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Mike Asmar, ACE- CPT, NASM- PES, JMMAI, Pain Strategist

My name is Mike Asmar, a human being. 

My interest in manual medicine is rooted in life experiences. The significance of re-structuring connective tissues has a very personal and practical application to my well-being. Through a juxtaposition of traumatic injury and professional experience in the medical field, I’ve come to appreciate the mechanisms behind elite level bodywork.  

As we stand in the year 2019, the evolution of medicine brings multi-disciplinary approaches to the treatment of pain and the restoration of function. In the world of orthopedic medicine, surgeons re-attach cartilage and ligaments, fuse discs, and trim degenerated tissues. Physical therapists program exercises to restore movement patterns. Chiropractors adjust the alignment of bones. Each specialist functions within their compartmentalized field, and serves a specific function in the healthcare system. 

Manual soft tissue intervention doesn’t generate high profit margins for the medical system. From a revenue perspective, large corporate hospital executives are most concerned with maximizing expensive procedures and prescriptions. These billing codes generate the largest profit for the least amount of time and energy. When the natural course of business practice and revenue generation have a tendency to control the options of medical professionals, patients ultimately bear the costs, both financially, and with their quality of care. 

When applied correctly by a well-trained practitioner, manual soft tissue work is ironically of tremendous value to the PATIENTS themselves. Correctly applied bodywork will often attack the primary, underlying myofascial causes of musculoskeletal pain. This is in many cases the missing link in our system, and can connect the dots for patients who are struggling to see improvement. 

Through my experience as an administrator in the medical industry, I have seen specialists across the board with their hands tied. These are people who entered the field of medicine with a love for science and a desire to help human beings. The business of healthcare seems to inhibit the practice of healthcare, limiting providers in their ability to maximize patient outcomes. 

The insurance reimbursement model is archaic in comparison to our restorative capabilities. In fact, there are physical therapists right here in North Carolina who have left the insurance reimbursement system entirely. A growing number of cash based physical therapy practices are opening up their doors around the country. Many healthcare providers are seeing more efficient treatment, better patient outcomes, and higher quality interactions when they leave the shackles of insurance. 

After coming to this realization, I was disenfranchised in my dreams of completing physical therapy school. As a fitness professional, I see myself on a career path to help people become the strongest version of themselves through movement and manual intervention. With a desire to help others escape chronic pain syndromes, I’m very concerned with bringing positive outcomes to patients. 

Part of what drew me to the Institute for Integral Neuro-Fasciology is their outstanding level of competency within the domain of manual soft tissue intervention. Aaron’s pedigree of bodywork training goes above and beyond what you will find in a physical therapist or chiropractor. I first met Aaron in the aftermath of four major orthopedic surgeries, injuries that sidelined me from my career as a mixed martial artist. His treatment resulted in measurable and permanent improvements in my movement capabilities and muscular recruitment patterns. This has and continues to help me make significant leaps and bounds in my rehabilitation. Aaron’s experience with soft tissue intervention is a rare and outlying skill set, one that he has independently sought out by studying at the most respected bodywork establishments in the country. I personally see the future of orthopedic medicine moving further in this direction, whether insurance picks it up or not. 

People need something that works, something that restores movement and brings value. As a fitness professional with the intent to pursue licensure and perform bodywork, someone like Aaron is a tremendous mentor in helping me to bring value to others. I applied for an Apprenticeship at the Institute in order to help people escape chronic pain conditions. I’ve decided that for me personally, physical therapy school is not the best trajectory to make me effective in helping as many people as I can. 

Open minded places like the Institute for Integral Neuro-Fasciology are already deeply engaged in the kind of transformative work that fuels my passion for the field. Manual bodywork is becoming increasingly respected for a reason. As society’s movement literacy improves, as professional athletes turn more and more toward innovative alternative medicines, our culture is realizing a groundbreaking shift in the way we approach human movement. The re-structuring of connective tissue is a necessary component in fully recovering from traumatic injury.  

I’m very happy with my choice to forego physical therapy school, because ultimately value is value. People need to move freely and without pain. It’s truly my honor to study under and move forward with The Institute. I’ve experienced firsthand the life changing capacity of elite level bodywork, and I want to share it with others in need. I look forward to working with the team, and restoring the function of those in pain.

