Moving the Body & Healing the Mind

Kerri-Anne Pratt stands outside her home studio in Yarragon and greets me with kind eyes and a welcoming smile.

She has invited me to try a relatively new holistic practice called fascial manoeuvres, deriver in America by Human Garage founder Gary Lineham.  

I am no stranger to stepping out of my comfort zone and pushing my body to new limits. I have run, walked, swam, been an active gym member and a Pilates enthusiast. I have tried yoga and body balance and breathwork and a wealth of other health practices.

But this is different. It is a holistic approach, combining fascial manoeuvres and mindful practices to help people reach their optimal physical and mental well-bring.

It is something Kerri-Anne, a schoolteacher and mother of six,  is passionate about.

Within minutes of arriving, I’m sitting with Kerri-Anne on a couch in her studio and she is an open book, which is as warm and comforting as a nice cuppa tea.

She tells me about her trials and triumphs and how the twists and turns in her life have led her to become the only Human Garage Fascial Manoeuvres Coach in Victoria- and one of only four in Australia.  

Tragedy first struck Kerri-Anne when she was just a child. At three-year-old, she was run over by a tractor. Since then, she has endured other hardships including sexual trauma and thirty years of addiction.

‘I was addicted to everything- smoking, drinking, marijuana, even ice,’ Kerri admits. ‘If I stopped one thing, I was on to the next. I was functional, so it was very much a  hidden addiction, but I struggled with it every day.’

Kerri had tried everything ‘every traditional and wacky’ way to quit her addictions, but nothing worked. That is, until she discovered fascial manoeuvres in an Instagram post by Human Garage in 2023.

The aim of the post was to inspire people to heal themselves.  She decided to give it a try, and through the techniques and movements, found that she was able to release years of built-up trauma and stress.

‘It’s not the mind that stores trauma, it’s the body. The mind just tells us the trauma is there,’ she says. ‘The techniques flood your body with natural hormones, leaving you high on endorphins that there is no more reason to chase a high anywhere else.’

Kerri-Anne has been clean of her addictions ever since.

But she explained to me that fascial manoeuvres aren’t something you can do once and expect permanent changes, it’s something you must continue and incorporate into your daily life.

‘What happens is that when we deal with one trauma, we peel one layer off- like an onion- but then expose another layer that we have to deal with,’ she says.

 ‘I use the techniques before I go running, or with my children when everything gets to be a bit much,’ she says. ‘I can safely say that I am in the best spot I have ever been in in this lifetime.’

Once we are finished our discussion, Kerri-Anne takes me through different movements. She holds my arms while I squat, lunge and twist. She encourages me to close my eyes and focus on my breathing. She lies me down and presses firmly on my stomach. At one point she pops on her gloves and places her fingers in my mouth, pressing on my jaw.

Every single movement has a purpose. It’s not painful, but at times it feels awkward or mentally challenging. But Kerri-Anne is calm, reassuring, and explains that it’s okay to feel whatever it is I feel, even if I want to cry. She’s had many clients shed tears in her studio from releasing years of distress or trauma.

Whilst I don’t get emotional, I do feel…different. I have a soft tingling in my limbs, lightness in my feet, a sense of free-flowing mobility.

Later that evening, and early the next morning, I feel a bit tender in some of my muscles. Nothing Kerri-Anne and I did over the hour session was strenuous, but I do read that it’s a common belief that some of the techniques used could help release muscle tension, reduce stiffness, release stored toxins, and waste products. Symptoms such as soreness, bruising, headaches, dizziness and fatigue could therefore all be expected.

Kerri-Anne had told me to contact her following the session with any questions or issues, but the soreness goes away quite quickly, and I am not the least bit concerned.

Instead, I am thrilled that I tried something new, pushed myself out of my comfort zone and in doing so, have rid my body of several toxins and relieved a lot of my daily stress.

Kerri-Anne hosts workshops in Gippsland, Melbourne and New South Wales. To learn more, follow her on Instagram @fascialfusion or visit her website www.fascialfusion.com