Are You Ready ... ?

To Start on Your Unique Path to Become a LEADING EDGE EXPERT ...

... in Neuro-Musculo-Fascial (NMF) Therapy Using Mindful Medical Massage, Myo-Structural Balancing & Yoga* Therapy?

* YOGA: Conscious Stretching. Using the Quality & Power of Awareness (Attention) to bring the Mind into the Musculature so the Distinctions between them Dissolve into an Integral UNITY.**

** Unity: State of Being United or Joined as a Whole.

Are You Ready …

To Take Your Practice To The NEXT LEVEL of Working Effectively With Your Most Complex, Long-term Chronic, Difficult-to-Treat Clients' Soft Tissue Issues?

And in The Meantime, Assist Your Therapeutic Profession at Being Far More Well-known & Appreciated by The People of America?

DSL Edgework is Brought To YOU By David Scott Lynn (DSL) ...

Your EduMentor in the Brand New DSL Edgework Education & Mentoring Program ...

... with a 44+ Year History of Innovation & Successful Clinical Practice in Mindful Medical Massage, Myo-Structural Balancing & Yoga Therapy with Whole Health Therapeutics ...

DSL's Practice — from his Very Beginning as a Bodywork Therapist in 1981 in the Near North of Downtown Chicago — very successfully worked with Clients from around the World who did not respond well, or at all, to other more traditional treatment methods such as NMT, MFR, Deep Tissue, Rolfing®, PT, Energy Work, and so on. Many of these Clients had been in pain or dysfunction for many years or even DECADES and had been given up on by their therapists or physicians.

Yet DSL has been able to help the vast majority of those Clients. And many of those Clients say "No one does what DSL does," and they wish there were more people trained in his Unique Methods.

Well, the Educational & Mentoring Program is his Respone to his Clients in that regard.

The TRUTH Is, there are a FEW Therapists who do a Few Things similar to DSL. But they are Far Too Few, Too Far Between, and Too Hard To Find.

One of the things You will learn about in the DSL Programs is how DSL dealt with his own severe, nearly debilitating, 3.5 years of back & hip pain. This will be a Primary Case Study on how the DSL Method of Therapy works.

In his early teens, he raced motocross (dirt bikes in rough terrain) and had many SPECTACULAR crashes. Then, he became a Structural Steel Ironworker (Heavy Construction) for about 8 years. THAT was also highly stressful on his body.

It's a long story, but as he was becoming a Bodyworker, as a result of those injuries, he developed severe pain that often kept him on the floor rolling around in pain. And none of the other therapists or physicians in Chicago could help him.

How he got himself out of pain, and how in doing so developed his Method of Therapy, is a Highly Educational Story in Itself.

This webpage is an Opportunity for YOU to Take Advantage of the Highly Specialized Perspectives & Techniques DSL has developed in his Life & Long Career.

You Too can benefit from his many years in the Whole Health & Consciousness Fields, all the way back to when he began doing Zen Meditation in Martial Arts when he was 13 years old, in 1967.

This webpage is in part a Description of his DSL Edgework Educational Programs. Yet it is ALSO a very In-Depth Introduction to the DSL Method of Therapy itself.

YES, this page is long. Yet it is more like a "Vertical eBook" than an "online brochure." So it is NOT a "quick read."

If you are looking for Quick Reads, Quick Fixes, or Quick Tricks & Tips; if you do not want & appreciate "in-depth, detailed information," then I can save you some time and say this is probably NOT the place for YOU!

BUT ... If you are ready to Think, Feel & Work at a higher & deeper level of Intellectual & Emotional Intelligence, if you want to know the REAL Story of what DSL Edgework and our Method Therapy is all about, this is a VERY GOOD Place to START.

My MISSION in Life & Work* ...

( … and YES, I Decided to Accept that Mission! ... )

Is To Help YOU on Your Path to Becoming an Expert on Resolving Complex, Long-term Chronic, Difficult-to-Treat Problems with the Many Soft Tissue Issues of Your Clients.

If YOUR Mission in Life Includes Becoming a Master of Whole Health, BodyMind Therapeutics, MY JOB is to Offer YOU Direct Access to My 44+ Years of Professional Knowledge, Skills & Experience to Help You GET There!

My Vision for YOU, among other things, is to assist YOU in becoming a Leading Edge Theorist & Innovator in Massage, Bodywork & Yoga Therapy. I want YOU to be able to sit down with a Neurologist, Orthopedist, or other Physician and have them know, within a few minutes, that YOU know as much or more about how Human, Myo-Structual Anatomy, Kinesiology, Physiology & Neurology WORK* in Musculoskeletal Therapeutics as THEY do ... maybe more.

* Work: Activity involving mental or physical effort (or BOTH) done to achieve a purpose or result.

... BTW, FYI ... MOST of what I do for "work" is so Interesting & engaging it feeds my Mind & Soul, and is so good for my Psychology, it does NOT feel like work!

AND ... I'm Here to Work with YOU & Other Therapists on Elevating Massage, Bodywork & Yoga Therapy to MUCH Higher Levels of Understanding & Acceptance by FAR More Americans. ...

And I Hope You Will Join Us!

* For ME, a Neuro-Musculo-Fascial Therapist is anyone whose Primary Object of Training and/or Therapy is Resolving Problems of their Client's Psycho*-Neuro-Musculo-Fascial & Joint System. This includes Massage, Bodywork, Yoga, Personal Training, Pilates Practitioners, Physical & Occupational Therapists, AND Physicians of all types. Deep knowledge of how those methods work makes one far more successful in treating Clients.

* Psycho-: Refers to "breath, mind, soul" and "psychology" because the MIND & EMOTIONS cause, or participate in, or can greatly influence, MOST of what muscles DO or WON'T do ... but they SHOULD Do. ... Other Therapists or Educators (such as psychotherapists) who want to Understand the Inner Workings of those systems are Welcome as well! We can design a customized program accommodating your interests & needs.

HOWEVER, I've been thinking that the most likely people to want to learn from me are Successful Massage Therapists who are GREAT at giving a Relaxing, Swedish or Spa-style massage, but they know they do not know how to develop Effective Evaluation & Treatment Strategies for their most complex & difficult-to-treat Clients. Yet they want to learn how to do that.

Many massage & yoga schools teach Great Manual Techniques. Yet too few of them provide a deep, comprehensive education in Evaluation & Treatment Strategies of complex problems of the neuro-musculo-fascial & joint systems.

The NEXT most likely group is people who have just graduated from massage school and are not sure What's Next for them and how they should design & build their practices. Over an almost 50 year period (I started teaching yoga in 1976), I've started at least 8 practices under very different circumstances. So I know a little bit about all THAT!

If you are a member of the General Public and want to learn how to treat Yourself, your Family & Friends, PLEASE CLICK HERE

PLEASE NOTE: There are many methods of Therapy out there such as NMT, MFR, Rolfing® (Structural Integration), Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, and many others. They work Very Well for Most of the Problems of Most of The People, Most of the Time.

I, or WE who use the DSL Method, are NOT in direct competition with these methods or their practitioners.

HOWEVER, there ARE a FEW unfortunate people out there with complex soft tissue issues who do NOT respond well, or at all, to the above-mentioned therapies — maybe 2 or 3% of the Patient or Client Population.