that hope finally came at age 22 when i met aaron marco and alessandra fabrello at the institute for integral neuro-fasciology. with their help, i began putting the pieces together to solve the puzzle of just what had been plaguing me my entire life. i discovered i was an individual suffering from food intolerances. i had been constantly stuffing myself with foods that inflamed my brain and gi tract, and in turn wrecked havoc on my entire body and nervous system. something as simple as eating turned every aspect of my life into misery. gluten and dairy were the main culprits. they were why i was always bloated, easily gained weight, never felt full or satisfied, and always felt “bad”. i remember my mother asking me when i was a teenager why i constantly complained of “feeling bad”. i didn’t have an answer for her. i told her that it wasn’t any one place in my body but rather it was just a feeling. well, with this huge discovery in my life, i finally had the answer i had been so desperately searching for.

in september 2013, i very gradually began phasing gluten out of my life and immediately noticed results. i wasn’t as bloated and my stomach wasn’t in a constant state of disarray. and, with these results, in january 2014, i got brave enough to cut out dairy. at this point what did i have to lose? the results were immediate and i felt even better. with aaron and alessandra’s direction and supportive integral design, and the research that was coming out about the link between grains and brain inflammation and soy and endocrine disruption, i cut them out of my diet. and, then came refined sugars. without any hesitancy, i can now say i feel better than i have in my entire life. my diet has drastically changed within the last few months. i have switched from the standard american diet (sad) full of carbohydrates and low fat foods to one of wholesome foods including grass-fed meats, healthy vegetables, some fruit, low glycemic index sugars especially low in fructose, to a lifestyle that incorporates integral nutrition: free from gluten, grains, dairy, soy, and refined sugars.

so what are the changes i have noticed so far? because of integral neuro-fasciology, inf, and the help i have received, i am now in better physical shape and the inflammation that once wracked my body is disappearing. a result of my nutritional choices is that i've lost close to 40 lb in only five months without even trying. my focus was on moving toward well-being. i'm making nutritional choices based upon inf and not following any diet. i am sleeping better and waking up easier. my brain now wakes up before my body! my cravings for junk food are gone, and my emotional eating is now under control. my body also handles physical and emotional stress better than it ever has. with an improved nervous system, i am now able to control my emotions better. where they once would have stopped me dead in my tracks and wouldn’t allow me to function, i now have control because of my nutritional changes and because of the inf physical exercises and body movement, which further supports optimal function. the mental changes i have seen are sharper and clearer thinking. not only am i running around full of ideas, i also have the mental energy to act upon them and see them through. socially, i have more personal confidence than ever before. i have been able to face social fears, such as public speaking, that i never thought possible. i took speaking courses in college, but nothing helped until i had a nervous system up and running at functional level, and currently moving ever closer to optimum functioning level, that allowed me to control the fear and handle the stress. i am also learning to speak up and not be afraid to share my ideas. perhaps the biggest change of all is finding confidence and discovering a sense of comfort in who i am, which in turn allows me more and more to be myself without fear of judgement from others. the real me has finally been set free and i'm finding that i'm a me that has great ability and endless potential. moving closer and closer to functioning at optimum potential is liberating.

it is not easy to implement these changes. it takes a lot of hard work, willpower, and dedication. it is in every sense of the word, a complete lifestyle change, but with the support, guidance and custom individualized consulting of those at the institute for integral neuro-fasciology there is a much smoother transition. this lifestyle is not society’s common approach to making yourself better. it is rather about letting go of the beliefs that have been ingrained in your head about certain so-called “healthy” foods and ways of life, and trying something new and against conventional devices. but, i can promise you, the changes you will see and the improvements you will feel, make every single bit of it worth it. inf is continuing to help me accomplish life goals that i once only dreamed were possible, but are now becoming my happy and energized reality. thank you inf.

 

when all the common approaches aren’t working, it’s time to try something new.

alessandra fabrello: the decisions and the choices that we make in life reflect who we are as individuals and where we are on the spectrum of life's journey. here we find an individual who has bucked the trend to live life based upon the myth of self-flagellation as being an admirable quality in the definition of an untrue code of self-ethics. rather, here we find amidst the masses a young woman who is not only both intelligent and inspirational but a young woman who is set a part from the masses and set on the invigorating and rewarding journey to achieve individual optimum functioning potential. the path that lies ahead is marked by the personal challenges that follows with the self-discipline much needed with lifestyle change but it too is riddled with the emotional disturbance that comes from the intense pressure of those with preconceived and narrow-minded perceptions who subsequently offer nothing but resistance to what challenges their belief system. when rather support and encouragement is what is needed. therefore, coupled with the difficulties of one's own personal challenges one has to navigate the fiery balls launched at one's courage from those who inhabit the world within which we exist. and, it is only the strength that comes with self-reliance, a quality that is empowering, that forge ahead and not cave to the battle that has always existed: to capitulate to the pre-rational masses. so, to you, young lady, dispel the myths, unveil the truth and continue to stand unconflicted against resistance and make the intelligent and informed decisions that you have. you are applauded.