When most people hear the words "myofascial release" they picture a therapist digging an elbow into a trigger point, or rolling hard across a foam roller until something hurts enough to be satisfying. That is not what this is. What I have spent two decades refining is closer to the opposite of that, and it produces better results for the people I work with, particularly those with chronic back pain, sciatica, and nervous system sensitivity.

The Backhealer approach to gentle touch starts with a different understanding of why the body holds tension in the first place. Once you understand that, the way you touch and release that tension changes completely.

The core principle

Fascia and muscle held in protective tension by the nervous system will resist force. Apply pressure hard enough and fast enough, and the tissue braces against it. Apply pressure slowly, with warmth and patience, and the nervous system reads it as safe. When the nervous system relaxes its guard, the tissue releases. That is the whole method.

Why the body holds tension

The tension most people carry in their back, chest, and ribs is not random. It is organised. The nervous system holds the body in patterns of protection that made sense at some point, usually during an injury, a period of high stress, or a sustained period of pain. These patterns become habitual long after the original cause has resolved.

Think of it as the body's version of muscle memory, but running in the wrong direction. The muscles and fascia have learned to brace. The diaphragm pulls tight. The rib cage compresses. The upper back rounds forward as the chest closes. These are not mechanical failures. They are protective responses that have overstayed their welcome.

This matters enormously for how you approach release. If you try to force your way through protective tension, the nervous system reads that force as a new threat and increases protective tone. You end up in a cycle of pressing harder to overcome resistance that you are simultaneously making worse. Many people know this cycle well without having a name for it.

What I have seen over 20 years

The people who make the most lasting progress with chronic back pain are almost never the ones who push hardest. They are the ones who learn to move slowly into resistance, wait for the nervous system to register safety, and let the release happen rather than forcing it. Patience, in this work, is a clinical tool.

Where to focus: the three key areas

In the Backhealer method the gentle touch practice focuses on three areas that consistently drive chronic back pain and tension when they are held and restricted. These are not the areas most people would instinctively target, which is part of why this approach produces results that more conventional approaches miss.

The chest and anterior ribs

The pectorals and the fascia across the front of the chest are among the most chronically shortened structures in people who sit, who round forward under stress, or who have learned to breathe high in the chest. When the front body shortens, it pulls the upper back into flexion and compresses the thoracic spine. Releasing the front creates room that no amount of upper back stretching can produce on its own.

The posterior ribs and thoracic spine

The back ribs are often the most restricted and least touched area of the whole body. Most people have never applied deliberate, slow pressure here. When this area releases, breathing mechanics improve immediately. The diaphragm finds more room to descend. The lumbar spine decompresses as the thoracic load shifts. Readers consistently describe this as one of the most surprising releases they have experienced.

The suboccipitals and base of skull

The muscles at the base of the skull have direct neurological connections to the spinal cord and play a significant role in the body's threat assessment. Chronic tension here keeps the entire system on alert. A slow, patient release using the fingertips at the base of the skull is one of the most direct ways to shift the nervous system toward a parasympathetic state, which in turn softens tension throughout the back.

The lower thoracic and rib angles

The junction where the lower ribs meet the spine is a chronic compression point for people with back pain. The quadratus lumborum and the lower thoracic erectors hold extraordinary amounts of accumulated tension here. Slow ball work at the rib angles, applied with patience, produces releases that often directly reduce the referred pain that people experience in the lower back and hip.

What you need

The Backhealer purple ball

The purple ball from the Backhealer Acupressure Ball and Yoga Strap Set is the right tool for this work. Its volume is what matters: large enough to spread pressure across the chest and ribs evenly when used against a wall or door frame, and across the back ribs when used on the floor or a firm bed. Smaller or firmer balls concentrate pressure into too small a point and cause the tissue to brace rather than release.

A wall, door frame, and floor or bed

No other equipment is needed. The chest and front rib cage releases are done standing or leaning against a wall or door frame, using body weight to control the pressure. The posterior rib and back releases are done lying on the floor or a firm bed, with gravity doing the work. This means the full sequence can be done anywhere.

The Sunday morning practice

The gentle touch component of the Self Care Sunday reset is a ten to fifteen minute sequence that works through all three key areas in order. It is done on the floor, requires no equipment beyond a soft ball, and can be completed in the space beside a bed. The sequence is the same each week, which matters: the nervous system responds to familiarity as a safety signal, and a consistent practice produces cumulative results that a sporadic one cannot.

Part one: posterior rib release on the floor or bed (four minutes)

How to do it
  • 1
    Lie on your back on the floor or a firm bed. Place the Backhealer purple ball beside your spine, not on it, at roughly mid-back level. The ball should sit between the spine and the shoulder blade on one side.
  • 2
    Allow your body weight to settle onto the ball slowly. Do not press down. Let gravity do the work while you breathe slowly through the nose.
  • 3
    Wait. The first thirty seconds will feel like nothing is happening. After forty to sixty seconds the tissue will begin to soften. You may feel a slow spreading warmth. This is the release beginning. Do not move yet.
  • 4
    After ninety seconds to two minutes, shift the ball slightly to a new position, an inch or two in any direction, and repeat. Work slowly up and down alongside the thoracic spine on one side, then move to the other.
  • 5
    Comfort is the guide throughout. A dull ache or spreading pressure that gradually softens is normal and productive. If pain sharpens or radiates, move off that position immediately.