I specifically designed my system of therapy to help THAT significant number (though a small percentage) of victims of aches & pains, restricted movement, weakness, poor posture, & other dysfunctions. And I have a VERY high success rate in doing so. Yet that "small percentage" is STILL a LOT of people!

Many of my Clients say to me, "No one does what you do." In reality, there ARE a FEW Therapists out there who do some things similar to what I do. Some of them are like Miracle Workers!

But they are far too few, too far between, and far too hard to find.

Specializing in that group of Prospects who might want to become our Clients takes some Motivation & Work at first, but it can be a Great Opportunity, and VERY satisfying!

IF You want that Challenge & Opportunity, I'm here to help YOU.

What You Will Be Learning, From the Unique Point-of-View of 44+-Years of experience using DSL Edgework, the Elements of my System of Therapy are:

• Mindful Medical Massage

• Myo-Structural Balancing

• Myo-Structural Yoga Therapy

• Internal / External Ergonomics

• Between Session Maintenance & On-going Self-Care

• Whole Health Education

• A Philosophy, Psychology & Science of Whole Health Therapy & Being Human

(I will discuss the integration of Mindfulness, Yoga, & Bodywork further below on this page.)

BTW, just in case you missed it ... DSL is David Scott Lynn: Founder, Developer, & Lead Instructor of DSL EdgeWork. ... DSL-3 is ALSO an acronym for the Dynamics of BIO-Structural Laws, Learning & Listening, the name of a book DSL wrote on the Nature of HIs Work.

RE: Sciences of Therapy ...

Knowing How the Psycho-Neuro-Musculo-Fascial & Joint System WORKS, Tells You How To WORK It!

The SCIENCES You'll Be Learning Are Advanced:

• Structural Anatomy

• Functional Kinesiology

• Neuromuscular & Myofascial Physiology

• BodyMind Neurology

• Musculoskeletal Pathology

• Physical Sciences (Physics)

YOU will have Full Access to my 44+ Years of In-Depth Experience that YOU Can Integrate Into Your Own Existing Knowledge, Skills, and Insights You Can Use in Knowing About MY Unusual Path & Story ... to Help YOU Create the Story of YOUR Unique Path.

An Important Part of my eCourses & eBooks is to Support YOU in Expanding Your Reach & Communication with the General Public & New Prospects so you can, First by EDUCATING them, Support Them in becoming Your Clients. That involves developing Your Origin Story so they can discover WHY they should get to Know, Like, & Trust You. You want them to believe, to KNOW, that YOU are the Best Choice when they need or want services such as what you offer.

People, including your Potential Prospects, are "hard-wired" through human history to respond to STORIES. The more Authentic & Meaningful Stories you can tell about relevant topics they can RELATE to, the more people will remember and respond positively to YOU.

(And I'll Help You DO That — Finding & Refining YOUR Stories — If You Need or Want It!)

This Process ALSO Involves What I Call "Spiritual Marketing" & "Conscious, Cooperative Capitalism."

Let's Face It ... There are well over 300,000 Licensed Massage Therapists in America today! Potential Clients have to decide WHO is the best choice for them to go to for Therapy. YOU want to be able to Communicate what YOUR Unique Abilities are, and HOW YOU might be the Best Choice for them.

Now, many people do not like the idea of "competition." But the word Competition breaks down etymologically this way: "com" is "together;" "petition" means "to ask or to seek." So at its root, competition is To Seek Together. Properly applied, competition is the best method ever devised where the people in a society can figure out which products or services, and which versions of such services, are the BEST for the most people.

Capitalism, at its Root, means to accumulate resources to be multiplied in the future. Capital includes ALL KINDS of resources, such as EDUCATION, knowledge, skills, time, money ... anything you use LATER to produce a result that is More Profitable, than if you consumed that capital NOW.

And "Profit" means "to advance," or "to move ahead." that is versus lucre, which is just plain old money. The trick is to stay focused MORE on helping people get what they want & need versus purely focusing on accumulating "lucre."

When WE think of PROFIT, we think of how we can help more people Move Ahead, to Advance in their Lives.

It is NOT "Money" that is the Root Of All Evil, it is the LOVE of money that is the Root Of All Evil. *WE* use money to help humanity, and ourselves, to Move Ahead, to Advance in Life.

Yes, SOME people DO engage in cut-throat competition, but that is actually a relatively small portion of The People. YOU want the benefits of cooperative competition without the negatives. That is the result of the decisions You make, and when you make them.

You Can ACCESS The Story of HOW ALL THE ABOVE HAPPENED FOR ME, the insights on Therapy and Life I gained, how I learned to produce the results I get, how Clients & Students started thinking of Me as an “Expert," and how I developed DSL Edgework (described Further Down near the bottom of this page).

Hopefully, I can Inspire & Support YOU in becoming The Leading Edge Expert in Your Community & Master Of Your Trade.

But FIRST, Please Allow Me To SET THE STAGE About What We Are Doing in the World of Musculo-Fascial Therapy, and the DSL EdgeWork Method of Therapeutics. This will give you a better idea of some of the things we will be studying & doing when You join my Programs.

If You already know a lot about me & my work and want to go straight to the page with my Primary eCourse material — The School of Hard Knots — here's the LINK ...

Please Just Press the Big Yellow Button Below ...

A Common Question about DSL Edgework:

(And THE FOLLOWING is a Sample of what and HOW we will be learning in the DSL eCourses & eBooks. And I have for a few years now felt the Question I dig into here is a very important and currently relevant one.)

Are We Treating Muscle? Or Fascia? Or Nerves? Or What?

I have very often come across Therapists, Instructors, or Clients who say various things about nerves, muscles and fascia that are not quite true, and sometimes not correct at all. Some of them say things like "I am focusing on the Fascia, NOT the Muscles." And they say they are "treating the fascia" and NOT the muscles!

Or, that we do not really know what we are feeling when we "feel the release" of the muscles and/or fascia as they soften.

From MY point-of-view, there are a number of Myth-Conceptions about the nature of muscles and fascia and how they work, how they break down, and how they affect other parts of the Human BodyMind. I believe this can lead to some confusion and sometimes significant mis-evaluations and mis-guided treatment strategies.

Occasionally, the resulting strategy is outright WRONG and NOT what the Client needs, and sometimes makes the Client WORSE. (I speak of DIRECT, Personal Experience on that last one!!! That's part of the Self-Case Study I will be telling you about on my BIO/History page..)

In light of all that, here is one reason I did not become a Rolfer®, or Structural Integration Practitioner.

• Back around 1995, I taught an introductory seminar on my therapy system to a group of structurally oriented therapists in Venice Beach, California. Some of them used forms of bodywork related to Structural Integration like Rolfing® or Hellerwork®, and were therefore highly focused on fascia.
• Hellerwork was developed by Joe Heller, who had been president of the Rolf Institute for several years. He branched off and developed Hellerwork with the same basic principles of Rolfing with some additional elements. But like Rolfing, it was promoted primarily as Fascially Focused Therapy.
• I showed the group of therapists my theory about how muscles & fascia, together, create scoliosis, and that it was, for the most part, over-shortened musculo-fascial UNITS, NOT just shortened fascia, causing scoliosis. Yet it was the contractile forces of the muscle cells producing most of the scoliotic curve, NOT a "shortening of the fascia." And, their fascia-based method of evaluation usally had them working on the WRONG muscles, on the opposite side of where they SHOULD have been working, and sometimes making the Client's scoliosis even WORSE!
• They could not refute my point of view. My ideas made Total Sense to them.
• They asked me to come and do a presentation for their Study Group, but I had to get back to the East Coast, so I could not, regrettably, accommodate them. I heard later that they all agreed to change some of their methods based on what I had shown them in that first presentation.

