Although it is only mid-February, the peacocks on our farm are out strutting their tail feathers! Besides being gorgeous to look at, we at MFR Works sense that they offer us more! Uhm, what do peacocks understand about healing?
The male’s re-grow their feathers all winter long, then come spring they begin to show off! They display their feathers, dance in circles, shake their bodies, and squawk in effort to attract the attention of the females, the peahens. The males live for attention! Unfortunately, the peahens seldom oblige them. Instead, the peahens usually ignore them.
This does not stop the drive of the male peacock for attention. He will just turn around and romance another creature. Often times, I see peacocks doing their mating dance in front of the roosters. The roosters seem entertained. The peacocks will even spend hours admiring their own reflection in front of our living room windows. This makes me wonder, if like humans, peacocks have a fundamental need for attention? My mentor Katie Hendricks, a pioneer in Conscious Living, likes to explain that attention is a tangible form of nourishment. Just think of the power of your attention when you are sitting in your car at a stop light. Simply casting your gaze on the driver beside you, will often times be enough to get their attention. Why not use this power, to your advantage when it comes to your self-care? To do so, Katie invites us to loop our awareness inside of ourselves, noticing the sensations inside our bodies. You can not take care of something you do not notice, so this is the first step in befriending your body’s aches and pains, inviting them to shift. We capitalize on this dynamic during an MFR treatment session. Trained by John Barnes CPT, I place my skilled touch on the outside, as I invite the client to direct their attention on the inside, noticing areas of restriction. Working as a team, I invite the client to soften, melt, and let go onto the table. Breath after breath we do so, until the fascia finally lets go. Myofascial Release proves that like peacocks, we thrive when we are given attention.. The John Barnes approach to Myofascial Release provides your body with a strategic form of attention, including your own, that leads to authentic healing. Giving MFR Works something to squawk about! By Julia Snyder DSS, LMT owner of MFRWorks.