulder and upper extremity issues.
We also see how the latissimus dorsi connects with the TLF and is a link between tension in the lower back and upper extremity issues. After following these large pathways we work specifically with the scapulo-thoracic joint and shoulder problems. We explore the interconnection between the shoulder and the neck and then how all of this can contribute to complaints in the upper extremity.
Finally, we also cover mapping and techniques from the neck and shoulder in the arm. You’ll learn effective techniques for assessing and treating complaints related to elbow, wrist and hand pain. These are often interrelated with issues in the neck and shoulder.
The skills you learn in this course will help you develop treatment plans for:
Low back pain
Thoracic pain
Intercostal pain
Neck pain
Shoulder pain
Elbow pain, including medial and lateral epicondylitis
Wrist and hand pain, including carpal tunnel syndrome
Because the TLF is so interwoven with the rest of the body, releases there will often refer to other locations and you will be able to use your existing skill set to take that information and treat what you find.
Note on Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome: It is very common for folks experiencing these conditions to have pain patterns in the region of the shoulder girdle and neck. The techniques you learn in this course will be especially helpful for these people, in particular our emphasis on "indirect techniques.” We encourage all practitioners to gain more training in these conditions—check out the Ehlers-Danlos Society website for more information and resources.
Dates & Details
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Two 3-day workshops in our classroom in Portland, Oregon
Access to the online classroom lectures and materials beginning 45 days before the training series begins and ending 90 days after it ends
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2 Weekends:
Module I: September 19-21, 2025
Module Ii: November 7-9, 2025
Class Times:
Friday 9:30am-4:30pm
Saturday 9:30am-4:30pm
Sunday 9:30am-3:30pm
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Regular Price: $2,336
Earlybird Discount: $1,985
Equity Pricing for BIPOC Practitioners: $1,868
If you’ve completed at least one previous MFR workshop, take 15% off this course!
If you’ve completed all five previous MFR workshops, take 50% off this course!
Email thea@movingmountainstitute.com for your discount code.
Payment plans are available!
Myofascial Release: Lower Body + Core
TLF, Low Back, Hips, Glutes, Lower Extremities, and Core
We start at the center with the thoracolumbar fascia (TLF). You’ll learn to understand how this structure is connected to the cylinder of the torso, including the diaphragm, psoas and ql, along with the transversus abdominus. You will get a detailed myofascial anatomy map of these relationships along with techniques to assess and treat them.
From there we move to the TLF’s connection to the sacral fascia, glutes and hamstrings. Myofascial mapping and techniques will be presented for the internal and external rotators of the hips with emphasis on glute medius and piriformis.
Finally, we work through mapping and techniques for the hamstrings, gastrocnemius, soleus, calcaneal tendon and plantar fascia. There are particularly dynamic relationships at the back of the knee that can be used to release the posterior myofascial pathway in either direction.
The skills you learn in this course will help you develop treatment plans for:
Low back pain
Hip pain
Digestive issues + abdominal pain
Knee pain
Ankle issues
Plantar fasciitis
Because the TLF is so interwoven with the rest of the body, releases there will often refer to other locations and you will be able to use your existing skill set to take that information and treat what you find.
Dates & Details
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Two 3-day workshops in our classroom in Portland, Oregon
Access to the online classroom lectures and materials beginning 45 days before the training series begins and ending 90 days after it ends
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2 Weekends:
Module I: May 1-3, 2026
Module II: June 5-7, 2026
Class Times:
Friday 9:30am-4:30pm
Saturday 9:30am-4:30pm
Sunday 9:30am-3:30pm
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Regular Price: $2,336
Earlybird Discount: $1,985
Equity Pricing for BIPOC Practitioners: $1,868
If you’ve completed at least one previous MFR workshop, take 15% off this course!
If you’ve completed all five previous MFR workshops, take 50% off this course!
Email thea@movingmountainstitute.com for your discount code.
Payment plans are available!
“The training is fantastic.
Michael and the teaching assistants provided a safe and supportive learning environment that allowed me to sink deeply into the practice and gain confidence in my ability to support my patients with this subtle, gentle, and powerful healing modality.”
“There is so much integrity and intentionality to the course. It’s a pleasure to be a part of and makes the learning effortless.”
Is this myofascial release course series right for you?