I will try to clear some of that up on this web page. It is also covered in some of my eBooks ( such as "Musculo-Fascial Facts & Fallacies" ) and eCourses.

In Respect to my Many Friends who are almost Fully Focused On FASCIA, and Much Less So on Muscle Cells, and to Preempt any misunderstanding or controversy …

Please Note that when I use the word “MUSCLE” by itself, I am generally referring to the entire Musculo-Fascial System as a Whole, Integral, Synergistic UNIT or Unity.* ... Therefore, contrary to what SOME therapists think, when I use the word "muscle," I am NOT discounting or ignoring fascia.

• Unity: "the state of being united or joined as a whole." The skeletal muscles & fascia form an inseparable UNITY.

Generally speaking, Contractile* Muscle Cells, controlled by Motor Nerves, generate the primary forces producing the majority of Postural Stability, Movement, & Action. The Deep Fascial Sheaths, primarily,  deliver those contractile muscular forces to the bones & joints, protect the muscle cells, provide fluid & blood flow, and provide vast amounts of sensory information to the CNS** & Brain.

However, the fascia has very few contractile fibers or motor nerves with which to do the job muscle cells ARE designed to do MUCH more effectively.

And without each other, they are BOTH pretty much useless.

• Contractile is the "mechanical" ability of a muscle to become shorter and tighter.
• CNS is the Central Nervous System.

Any ability of the fascial sheaths to "relax" (lengthen) or "contract" (shorten) is very minor and comparatively insignificant compared to a muscle cell's capacity to lengthen or shorten.

Therefore, since fascia cannot shorten or lengthen to any great degree, "treating fascia" as if it is a primary structural force generator, by itself, independent of the muscle cells, for the most part, defies scientific reality and even logic.

(I will go into this in more detail in the section on "Myth-Conceptions" toward the end of this webpage.)

Then, of course, we have the NERVES. For the most part, when it comes to stability, posture & movement, musculo-fascial units only DO what nerves TELL them to do. In fact, as you will see below, when we are manually touching or contacting muscles, we are NOT trying to "treat the muscle." We are using the touch of skin & muscle to "talk to the nervous system." And if we do that correctly, the nervous system will then relax the muscle.

Once Again, I often get asked, is this Muscle work? Or is it Fascia work? Is it Neuromuscular Therapy, or MyoFascial Release? Or is it Deep Tissue work? Or is it Structural Integration? ... Or WHAT?...

On ONE Hand, it is NONE of those things, as there are MANY significant differences.

YET ... because of some important similarities, DSL Edgework is related to ALL of them, working together as an Integrated, Synergistic, Harmonious System. ...

Over the years, I studied the sciences behind all of them and came up with over-arching or underlying theories of how they work. These are NOT MY theories, it is just what the science says if you ask the right questions and look from the right point of view.

... It is a part of Learning How To Think Structurally.

This is explained in some detail further down on this page. It is especially true of the SCIENCES common to all of them (and other) approaches to Massage, BodyWork, AND Yoga Therapy.

To ME, Bodywork & Yoga fit together like a hand-in-glove. (Yoga is the Hand because it is the most internally focused! Bodywork is the Glove because it is an "outside" influence and protection.)

Yet we are all working with the SAME Human psycho-muscular, neuro-muscular, myo-fascial, & musculo-skeletal systems. And DSL uses well-described, orthodox medical sciences & physics in understanding the anatomy, kinesiology, physiology, & neurology common to them all. ...

• "I learned more anatomy from David in five WEEKS than I learned in four YEARS of medical school."
• That's a Quote from Dr. Todd Mangum, Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Mangum had taken a sabbatical after graduating from medical school to find out and learn more about Whole Health Healing before he went into his private practice.

DSL Edgework uses (what I think are) The Basics of The Best of all those approaches (and a few others as well) to BodyWork. I have refined these methods to integrate, and GO Above & Beyond, those systems.

So there IS a Common Thread, yet DSL challenges & resolves some important Myth-Conceptions to improve overall Processes & Results.

I've done a similar process with the Practice of Yoga, which I call DSL Let-Go Yoga.

AND JUST In Case of More Pandemics, Lockdowns, & Other Legal Restrictions ...

We Will Also Focus in the DSL Online Education & Mentoring Program on what we can Learn & DO to keep our practices going ON-LINE or ON-PHONE if we have more Pandemics, Lockdowns, or other Economic Displacements. There ARE Ways You can Utilize & Deliver Your "Musculo-Fascial Therapy-Informed" Knowledge & Skills without being in the same room or even the same country!

MY Experience is MOST Massage, Bodywork, or Yoga Therapists do NOT fully understand what they could accomplish with their Clients, Students, & Therapies if they could JUST Expand Their Perspectives!

And MUCH of it can be done without even being in the same room with a Client, Prospect or any otherwise needful person. You can get good at using massage tools and teach them Self-Healing Techniques. You can demonstrate the use of massage tools ONLINE via your camera on your Smart Phone.

(Having an internet camera or camera phone DOES help!)

And if there are two or more people on the other end of the connection, you can support them in treating each other. THEY become YOUR Hands!

Especially if You become an AUTHORITY in what you're doing and LEARN how to Communicate Effectively & Efficiently. Which IS, of course, MY intention for YOU in the DSL Edgework Educational & Mentoring Program, the School Of Hard Knots!

To further insulate you in case of Pandemics & Lockdowns, You might also consider adding Natural, Whole Health Consulting to the Services you offer. Your knowledge of the neuro-musculo-fascial & joint system as well as diet, nutrition, detox, & lifestyle could set you apart as an Important, Wider-ranging Resource for your Clients.

I will be offering a program to Facilitate & Support that possibility in the near future.

After a multi-year absence while taking care of and providing therapy for my Elderly & Sick Parents, and then the COVID-19 debacle, DSL Edgework is returning to Researching & Writing about latest developments in the Massage, Bodywork & Yoga fields, & Teaching his work to Interested & Motivated Therapists.

The First Version of the School of Hard Knots will be a 15-module Pilot Program, over 15 weeks, where the students will directly participate in the Design & Development of the program. I want to make sure the program meets Your Interests & Needs.

So each week, I will produce at least one Educational Video, whatever written materials are necessary, and at least one Group Mentoring / Coaching session with everyone. The Group Calls will be an Ask Me Anything format, and I will not close the call until all questions are answered.

I reserve the right to answer some questions by saying "We will be going into that question in a future module."

You will also have Q& A access via eMail, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays, as well.

1-ON-1 PRIVATE MENTORING:

I will ALSO have a Private, 1-on-1 Phone, Skype, or Zoom Mentoring / Coaching call, at least an hour long, with EACH Participant EVERY week. This will be to make sure You understand the material, provide me with feedback & ideas, and make sure You can integrate what You are learning into your practice.

If you want help in Designing & Marketing a New (or Existing) Practice, we can do that, too.

PLEASE NOTE: The national average pricing for Private Coaching is now over $200 per hour. For Business Coaching, it starts at $500 per hour! In the New DSL Pilot Program, for the Very First Version (12 Students Maximum) the PRICE will be about what you would pay for JUST the coaching WITHOUT the Educational eCourse material!