Part two: chest and front rib cage release on the wall or door frame (four minutes)

How to do it
  • 1
    Stand facing a wall or in a door frame. Place the purple ball between your chest and the wall, or between the front of your ribs and the door frame edge. The ball can rest against the pectoral area on one side, the upper ribs, or the lower ribs depending on where you want to work.
  • 2
    Lean gently into the wall or frame, allowing your own body weight to create the pressure rather than pressing with your arms. Start with very light contact and let the pressure increase slowly as the tissue softens and accepts it.
  • 3
    The door frame edge is particularly useful for the front rib cage as it allows specific contact along the rib lines. Work along the ribs from the sternum outward, holding each position for sixty to ninety seconds before moving.
  • 4
    Breathe slowly throughout. On each exhale notice whether the chest or ribs soften fractionally into the pressure. You are not pushing. You are waiting for the release to come to you.
  • 5
    Work both sides. The dominant side often holds more tension. Spend extra time there without forcing.

Part three: suboccipital release (three minutes)

How to do it
  • 1
    Interlace your fingers and place them behind your skull, at the base where the skull meets the neck. Your fingertips should be resting in the soft groove between the skull and the first cervical vertebra.
  • 2
    Allow the full weight of your head to rest in your hands. Do not lift. Just receive the weight and let it create gentle upward traction at the base of the skull.
  • 3
    Breathe slowly. After a minute or two you may notice a softening of the muscles under your fingers, a slight sensation of the skull lifting fractionally away from the neck, and often a deep sense of relaxation through the whole back and jaw.
  • 4
    Stay for two to three minutes. This is the most nervous system-directed part of the sequence and it rewards patience more than any other section.

Why this sequence works where others do not

The sequence works in a specific order for a reason. The posterior rib release begins to open the thoracic spine and create room for the breath. The anterior chest release addresses the front body shortening that has been pulling the spine forward. The suboccipital release completes the loop by shifting the nervous system into a parasympathetic state, which allows everything that has been released physically to stay released neurologically.

Done in isolation, each of these would produce a temporary improvement. Done as a sequence, each builds on the last and the cumulative effect is significantly greater than the sum of the parts. This is why the order matters and why I recommend keeping it consistent week to week.

On consistency

One session of this sequence will produce noticeable relief. Ten sessions will begin to change the resting tension pattern. Six months of weekly practice, combined with the breathing and food components of the Sunday reset, will produce changes in how the body holds itself that most people with chronic back pain have never experienced before. The method is not dramatic. It is consistent. That is its strength.

A note on pain during the practice

There is a difference between productive discomfort and pain that signals a problem. Productive discomfort during myofascial work feels like a dull ache, a sense of sustained pressure, a spreading warmth, or an almost involuntary sigh of release. It is not pleasant exactly, but it is tolerable and it tends to soften as you stay with it.

Pain that sharpens as you stay with a position, that radiates down an arm or leg, that causes muscle spasm, or that feels acutely localised and stabbing is telling you to move off. The Backhealer principle applies here as everywhere else: comfort is the guide. The body knows what it needs and it will tell you if you listen.

If you have a recent injury, a disc herniation that is currently symptomatic, or any condition that has been assessed as requiring medical management, speak with your healthcare provider before beginning this practice. The gentle touch component of Self Care Sunday is designed for people with chronic tension and habitual protective patterns, not for acute injury management.

Frequently asked questions

Does the ball need to be a specific type?
Yes, and it matters more than most people expect. For the chest and rib cage work in this sequence, the purple ball from the Backhealer Acupressure Ball and Yoga Strap Set is what we use. Its size and volume distribute pressure across the ribs in a way that smaller or firmer balls cannot. A lacrosse ball or tennis ball concentrates pressure into too small a point, which causes the tissue to brace rather than release. The right ball is the one the tissue can melt into.
I can feel a lot of knots and tightness. Should I work on those specifically?
In the Backhealer approach, we do not chase trigger points aggressively. What feels like a knot is often a region of fascial thickening that has built up around a chronically guarded area. Slow sustained pressure nearby rather than directly on the most sensitive spot is more effective and less likely to produce a protective response. Work around the periphery of tight areas and let the release come to the centre.
How long before I notice a real difference?
Most people notice something after the first session, usually a reduction in the background tension they carry through the day and a slightly deeper quality of breath. Meaningful changes in chronic pain patterns typically emerge after four to six weeks of consistent weekly practice. The changes tend to be gradual and cumulative rather than dramatic and sudden, which is what makes them last.
Can I do this more than once a week?
Yes. Daily practice produces results more quickly than weekly, and most people find a short version of the sequence, particularly the posterior rib and suboccipital work, very useful in the evenings before sleep. Sunday is the anchor. More frequent practice accelerates the process.
I have sciatica. Is this safe for me?
The sequence as described here focuses on the upper and mid back, chest, and skull base, which is generally well away from the areas most directly implicated in sciatica. Many people with sciatica find that releasing the thoracic spine and chest reduces the compensatory tension that worsens their symptoms. However, if your sciatica is currently severe or involves significant neurological symptoms, speak with your doctor before starting. Stephen's book Sciatica Secrets covers the specific application of Backhealer principles to sciatica in considerably more depth.
The Backhealer and Self Care Sunday principle

Small actions done consistently are more powerful than big resets done rarely.

Ten minutes of patient, gentle touch, applied to the same areas in the same sequence, every Sunday morning. That is all this is. But over months and years, that consistency produces a body that holds less tension at rest, breathes more freely, and processes pain differently than one that has never received this kind of deliberate, patient care. That is what the Backhealer method has always been about. Not fixing people. Giving them back the ability to care for themselves.