This approach will particularly resonate if you’re:
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A Touch-Based Practitioner Expanding Your Skills
This training translates across modalities. Acupuncturists particularly benefit from understanding sinew channel anatomy and integrating biomechanics with Eastern perspectives, while massage therapists often find this transforms their entire approach to tissue work. The listening-based foundation enhances whatever hands-on work you're already doing.
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Seeking Sustainable Practice
If your own body hurts at the end of the day or you're feeling the early signs of burnout, this work offers an approach that's remarkably gentle on your body while creating deeper change for clients. Many students report feeling energized rather than depleted after using these techniques.
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Often Treating Complex Conditions
This training especially benefits those treating clients with conditions that don't respond well to standard approaches—hypermobility disorders like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, persistent pain patterns, post-injury compensation issues, and stress-related tension that keeps returning despite treatment.
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Ready for Deeper Understanding
If you sense there's more to bodywork than you've been taught—if you're curious about why pain shows up where it does or how seemingly unrelated areas connect—this training provides both practical skills and conceptual frameworks that transform how you understand bodies.
A note from Michael, our founder and your instructor
In a quick-fix world, myofascial release offers something increasingly rare: time and space for the body to be heard.
I've been watching for years as patient needs have become increasingly complex, often outpacing what conventional approaches can address. Many turn to "nervous system work" as the answer, but the nervous system isn't separate from the tissues we touch! It's embedded within them, responding to every moment of contact.
This is part of what’s so exciting about a more thoughtful, effective approach to myofascial release. When we move slowly and adjust our depth and pace to how tissues are responding, something remarkable happens: tissues that have been guarded begin to express themselves. The body recognizes it doesn't need to protect itself, and healing becomes possible in a different way.
I've designed this course series to be intellectually rigorous while remaining genuinely fun. Anatomy should never be deadening—it's our story, lived in flesh and fascia! And there is nothing quite like letting yourself be blown away by how amazing bodies are.
I hope to see you in the classroom!
Become more fluent in fascia
Learn the language that bodies speak freely
Frequently Asked Questions
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No prior MFR experience is required. This training is designed to take you from beginner to confident practitioner, whether you're completely new to fascial work or looking to transform your current approach with more listening-based methods. We start with accessible concepts and build systematically, so you'll develop both the anatomical understanding and hands-on skills needed for effective practice.
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You can take either course independently in any order. Both courses begin with the thoracolumbar fascia as your anatomical foundation, so you'll get essential concepts regardless of which you choose first. Taking both courses gives you a comprehensive understanding of fascial relationships throughout the entire body, but there's no requirement to do so.
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Traditional bodywork classes force you to juggle note-taking and watching demonstrations while trying to absorb complex techniques. Our “flipped classroom” model changes this completely!
You get access to the online content (including recorded lectures, concepts, and techniques) 45 days before our in-person trainings begin. You can absorb the information at your own pace, before you even enter the classroom, and return to it again and again.
This means that you get to show up to our in-person workshops ready to practice, explore, and actually feel the work in your body. Your time in the classroom (two 3-day weekend workshops) is spent with your hands, not scribbling notes or cramming content. And in this way, class time becomes a hive of inquiry, not a lecture hall! It’s more fun, more useful, and intentionally more aligned to how adults really learn.
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Yes! The listening-based approach and fascial understanding you'll develop can deepen any hands-on work you're already doing. Massage therapists find their deep tissue work becomes more effective while requiring less effort. Acupuncturists discover improved channel palpation and needling skills. Physical therapists and chiropractors gain tools for addressing the soft tissue patterns that maintain structural problems. The principles translate across modalities because they're about developing better relationship with tissue itself, not just adding techniques.
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You can start using these techniques immediately after each weekend module. The approaches we teach are straightforward and don't require complex equipment or extensive setup. What develops over time is the nuance—your listening skills, your ability to feel subtle tissue responses, and your confidence in following where the body leads.
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The MFR Upper Body + Core Training has been pre-approved for the following CE hours:
Module I:
online content: NCCAOM (TBD), OBNM (TBD), NCBTMB (TBD)
workshop: NCCAOM (17 PDA), OBNM (TBD), NCBTMB (17 CE)
Module II:
online content: NCCAOM (TBD), OBNM (TBD), NCBTMB (TBD)
workshop: NCCAOM (17 PDA), OBNM (TBD), NCBTMB (17 CE)
Certificates are issued after you complete quizzes for the online content and after each in-person workshop.