If there is enough interest, I will produce a second Group Call each week (on another day) focused on Communication, Marketing, & Enrollment.

One Objective of the Program will be for me to support each Participant in Developing their Practice to be in Harmony with their LIfe & Work as much as possible. Over approximately 50 years, I have started at least 8 different practices (I lost track!), all very different, under different circumstances. I should be able to give you a LOT of ideas and support you in the process of creating your practice & marketing the way you want it to be.

There will also be a Membership Area for all participants with extra benefits, such as Case Studies and a Participant Forum. And if you are financially challenged, you can receive the material of the School of Hard Knots spread out over the course of a year in a less expensive way. It will NOT, however, include the Private, 1-on-1 calls.

THE PRICE of the School Of Hard Knots Pilot eCourse will be WAY BELOW, probably less than half, what you would pay for a similar program. But the PRICE of subsequent programs will go UP as the market will bear.



Please Read More about the School of Hard Knots by CLICKING the Button Below ...

"Application of these Teachings [Physical/Mental Yoga & Medical Sciences applied to Yoga] will take Yoga to new heights in the Western World. The DSL Method is profoundly sensical."

Lesli Hunter

Yoga Teacher & Student • 7 Centers Yoga Arts • Sedona, Arizona

"I Strongly Encourage & Highly Recommend all Current Massage Students & Licensed Massage Therapists to Take Advantage of This Unique Opportunity to Learn from One of the Best Educators I’ve had the Privilege of Learning From.

"Through my years of experience in clinical practice and taking over 100 seminars in bodywork, I have found The DSL Method to be the missing link toward a greater understanding of human physiology & chronic reflex pain patterns. I endorse & highly recommend taking a course in The DSL Method.

"David Scott Lynn (DSL-Edgework BodyMind Therapeutics) will return to teaching with his Ground-Breaking Material for a Small Group of Eager Students who want to become part of an Elite Group of Massage & Bodywork Professionals."

In Health, Kyle C. Wright, LMBT, NCTMB

Developer of Curriculum South Eastern Schools, and the Advanced Schools of Bodywork in Charlotte, NC & Jacksonville, FL

"The students in Heartwood’s approved Massage program felt that The DSL Method was the most valuable work in Heartwood’s massage curriculum. Many students felt that David's work instilled a sense of competence in their ability to do massage & bodywork. It is an open-ended system allowing & encouraging students to continually improve their work through active practitioner/client exchange. I have personally found that, based on feedback from clients, The DSL Method is on par with, if not superior to, the other major bodywork systems available today."

Rex Dippre • Massage Therapist • Arcata, California

(Former Director of Admissions @ Heartwood Institute, 1989-1992)

"With 18 years of experience in the health care professions, I appreciate soundly researched and scientifically based approaches to rehabilitation. The DSL Method has expanded and refined my understanding and applications for achieving postural correctness and pain relief in less time.

"David has a unique way of reiterating known fundamental laws, redefining erroneous concepts, and instructing the participants through a successful treatment program."

Al Cujas, Physical Therapist, A.T.C., N.M.T.

Winston Salem, North Carolina

Former Instructor for the St. John NMT Seminar System

"David Scott Lynn is a man of profoundly integrated understanding in the field of bodywork. You will be blessed if you choose to work with him.

"I suffered for decades with chronic neck & shoulder issues. Yet I was able to manage my “condition” through weekly acu-puncture, regular chiropractic, daily exercise, and massage.

"I had constant pain, but was able to function most days. Periodically, I experienced acute pain which de-capacitated me for months. … My condition was always with me and something I had to ‘factor in’ when making most of my life decisions.

"David has a lifetime of study which he has incorporated into a systematic approach to restructuring and realigning the body. Since I am not a practitioner myself, I cannot address the pros of his approach, other than to say — David is a “God Send”.

"On a personal level, he is patient and steady in his approach. … His prices are reasonable, which was also a “factor” for me.

"When someone is in chronic pain and wondering if anything will ever get them out of pain, David’s “stick to it” nature — is reassuring & encouraging. He is determined to do what he can to heal your body, and he is both knowledgeable & effective.

"If you have a significant chronic condition, chances are you will need to be in treatment for some time. At least that was my story. However, getting to a place where you are no longer in chronic pain is almost assured with his approach.

"David is understanding. David is kind. … He keeps his word, and is ethical. … Actually, he is kind of a “mad scientist” who has studied his whole life and integrated many healing modalities into a systemic approach to bodywork. He is a teacher in his field, and highly respected.

"He is a gift to those who need a permanent solution to their bodily pain. ... You could search for a lifetime without finding someone of his caliber. …

"He is a Gift. … I give him a Five Star Rating."

Ellie Saunders

Private Client, Sedona, Arizona

"I have known David Scott Lynn (DSL) for 30 plus years when I was completing my medical school clerkships in Chicago, Illinois at the Michael Reese Hospital and the Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn in 1988. It seems like yesterday when we met as brothers in the fight to bring meaning to the term “health care.” We saw the road ahead with the same eyes and were of one mind with respect to the substance & altruistic goals ahead.

"If I were to seek out one person with whom I would choose to work in pursuit of true health care, it would be David Scott Lynn. He is an extremely focused and talented individual who has dedicated himself to helping others, sometimes sacrificing his own welfare to achieve the goal in their care plan no matter the person or circumstances. He would always be there to contribute & create the plan to facilitate the desired outcome. He would work tirelessly and carry on in the most difficult of times.

"David works well as a team member or individual, whatever the environment requires. He is not resistant to hard work and cares deeply about others, especially fellow therapists with whom he has a special insight and understanding. David has good business sense.

"I know David to have lectured & instructed all over the country from the east to the west coasts in order to bring his unique brand of massage therapy, The DSL Method, to practitioners, therapists, schools, clinics & private clients with amazing effects & life-changing results.

"I, therefore, take pleasure and consider it a great honor and privilege to recommend David Scott Lynn (DSL) at the highest level without reservation.

"Should you require any further insight, do not hesitate to contact me."

Dr. David J. Ogle

Metabolic / Nutritional MD, CTTH Gresham, OR

MORE TESTIMONIALS:

On DSL's Main Website: 

Most therapy systems focus on delivering a Technique to the skin, muscles, fascia & joints of the body. Most Massage Therapy Schools teach their students a variety of Very Good Massage & Bodywork techniques to deliver to their Clients. ...

This is all well and good. No Problem there.

But WHY do Most Clients say DSL Edgework is Far More Effective at resolving THEIR neuro-musculo-fascial & joint problems than the (often many) other techniques they've received? And that it LASTS much longer or permanently? And WHY do they wonder why more therapists do not use a similar technique?

A Primary Principle We Use Is ...

... that NO THERAPIST has EVER "relaxed a muscle" in another Human Being. It is The CLIENT that relaxes the muscle(s) as an internal, Psycho-Physical Process. It is NOT "The Massage Technique" that "does the job." Not even MY technique! We just provide the environment or experience the Client needs to relax their muscles.

( And please don't be afraid of the term "psycho-". Psycho-: Refers to "breath, mind, soul" and "psychology." It does NOT necessarily mean you are "crazy"! )

The Therapist only provides an environment, experience, or opportunity for The CLIENT to discover their ability to Relax a muscle, to become more CONSCIOUS of that process.

... This is Participatory Medicine, NOT spectator medicine. The Client consciously participates in the process, they are NOT just passive recipients.

