Free the Wings: Manual Neurovascular Release for the Brachial Plexus and Shoulder Region Live Online Webinar Bundle

Thank you for your interest! Registration for this bundle of webinars is now closed. Please email info@anatomytrains.com with any questions. 

This bundle includes both webinar modules in this series at a discount! Bundle only available until Saturday, September 16th at 8:00 PM EDT. 

Individual pricing for Module 1: $125 early bird discount / $150 regular price 

Individual pricing for Module 2: $250 early bird discount / $300 regular price 

Bundle price: $325

Free the Wings: Manual Neurovascular Release for the Brachial Plexus and Shoulder Region Webinar Bundle Series with Kieran Schumaker

Reposition and free the shoulders and liberate the neck

In this exciting, technique-packed webinar series, Kier will explain common upper-body postural patterns and functional limitations from a neurovascular perspective and teach an important set of manual NVR techniques for releasing the neck and shoulders.

Our focus for the first module is working with the brachial plexus. Module 1 includes an introduction to dural release (working with the fibrous wrapper around the central nervous system) as well as an introduction to the use of manual “listening” and “questioning” — assessment methods borrowed from osteopathy.

For the second module, we focus on arteries that pass through the shoulder region. Module 2 techniques will augment your strategies for working with “frozen shoulder,” suboptimal scapular position, and limited range of shoulder movement.

Who is this seminar series for?

In these webinar sessions, Kier presents palpation and treatment skills for trained and licensed manual therapists with various educational backgrounds and professional identities. However, movement teachers who are not manual therapists, with a developed interoceptive awareness and a solid understanding of musculoskeletal and fascial anatomy in the upper thorax and arms, may safely enjoy practicing with a friend or family member.

All of Kier’s webinars offer a subset of the curriculum taught in the NVR certification programs. What Kier teaches in these modules will be mostly new for those who have taken Manual NVR-SI Part 1, and will be mostly a review for anyone who has taken Manual NVR Part 1. (Students in the Manual NVR certification program will learn almost all of these skills within the 20-hour Manual NVR Part 1 and will continue to hone them in Parts 3, 4, and 5 of the Manual NVR certification program.)

For practitioners who have not previously studied Manual NVR with Kier, this six-hour webinar series will be a rich immersion in Kier’s manual approach to structural bodywork. You will benefit from following along with the recordings just as much as from participating live.

Note: If you cannot attend live, these webinars will be recorded and all registrants will receive access to the recordings for 45 days! 

To purchase these webinars individually, click on each title.

Webinar Schedule

Free the Wings, Module 1: Brachial Plexus (2 hrs)

Sunday, September 17, 2023

12:00 – 2:00 PM EDT

Kier will start with palpation of the nerve pathways into your own arms, then lead you through a practice session on a model that will develop your subtle palpation skills and help you free up the nerves that connect the neck to the arms.

By the end of this webinar, you will:

• Understand how to locate and free peripheral nerve restrictions.
• Understand the importance of dural glide.
• Learn to release artery supply to scalenes in preparation for brachial plexus work.
• Practice palpation and release of the median, ulnar, radial, brachial musculocutaneous, intercostobrachial, and axillary nerves with five hand positions in the arms.
• Cultivate your subtle palpation skills.
• Use your interoception to help you guide your treatment.
• Learn a routine or method for practicing your new brachial plexus release skills.

Kier will explain how these foundational skills are THE keys to working strategically and efficiently with the central and peripheral nervous system.

Props: In addition to a model (someone who would like to receive neck work), you will need a massage table, a chair or stool, a standard bed pillow, and an extra flat sheet (folded neatly into a small rectangle the size of a book, several centimeters thick).

Choose a model for this guided practice session who does not have acute pain and who is able to lie supine with appropriate bolsters. Have your model wear a short-sleeved t-shirt or tank, with or without a bra.

Webinar Schedule

Free the Wings, Module 2: Artery release for the Shoulders and Arms (2 hrs x 2 sessions = 4 hrs total )

Sunday, September 24, 2023

12:00 – 2:00 PM EDT

Sunday, October 1, 2023

12:00 – 2:00 PM EDT

Starting with a tour of the arteries to the shoulder, Kier will explain why the body intelligently limits shoulder movement and adopts “poor” upper thoracic posture and suboptimal scapular position when trying to protect the artery network.

• Review how the shoulder girdle muscles provide balance within the myofascial network, determining the resting position of the scapula.
• Understand scapular position from a neurovascular perspective.
• Learn to release tension in six arteries that supply key muscles within the support network for the shoulder girdle and arms.
• Understand “frozen shoulder” from a vascular perspective.
• Learn a neurovascular release sequence that will improve scapular position and free up shoulder movement.
• Learn and practice pre- and post-tests that will help guide your practice and help educate your client.
• Understand how to avoid overstretching the vascular network and how to manage an artery release session with a hypermobile client.

In the first session in this module, Kier will present neurovascular release techniques related to the rhomboids, rotator cuff muscles, teres major, latissimus, and shoulder joint capsule. In the second session, they will present techniques related to the pectoralis muscles, biceps brachii, triceps brachii, serratus anterior, and flexor compartment of the forearm. After answering questions about applications, Kier will demonstrate a mini-session for the neck and shoulders that includes techniques from Modules 1 and 2.

Props: In addition to a model (someone who would like to have freer shoulder movement and better upper thoracic posture), you will need a massage table, a stool or chair, and two or three pillows.

For this practice session, choose a model who is not hypermobile, can lie on their side or back, and is not in acute pain. Have your model wear a short-sleeved t-shirt or tank, with or without a bra. (Ideally, if they wear a bra or restrictive garment, it is not too restrictive around the chest.) If you want to feel and see more change during this first practice session, choose a model with one or more of their shoulders medially rotated and anteriorly tilted (protracted) and both shoulders slightly elevated.

Instructor

Kieran Schumaker (they/them) offers advanced training for manual therapists, structural integrators, and movement educators through their courses in Neurovascular Release.

Their practice and teaching remain strongly grounded in their foundational training as an Anatomy Trains Structural Integrator, which distinguishes their work from the neural and vascular manipulation taught by osteopaths and people using an osteopathic approach.

Get in touch if you have questions about this course.