Today we’d like to introduce you to Betsy Mathaikutty.
Hi Betsy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Have you ever been in a situation where you are experiencing nagging, persistent pain (don’t many of us all have some sort of back, neck or shoulder pain)? Do you remember how that pain affected your outlook and goals for the day? It affected how and if you exercised or even if you were able to play with your child? Can you recall how it affected your mood and energy levels? Well, I can help you with that! My name is Betsy Mathaikutty and I help women live pain-free so they can live their lives to the fullest!!
I am an Occupational Therapist and I specialize in Myofascial Release. I am the owner of Live Free Myofascial Release- Integrative Therapy and Wellness for Women.
I have been passionate about helping people with their physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness for as long as I can remember. My heart is full when I can encourage someone, give hope and help people solve problems. This passion led me to begin a career in a holistic therapy called Occupational Therapy. I loved serving my clients. However early on in my career, I experienced an incapacitating back injury that left me with chronic pain, stress and almost made the activities in my life come to a screeching halt. I am thankful for traditional medicine and therapy, but it was only a temporary fix. I was in pain often, needed medicine to at least take the edge off and I was living in fear that one wrong move would cause debilitating spasms and pain. As an Occupational Therapist, I believed in the holistic view of the human body. I knew my body wasn’t broken. I just needed to find the missing puzzle piece to help bring the healing my body needed. Through a series of events, I decided to get sessions of Myofascial Release Therapy. Once I experienced Myofascial Release, I knew this was the key that unlocked my body’s healing potential! After my series of sessions, I was able to move, bend, reach, and even dance with ease, without fear. I was able to take back control of my health and wellness. I felt free in my body and my mind to start living the life I wanted again! My experience of chronic, unexplained pain, and the hope and freedom Myofascial release therapy provided birthed in me a desire to give that same hope and freedom to other women.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One challenging aspect is continually learning the ins and outs of business. This includes things like networking, marketing as well as limiting belief systems I needed to break through in order to grow into something new. Starting a business was never really on my radar. It has been a dance between being a business owner and a clinician. I have been a stay-at-home mama to 4 beautiful kiddos for over a decade, so it has been quite stretching for me to step into the unknown. After hearing women’s stories of pain and trauma over the years, however, I wanted to offer a safe space where my clients felt acknowledged, empowered as well as receive authentic relief from their pain.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At this point, you may be asking- what is Myofascial Release? Myofascial release is a whole-body, hands-on manual therapy where the therapist uses their hands to gently put pressure into areas of tightness and restriction in the connective tissue of the body. The therapist then slowly stretch the restricted fascial tissue without using oils or lotions. The gentle compression and stretch is sustained for at least 5 minutes until a release is felt by the therapist. This increases the flow of healthy bioelectric energy and cellular nutrition. It restores balance in the mind and body and facilitates the body’s natural state of wholeness and healing.
Let’s touch on fascia really quick. Fascia, or the connective tissue, is the largest organ in the body. It is a 3-dimensional web-like structure that runs from your head to toes, and penetrates, surrounds, and covers every part of your body – down to the cells (and there are trillions of cells). This fascia is the literal glue that holds your body together. If there has been any physical or emotional trauma, lack of/ or repetitive movement, surgeries, scarring, or inflammation, the fascia gets dry and congested, causing shortened, stiff and dehydrated tissue. This prevents the flow of life-giving nutrition and energy into those areas, and toxins out of those areas. Fascial restrictions cause an immense amount of pressure on the nerves causing chronic pain. Subconsciously or consciously, the body compensates for the pain, causes movement dysfunction, which causes more pain and eventually can cause injury.
There are different types of Myofascial Release that have been marketed. These other forms of traditional myofascial release are forceful and painful. This creates more guarding and tightness in connective tissue and the mind. When your mind is guarded, in a flight, fight or freeze state, it is essentially stressed and not able to relax and release.
The John F. Barnes’ approach, however, is vastly different, gentle, and effective. Fascial restrictions do not show up in traditional tests such as MRIs etc. The art of John F. Barnes Myofascial Release Therapy is to find the restriction or strain pattern which is unique to each individual even if they come in because of a common symptom (i.e., migraines). MyoFascial Release is a unique way to unlock the body’s ability to open up space from the restrictions, to reorganize and rehydrate this largest organ. However, the body cannot heal without intentional cooperation from the mind. Our body, mind, and spirit is intimately connected. A lot of times, restrictions in the body may be a result of not only physical trauma but emotional trauma that has been locked up in the subconscious mind and body for years.
This allows for a coordinated effort to bring healing through the mind and body. When the pressure and restriction is taken off the system, when the mind is in a state of calm, the stuck trauma energy now has the freedom to flow. The body and mind can essentially start rewiring and begin the journey to live free.
One great aspect of Myofascial Release is that it also helps calm the nervous system bringing a sense of relaxation and peace to the body and mind. Clients have the option to have this work done as a way to bring relief to the effects of stress and anxiety on the body and mind.
I started Live Free Myofascial Release – Integrative Therapy and Wellness because I wanted to empower women through holistic Myofascial Release therapy and provide education to help their bodies and minds intuitively heal and return back to an optimal state of wellness. I believe that everyone was created with a unique design and purpose to fulfill on this earth. If we are living in a chronic pain/stress loop, our mind and body are out of alignment with each other. Our focus and energy shifts and prevents us from being optimally present. We cannot operate to our fullest potential if we are stuck in our pain and anxiety.
In my treatment space, my clients get 1:1, personalized sessions with me and I treat the whole person. I believe that a person is more than their pain. Together, we not only look at the physical aspect of a person but the emotional and spiritual part of who they are. I believe the client is the intuitive expert of their own bodies and minds, and I am just facilitating their journey into freedom.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something I am so excited to share is that I will be offering Pelvic Health Therapy for women!!! Many women have pelvic floor issues and chronic pain and suffer in silence. Pelvic health is so much more than doing kegels. It is a huge component of our core, how we move, breathe, and feel! It can impact our social life, recreational life, and even anxiety and depression!
It is so critical to address pelvic health!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.livefreemfr.com
- Instagram: @livefreemfr
- Facebook: facebook.com/livefreemfr