To Participate, they, in great part, focus some of their ATTENTION on their EDGEs!

WHAT is The Edge? ... It is the Level of Sensation, the Level of Intensity, the Level of Pain, Fear or Resistance the Client is Experiencing at any moment in the Therapy session.

The Edge is about working with the range of sensations the Client feels as we work with them. The idea is to make sure the Client is experiencing enough intensity of sensation to stay focused on the therapeutic process. But it should NOT be too intense, not so much that they are resisting the sensations.

They should be INVITING the sensations, NOT Fighting the sensations.

To that end, the Client is given three "concepts," or words. Their words are:

1.) LESS: meaning Too Much Sensation, such as if they are feeling pain or fear or other forms of resistance; OR

2.) DEEPER: Not Intense Enough, such that they are losing focus or interest; OR

3.) EDGE: Is JUST RIGHT.

When a Client is On The Edge, the level of sensation is JUST RIGHT.

The main "job" of the Client throughout the session is to keep their Therapist informed as to what they are feeling, by Saying LESS, DEEPER, or EDGE. Again, Less means it's Too Deep, Deeper means it's Not Deep Enough, and EDGE means it is Just Right.

This is very subjective, and changes all the time.

And HERE is the REAL Difference from the Therapist's point-of-view:

Rather than focus on treating or manipulating the muscles and/or fascia, OUR FOCUS is on using manual contact with ( or conscious stretching [yoga] of... ) the skin, muscles & fascia ( the "technique" ) to "talk to" or "communicate with" the Client's CNS, Brain & MIND. We "talk" to their Nervous System & Psychology.

• CNS = Central Nervous System
• Psychology = Study of the human mind and functions, especially those affecting behavior.

We Focus on the Body–MIND, not just the Body.

WHAT Do I Mean?

FIRST: It is important to note that MOST accumulated tension & stress — often resulting in C.E.M.&.N.T. — in the human bodymind is from the body attempting to protect, stabilize, compensate, reinforce, and/or coordinate actions of the BodyMind by contractions of muscle cells, delivering their action potential thru the fascial sheaths to the bones & joints, against challenges or intrusions from Life Itself. Much or most of this is initiated & coordinated by the Brain.

These contractions often become habitual and hard to turn OFF.

Or they become Trauma-based, and even harder to turn OFF.

SECOND: The CNS & Brain, and OFTEN the Mind, either cause much of the trouble in the physical body, or are at least in a position, with enough psycho-physical focus, to influence what's going on ( or not ) in their BodyMind.

And HERE is the MAGIC ...

As we use the Manual, EDGE-TOUCH Hands-On Technique or EDGE-Based Yoga Postures to send positive, non-intrusive sensory signals to the Client's CNS & Brain, they are stimulated to respond by RESETTING their excess brain & neural activity and REDUCING motor nerve output to the muscle cells. THIS is what produces the Big Changes — the Deep, Radical RELAXATION — We and OUR Clients are looking for.

Our Primary Focus is on supporting the CNS & Brain to perform a neuro-musculo-fascial RESET producing Deep, Radical, Relaxation and therefore Reducing C.E.M.&.N.T. 

Ideally, the Client only has to Focus on their Attention on their Sensations & their Breath, and Communicate when the pressure "loses their Edge." The nervous system does the rest spontaneously without much or any willpower. The Client does not even HAVE to focus. They can even fall asleep! It will probably NOT work AS well, but the bodymind WILL respond to the manual pressure IF the pressure is not Too Deep, Too Fast, or Too Intrusive.

Yet the more Mindful Focus the Client applies to what they are feeling in their BodyMInd, the more effective the therapy can be.

This Method is very slow, steady manual pressure on the soft tissues, with very minimal lateral movement. It is almost all sinking in or backing out, following the Client's Edges, waiting till each area has substantial relaxation before moving to another "spot" on the muscle, or another muscle all together. But if the Client Communicates that the sensation gets too intense, we gradually and slightly back out, giving the Client some "breathing room." But we intend to keep (literally) In-Touch with The Edge as much as possible.

The Client should NOT be "tolerating" what they are experiencing or what we are doing. That only reinforces resistance. (Even if you get a short term relaxation of the tissue, it tends to come back later on if they "released" while in resistance mode. Sometimes its even stronger!)

We invest as much TIME as necessary to get a substantial relaxation of the soft tissue. We do NOT try to "hurry up" the relaxation. And usually, if the muscle is NOT releasing, I apply LESS pressure, NOT more pressure.

• This is One Reason that for many years, almost ALL of my Therapy Sessions were three or more hours long. The Clients coming to me had relatively extreme, complex situations, and were highly motivated to get their soft tissue issues handled sooner rather than later. But not everyone needs that much time.
• Very often, even five or ten minutes of using the DSL Method produces Great Results.

How much pressure we use in any moment is often a response to communication from our Client about their current, in-the-moment EDGES ... meaning, whether we are Too Deep, Not Deep Enough, or Just Right (which means precisely ON The Edge). ...

The Parasympathetic Nerve System: Self-Healing Processes

We use NO "cross fiber" or "twanging" of muscle fibers (except to help the Client to mildly, gently, & briefly experience the texture of their muscles). NO "slide & glide" or rubbing of the tissues. We go only as deep as our Client is comfortably ready for. This is NOT about what they can "tolerate." If they are "tolerating" the sensation, then we are already too deep into the tissues.

We want them to INVITE, Not Fight, the Sensations.

This is in Great Part about activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System ( PNS ) which activates internal Self-Healing Processes of the bodymind. THAT is our Primary Focus as far as physiological body functions go, to maximize PNS effects.

DSL believes the Parasympathetic Nerve System is the PRIMARY mechanism causing much or most "alternative" or "wholistic" healing to work. It is by stimulating the self-contained, internal, Self-Healing Processes of the BodyMInd that it begins healing & regenerating itself.

The PNS is best stimulated by Weak to Moderate stimulation & sensation. ...

When applying manual pressure or stretch to a muscle, strong sensations tend to DECREASE parasympathetic function while ACTIVATING sympathetic function which also REDUCES Self-Healing processes in the body. VERY strong sensations tend to shut the PNS DOWN, moving the Client into a Sympathetic, Emergency state. That DEFEATS much of the therapeutic, self-healing process.

This is why we do NOT go "deep into the tissues" until the Client has relaxed enough that there is NO PAIN associated with going that deep. This does NOT usually take very long at all. Yet when it does, it is well worth applying the patience necessary to wait.

Sometimes we use very light pressure for the whole session at the level of the skin, sometimes we are all the way down to the bone, yet most often somewhere in between. We constantly adjust pressure and depth based on various factors. And usually, it is constantly changing, depending on feedback from the Client. And we don't want to "do Deep Tissue." We want to find & know "WHICH Tissue," which layer of skin or musculo-fascia is most in need of attention at that moment.

As far as "fascial release" goes, and because they are so intertwined, we treat the deep fascia and muscle cells as an integrated, synergistic system, NOT as separate tissues. They Relax & Release in Unison. (See more on fascia below under Myth-Conceptions.)

NOTE on Preserving the Therapist's Body ...

The DSL Edge-Touch Tension Release Technique is MUCH Less Stressful on the muscles, fascia, & joints of the Therapist's own body! It is far easier to maintain better posture and body mechanics when working this way. Therapists have far less tendency to "burn out," and have far better tools of Self-Care & Self-Maintenance.

A Primary Feature of DSL's EDGE-TOUCH Technique is the NO Pain, MORE Gain Philosophy. The Client should never be experiencing any increase in their pain levels as a result of the therapy.

Although there ARE a few scenarios where that MIGHT happen, it is usually pretty rare. Knowing how & why that sometimes happens is an important element of DSL Edgework.

This is an Opportunity for the Client to Explore & Work With, including verbalizing and communicating about, their Levels & Qualities of Sensation. Doing so gives them more access to the "information" & "experience" embedded in their psycho-neuro-musculo-fascial systems — their BodyMind. ... Then, they can process it more effectively and efficiently.

This gives them more access to their Emotional Intelligence or Emotional Quotient. And neuroscience and psychology are showing that Emotional Intelligence expands the horizons & competency of many aspects & dimensions of Being a Fully Actualized Human Being.

Pain, Fear & Resistance

• Pain is any sensation warning of an occurring or impending physical danger or injury to the body and /or mind.
• Fear is a feeling and belief that something negative or bad is going to happen in the very near or sometimes distant future.
• Resistance is when the soft tissues will not relax, yet the Client experiences no significant sensation associated with it at all.
• VERY OFTEN, the Client cannot FEEL negative reactions because they are too subtle. OR, they are DE-SENSITIZED. This creates an extra challenge for the Therapist.

In cases of Resistance, it is up to the Therapist to report to the Client there IS resistance (tension) in the muscle, then help the Client FEEL that resistance. If possible, the Therapist will do a small amount of "massage like" movements (such as cross-fiber) to give the Client a feeling of the texture of the muscle. But that is not the treatment. Until the Client can feel the area more fully, the Therapist has to be extra careful here to not trigger any negative reaction. And very often, the reactions are not noticeable to the Client OR the Therapist!

Minimum & Maximum Edges

The more injured or traumatized a Client is, the closer they should be to their Minimum Edges of Sensation. That is the least amount of sensation & manual pressure or stretch as possible. Very Healthy people can work closer to their Maximum Edges of Sensation. Most people need to be somewhere in between, which is a very subjective thing. Playing One's Internal Edges is a very in-the-moment, meditative experience that is constantly in flux.

Ideally, this is facilitated by close communication between the Client & Therapist. The Client keeps the Therapist informed about their levels of sensation, whether Too Deep, Not Deep Enough, or "Just Right," meaning Right ON or within Their Edges. — That's the Goldilocks Principle. (Although I don't know if the Goldilocks Story is known to younger generations now?!?!)

The Client is also asked to report unusual or unexpected sensations and impressions, giving the Therapist more information to go on, just in case some new factor arises. And of course, if the Therapist is doing something that feels really good or really right, the Client reports that too.

And Things Change, sometimes quickly, sometimes a LOT! ... Very Often "The Edge" today is GONE tomorrow, or it can change location.

There is one SMALL Exception to the NO Pain Principle in certain cases of neurological pain: In some cases, if we can elevate the Client's nerve pain sensation levels just SLIGHTLY, and hold it there for short periods of time while they focus on their breathing and the sensations, this allows the Homeopathic, Neurological, Self-Healing Responses of the Client's BodyMind to PERCEIVE, PROCESS, & REDUCE the neural irritation they're feeling. ...

It works especially well for irritation of the Superficial Fascia, the deepest layer of the skin (which is NOT very deep at all!) I call it Neuro-Fascial Release. ... It's worked almost every time I tried it.

Myo-Structural DE-Compression & Postural Balancing

In Myo-Structural Balancing (for short), our Primary Objective is to figure out which are the most "locked short" & over-shortened muscles, or the Primary Contractors. These muscles usually have the most amount of NERVE TONUS keeping them contracted or "tight." They are also most likely to be causing the most problems, such as pulling us DOWN and OVER, collapsing us into the field of gravity.

One of our "Jobs" is to help people discover that Gravity is NOT the Enemy. ...

It is how WE RELATE to Gravity that is the REAL Problem.

We Can Learn to RELEASE the Natural Forces Built In at Birth!

The over-lengthened muscles, or the Secondary Contractors, are ALSO tight, sometimes TIGHTER than the Primary Contractors, because they are often working harder to keep the body from collapsing into gravity! They are stabilizing us against the downward pull of gravity and our very own locked-short muscles!

In the Above Illustration, the muscles on the Client's Right (your left in GRAY) are the Primary Contractors, the over-short muscles. The muscles on the Client's Left (your right in RED) are the Secondary Contractors.

Our job is to use our Tension Release Techniques to facilitate the sensory recovery, the Relaxation & Lengthening of those musculo-fascial units. Neurologically, this is done by reduction of NERVE TONUS flowing to the over-shortened muscles from the CNS & Brain.

Strength Training versus Relaxation UN-Training (DE-Conditioning) ...

• An Important Distinction made by Taber's Medical Dictionary is the difference between Muscle TONE & Muscle TONUS.
• Muscle TONE means (primarily) a Healthy State of the muscle.
• Muscle TONUS is (primarily) the Nerve Energy flowing down the motor nerve to the muscle.
• If Muscle TONUS gets too high, the muscle TONE will go DOWN, meaning a REDUCTION in the Healthy State of the muscle.
• Strength-building exercise (conditioning), if taken too far, increases TONUS while decreasing TONE (healthy state).
• This is one reason why Strength Training needs to be Balanced with Relaxation Techniques or DE-Conditioning.

My 2-Year Path to Become a Structural Bodyworker!

The Medical & Physical SCIENCES of DSL EdgeWork are right out of Orthodox Medical Research. Yes, they are very NOT trustworthy when it comes to diagnosing & treating many of the modern "Lifestyle Diseases." Clients very often do NOT respond well AT ALL to drugs, surgery, radiation, and other such invasive, non-natural modalities in so-called "Modern" Medicine.

They don't treat "Tight Muscles" very well, if at all, either! Muscle Relaxers are toxic drugs, and physical therapy VERY often assumes "weak muscles" are the problem, so they focus too much on strength training which tends to BUILD tension, not reduce it.

Yet Thankfully, increasing numbers of Orthodox Medical Doctors and Physical Therapists are now Seeing The Light, and getting on board with more Whole Health or Alternative approaches to various modalities of Medicine & Therapy.

Their studies, however, of human anatomy, kinesiology, physiology & neurology of how the Human BodyMind & Structure is constructed, functions, & operates, is Very Impressive. We can gain a lot of VERY useful knowledge from studying certain aspects of their sciences.

Ironically, it is the part of their sciences they ignore, or rather don't look at closely the way WE do, giving us the better insights providing us Superior Evaluation & Treatment Abilities for neuro-musculo-fascial units. And as I've been saying for a few years now ...

Knowing HOW It Works, Tells You HOW To Work It!

It is in Great Part Learning How to SEE & THINK Structurally!

As Joel Kramer, my Primary Yoga Teacher and a Great Psycho-Philosopher often said, the Answer to most Problems is CONTAINED WITHIN the Problem! You just have to know Where & HOW to LOOK!

That, BTW, is an aspect of Meditative Awareness, where you just look at "What Is" with a quiet, yet actively open & receptive mind, rather than having a "busy" mind trying to "figure it out." A Passive Mind doesn't usually do it, either. ... If you just look with clear eyes & a quiet mind, the answer will very often come OUT TO YOU. ... Because it is in there anyway.

As My Dad used to say about Structural Ironworking, the STEEL will TELL you what it NEEDS! The STEEL will "talk" to you, just NOT in YOUR language!

• (Yes, us iron-workers worked with steel, which was made with iron ore!)

And since most of the problems WE as therapists deal with have to do with the Musculo-Skeletal, Neuro-Muscular, & Myo-Fascial STRUCTURES of the BodyMind, we of course have to look deeply into the Structure of said BodyMind.

That's an area my DAD (John A. Lynn) was very helpful to me in. From an early age (13 years old), he took me out to the steel construction job sites with him, where, among other things, I learned how to WORK!

And I Learned HOW to See & Think Structurally!

He raised me up to be a Foreman, so as a Structural Steel Ironworker, he taught me how to "plumb up" the Steel Buildings to make them Stand UP Straight & NOT fall down! In those buildings, there were vertical columns & horizontal beams that were somewhat similar to the bones of the human body. ...

We also had VERY strong but somewhat flexible "plumb cables" we used to pull the steel buildings "straight & square" till it was all bolted & welded up and very rigid & stable. Those cables were very similar to the muscles, fascia & tendons of the body, as well.

SO ... I learned how to be a Structural Steel Ironworker, in part "plumbing up" buildings for a living. Later, after a few years as a Yoga Teacher, I became a Bodyworker, then I got into Structural Bodywork. I believe working the steel earlier in my life put me way ahead in being able to "plumb up" a human "stack of bones"!

All that Taught me How to SEE the Physical World in deeper dimensions!

I should mention, though, one of the Big Lessons I learned from Dad when I was only 13 years old. We were at a job sight and Dad got into a "discussion" — a "polite argument" — with a licensed architect and a licensed engineer. They were trying to convince him to do something to a steel structure, and he said it would not work.

It only took ME a short time to see DAD was RIGHT (as usual) and THEY were wrong. THAT DAY I was substantially cured of any potential tendencies to NECESSARILY believe in what people were saying if I thought there was a problem with it, not even if they had official degrees & licenses!

I was early on removed from believing in being a subordinate to the Authoritarian Paradigm.

In DSL Edgework, we Mindfully LEARN to SEE for OURSELVES what's really in front of us, THEN we can SEE & Think Structurally.

This is partly about merging Analytical & Linear Thinking, with Meditative & Sensory Awareness.

When we can Think Structurally, we can do the BIO-Detective Work necessary to figure out the Primary Keys (Primary Muscle Contractors) in our Client's neuro-musculo-fascial, soft tissue issues!

Then we can apply our Tension Release Techniques by way of our Mindful, Meditative, Sensory / Feeling Mind.

DSL Therapy uses, in part, tailored Myo-Structural / Postural "Let-Go Yoga" (Conscious Stretching) targeting a Client's current and specific muscles, helping maximize results from manual therapy. It is, at first, usually kept to no more than 3 Postures until the Client decides they want — and will DO — more.

Yogic Logic & YogasAnalysis* are applications of Structural Anatomy, Functional Kinesiology, & Neuro-Musculo-Fascial Sciences to evaluate a Client's concentrations of C.E.M.&.N.T. and designing the most relevant & targeted yoga postures for their needs.

• YogasAnalysis: a combination of the words Yoga, Asana, & Analysis. (Asana is a more highly refined Sanskrit term for a "mindful yoga posture." "Analysis" means a "detailed examination of the elements or structure of something" and etymologically means "to loosen apart.")
• And one of the things we do in Yoa is "loosen apart" the muscles, fascia & joints of the body, as well as the contents of the mind & emotions.

Most of what I KNOW, at the Experiential Level, about getting a muscle to Relax & Release & Rebalance, I learned by doing 3 to 4 hours of Yoga (Conscious Stretching) a day for extended periods over several years.

Way Back When, when I first became a Yoga Teacher in 1976, I was doing my personal yoga practice about FOUR HOURS per day, most days, with NO Problem. I had given up my opportunity to be an Ironworker Superintendent, and been a Yoga Teacher for several years now. Yoga had originally gotten me OUT of some mid-levels of pain. That was in part WHY I became a yoga teacher! I figured that if it helped ME so much, I could help other people to!

But starting in Spring of 1982, I had (out of "seemingly" NOWHERE), instantly developed a LONG bout of right side, low back & hip pain lasting 3 and a half YEARS. NOW, after the severe pain began, doing yoga almost paralyzed me. I could not figure out what was going on.

I spent a LOT of time leaning up against doorknobs pushing them into my low back! The pain was often debilitating, and I would spend entire days rolling around on the floor trying to relieve it. But doing yoga made it worse.

The pain, with usually NO warning, threw me on the floor a few times a week; the rest of the time it just hurt like hell. I finally concluded it was the result of numerous injuries I had from racing motocross & enduros (dirt bikes over rough terrain) in my early teens. After that, I was a Structural Steel Ironworker (very heavy construction) in my late teens and early twenties, for about eight years (also VERY stressful on the body).

By 1981 (27 years old), I had also become a massage / bodywork practitioner, and had access to some excellent therapists in Chicago who could NOT, in 1982 when the Big Pain hit, figure out how to help me.

But one day, in mid-1985, I was working with a somewhat famous Osteopath in the Chicago area ( the late Dr. Bill Mauer ). He did a full body X-ray on me, and I was able to instantly see what was going wrong. ... I had never been able to do a postural evaluation on myself, because it works best to do it from BEHIND the Client.

Fortunately, in 1982, I took the risk of taking an Intensive Course in Structural Bodywork taught by Daniel Blake (a former Rolfer), where I learned a unique method of postural & structural evaluation that very few people seem to use or even know about. (Even the people who took that SAME program with me could not figure out how to apply the method to MY situation. But I think I understood structure better than they did, in part because of my several years as a Structural Ironworker Foreman.)

What I saw in the X-ray was that all the muscles that HURT were "locked long" (the reactive muscles). But the muscles that were causing the problems were "locked short" (but had little or NO pain).

But because I was mostly stretching the muscles that hurt (locked-long), they were getting even LONGER, throwing me FURTHER Out of Balance, and I was actually making my problems FAR WORSE when I tried to do my yoga postures. I was throwing my muscles FURTHER OUT of balance by stretching the painful, locked-long, over-lengthened muscles.

SO ... I immediately realized I needed to refocus on stretching ONLY the locked-short muscles.

SO ... I Redesigned & Restarted my Yoga Practice to focus ONLY on the locked short muscles (the ones that did NOT hurt much), and leave the locked-long muscles (the ones that DID hurt) alone. ... It was a very A-symmetrical process, which violated some of the "common knowledge" about yoga, where you are "supposed to" work each side equally in a "balanced" fashion.

(The all too common idea in therapy that the locked-long muscles were Too Weak and needed to be "strengthened" made NO SENSE AT ALL to me. Paradoxically, and very often, the locked-long muscles are working MUCH harder than the locked short muscles. Why further stress a muscle that is already FAR too stressed & tense as it is?)

I did this new routine for about 3 HOURS per day, five or six days a week. Because I had been using this Method of Therapy successfully with my Clients for about three years, and I knew enough of the science behind it, I had a LOT of confidence in the process. So I figured it eventually HAD to work for ME. So I persisted.

YES, that took a LOT of patience and FAITH in the process. But having a scientific mind, combined with my already extensive yoga experience, kept me ON TRACK.

Yet it was not until an afternoon in the FOURTH MONTH of doing 3 Hours of yoga almost every day that I had my first Pain-Free Few HOURS! I remember EXACTLY what I was doing when I realized my back was not hurting!

(I was providing manual therapy at the home of one of my Best Clients!) And THAT was THE MOMENT the Method of Therapy I had been semi-intentionally developing for several years was now finally CONFIRMED, and the DSL Method of Bodywork & Yoga Therapy was Officially Born.

It took about a YEAR before I was pain-free much of the time. A few years to be pain-free MOST of the time.

But I must admit, what my body had been through in my teens (dirt bikes and ironworking) had me in Far Worse Condition than MOST of my worst-off Clients, even ones with multiple car accidents!

Fortunately, I had learned my Yoga Lessons quite well, from a man named Joel Kramer, who some people call "The Father Of American Yoga." Not that he was the first American to teach yoga, but he was the first American to integrate physical yoga with a very Western approach to Meditation & Introspection FAR more than what was being taught by Gurus from India at the time.

(The approach to meditation originated from J. Krishnamurti.)

And I knew that attempting to FORCE muscles to Relax & Release was usually a losing proposition, especially in extreme cases. So I had the patience and introspection necessary to allow my severely contracted muscles the time they needed to Let Go & Relax.

There is a LOT more to that Story, and it serves as an important Case Study in learning my Method of Therapy, especially with complex scoliosis, which I had. But we will discuss all that more in-depth in my programs.

CHALLENGING MYTH-CONCEPTIONS ...

For Just ONE EXAMPLE ... 

I've been talking about this issue quite a bit on this web page, because I think it is among the more important things you should know about. Hopefully its giving you an idea of the depth I which we go into things, so you can decide if you want to study and practice at that level.

SO Again ... Do We Treat Muscles? Or Do We Treat Fascia?

Or Do We Treat BOTH as ONE Fully Integrated, Synergistic, Whole System?

A NOTE on the Semi-MYTH-Conceptions About "Muscles" and "Fascia" as if they were significantly different tissues:

Yes, when it comes to studying Structural Anatomy & Physiology, Muscle Cells and Deep Fascia ARE VERY DIFFERENT. But in Actual Living Function, they are NOT SEPARATE.

PLEASE LOOK CLOSELY ... at the two Illustrations Above. ...

On the Left, you'll see a muscle with the Deep Fascia, Epimysium, Perimysium, & Endomysium labeled. ALL 4 layers are "fascial sheaths" with some relatively minor differences. And sometimes ALL of these sheaths or layers are referred to as Deep Fascia, AKA Fascia Profunda (as opposed to the Superficial Fascia, shown in the illustration above on the Right, discussed further below).

This means these "deep" layers of fascia are deeper than the superficial fascia. But much of "deep fascia" is just under the skin, so much of it is not really "deep" at all.

These Deep Fascial Sheaths, among several other important functions, contain & protect muscle cells, as well as deliver the Contractile Force of muscle cells to the bones & joints.

Medical research says MOST fascial sheaths (which converge to become tendons) can lengthen (via elasticity) up to 4% and occasionally, in a few cases, up to 7 to 10% of resting length. This is compared to up to 150% to 200% of resting length for muscle cells. (And muscle cells have very little TRUE elasticity.)

• With a few limited exceptions like the nuchal ligament in the posterior of the cervical (neck) vertebrae, beyond 4% of extensibility (or stretch-ability), most fascial tissue will tend to break down or tear.

Some people wonder how a muscle can relax & lengthen if it is not elastic. That is a VERY important area of science we study closely in the School of Hard Knots.



It is very common today for various therapists, physicians, and researchers to speak or write of Muscles and Fascia as two distinct and different "things." And there is a tendency to assign functions to fascia that are FAR more accurately functions of muscle cells. And there are whole therapy systems based on the idea you can treat or stretch fascia separately from the muscles, as if they are two different AND separate systems.

While it is true they are VERY DIFFERENT anatomically & physiologically, you can SEE they are so intimately intertwined & interdependent as to be nearly useless or non-functional without each other. They are designed to work TOGETHER in harmony. Their very DIFFERENT functions allow them to work TOGETHER, SYNERGISTICALLY, as Critically Important Elements of Movement, Stabilization, Mobilization & Action. And of course, they assist many metabolic functions as well (among other things).

• Here, I am using the word Movement to refer to muscular action that, for example, causes the diaphragm to move the lungs, and the heart to pump blood, both through phases of contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers.
• This is compared to Taking Action, which I'm referring to as something the body does to move around.

Therefore, I prefer to think of and treat muscle cells and fascia as Integrated, Wholistic, Functional UNITS — Unity: united or joined as a whole — rather than as "separate" or independent tissues. ... And when you touch a muscle through the skin, applying even very slight pressure, ALREADY has you into the muscle cells as well as the deep fascia. You are pressing through the skin and superficial fascia, with is, for the most part, extremely thin.

It is my observation & experience that — with VERY limited exceptions (such as the superficial fascia of the skin) — muscle cells & deep fascia can-NOT be effectively treated as truly separate tissues. You can watch videos on the internet with muscle therapy teachers demonstrating a technique while saying they are "treating the fascia." Yet it Is OBVIOUS they are pressing into the muscle cells as well as "treating the fascia."

What's The Big Deal?

A number of VERY IMPORTANT "tissue issues" and strategic problems, critical errors in assessment, often arise from the "modern" conceptions & assumptions about fascia when discussed as being "separate" from muscles.

One problem is because of some people's high focus on fascia, and their ideas about how it works, when they were attempting to straighten a scoliosis, they were often working on the wrong muscles & tissues, on the OPPOSITE side of where they should have been working. And either their Client would NOT straighten up, or the problem would keep coming back, or they would occasionally get worse.

(As I mentioned way above, I did a presentation of my work to some Rolfers once, using scoliosis as the subject of my talk, and they almost instantly saw that what I was saying made a LOT of sense. Some of them changed their assessment & treatment methods as a result.)

The Problems arise in great part because some people want to assign characteristics of muscle cells to fascia, because fascia has become the New Holy Grail or a FAD of Therapy.

Now, it IS true there IS a BIG difference between "Superficial Fascia" (the deepest layer of our very thin skin, shown in the right-hand illustration above) and the "Deep Fascia" (the various layers of more-or-less tubular sheaths containing the muscle cells).

I explained the treatment of "Superficial Fascia" somewhat in a few sections above. In my eCourses and eBooks, I give significant attention to knowing the nature of those differences AND harmonies for effective and accurate evaluation & treatment. But these are seldom, if EVER, discussed by those who claim to "treat the fascia."

THEREFORE, FYI ... when I speak of "Muscles" in these pages, I am referring to the entire Musculo-Fascial Unit as a Whole, Synergistic, Unified System. ...

HOWEVER, if I'm talking about muscle cells separately from fascia, I use the term "muscle cells." ... If I'm referring to superficial fascia or deep fascia (fascial sheaths), I will use those terms specifically as well.

This is a VERY IMPORTANT topic. It helps you learn to "Think Structurally" and make your Evaluation Skills FAR More Precise. I have an eBook on this website ( CLICK the button right here below: "Facts & Fallacies on Fascia" ) explaining, in great detail with illustrations, most of the above described concepts of deep fascial sheaths, superficial fascia, and muscle cells.