South Coast Presence
Neurofascial therapyWoodstock 2538

A little less
struggle.
A little more ease.

Anatomically informed bodywork.
Attentive to the nervous system.

Explore the approach
Anatomically informed. Individually paced.Touch · sensation · awareness
01 / Understanding the approachNeuro · Fascia · Therapy

Neurofascial
therapy.

Neurofascial Therapy works with the nervous system and fascia. Listening through touch, I pay attention to how your tissues move and respond, adjusting the contact as we go.

Through gentle touch and small movements, we offer the nervous system clear, non-threatening sensory input. The intention is to decrease interference, allowing the body to remember its natural ease.

01.a

Neuro

Your nervous system.

Neuro refers to the nervous system: the brain, spinal cord and network of nerves that constantly gathers information from inside your body and from the world around you.

Read moreRead less about the nervous system

Your nervous system is always assessing whether a moment feels safe, uncertain or threatening, often below your conscious awareness.

When threat is perceived, your nervous system organises protective responses, such as fight, flight, freeze or fawn. These are not choices or character traits.

They are ways your body has learned to keep you safe.

They are expressed through your body, in muscle tension, posture, breathing, movement and sensitivity.

You may know consciously that you are safe, while your body continues to brace, withdraw, accommodate or stay on alert.

It is important to recognise that protective responses do not always show up as tension. In a fight or flight response, muscles may become switched on, braced or ready for action. But in a freeze or fawn response, some muscles may instead become less responsive or less available to support movement.

When this happens, other muscles may take on more of the load. Over time, this can contribute to patterns of tension, fatigue or discomfort in areas that are working harder to compensate. What presents as tightness in one part of your body may reflect a wider pattern of protection and load-sharing throughout the system.

A protective response can become familiar.

Like a story your mind has learned to keep you safe, it can continue to play long after the moment that shaped it has passed.

Something in the present may remind your nervous system of a past experience, and your body may respond to that echo rather than to what is actually happening now.

A protective response may continue to shape your posture, muscle tone, breath and movement long after the original situation has passed.

You might notice this as muscles that remain tense no matter what you do, a tiredness that comes with an inability to switch off, a mind that keeps revisiting the same thoughts, or a body that cannot quite settle, even when you want to rest.

This is why knowing you are safe, or trying to relax, is often not enough. The pattern is held through the relationship between your nervous system and your body.

In a session, I use slow, gentle contact and small movements, paying attention to how your body responds.

There is no agenda for your body to relax, release or change in any particular way.

Instead, the touch offers clear, non-threatening sensory input, communicating safety to your nervous system and creating more room for your body to remember its natural ease.

01.b

Fascia

Your body’s connective web.

Fascia is the body’s connective-tissue network. It surrounds and connects muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels and organs, forming a continuous web through the whole body.

Read moreRead less about fascia

Fascial layers allow tissues to glide over one another as you move. They also help transmit force between muscles and other structures, contributing to how movement and effort are shared.

Fascia is also richly supplied with sensory nerve endings. Through these nerves, it relays information to the nervous system about pressure, stretch, movement, tension and potential threat. Your nervous system uses this information to help coordinate muscle activity, posture and movement.

This makes fascia part of an ongoing exchange between your tissues and nervous system.

When you are injured, unwell, overwhelmed or under threat, your nervous system may respond protectively. You might brace, limit movement, change the way you walk, hold your breath, or adopt a posture that helps you feel safer or more stable.

These responses can be useful at the time. They may help you protect an area, keep moving, or get through a difficult period.

Sometimes, however, a protective response continues after the injury has healed or the stressful situation has passed. An area may still be held cautiously. A posture adopted during a difficult time may remain. Your body may continue to hold and move in that familiar protective pattern.

I think of this as a kind of tethering: an area may feel held, restricted or reluctant to move, and that holding can influence the tissues immediately around it. Because fascia connects and transmits force between structures, the effects of a familiar pattern may also be felt further afield. A restriction or protective holding in one region may contribute to how another area moves or shares the effort of supporting you.

This does not mean that discomfort in one place has a single, simple cause elsewhere. Bodies are complex, and many factors shape how we move and feel. But it does mean that the area you notice may be only one part of a wider pattern.

Simply knowing that something has healed, or telling yourself to relax, does not always change that pattern. It can involve both how you move and how your nervous system responds to sensation.
I work with this relationship through touch. I pay attention to how the tissues move, where movement feels restricted, and how one area responds when another is gently assessed or supported.
I adjust the pressure, direction, pace and time spent in contact. The aim is not to force a release, but to offer a comfortable, supported experience in which familiar patterns of guarding may have room to soften.

01.c

Therapy

Working beside you.

From the Greek therapeia, meaning attendance, service or care. For me, that means paying close attention to your body’s responses and adjusting how I work.

Read moreRead less about working together

The word is connected to therapeuein, “to attend to” or “take care of.” I bring my knowledge and experience to the session, while you decide what you are comfortable with.

During the bodywork, I follow how your body responds to contact. 

You can rest, without needing to analyse or discuss sensations. 

You can ask me to change the pressure, pause or stop at any point.

There is no particular response you need to have. Some changes are noticeable during a session; at other times you may not notice a shift.

Afterwards, we can discuss questions and ways to notice everyday sensations with curiosity rather than fear.

02 / The philosophyNo pressure to force a change.

Meet your body
where it is.

Understanding anatomy.
Noticing patterns.
Remembering safety.

I bring my understanding of anatomy to the contact: how connective tissues are organised, where they attach, and how they relate to the structures around them.

Through small, deliberate movements and gentle directional tension, I explore how the tissues move and respond.

Where does movement feel available? Where does it meet resistance? Does supporting one area change how another responds? This is the listening part of my work. It is an active process of palpation and assessment, guided by anatomy and continually adjusted to what I feel and how your nervous system responds.

When I encounter what feels like a restriction, I do not increase the tension to make it release. I maintain precise, gentle contact and allow time. If I feel a small movement, oscillation or change in resistance, I follow it, adjusting the contact as the response changes.

My hands may appear almost still, but I am continually noticing and reassessing.

I take a somatic approach, paying attention to both your system as a whole and particular patterns that may need support.

My intention is to offer contact that feels safe and manageable, without a demand for anything to happen.

As your system settles and there is capacity to explore further, we may gently approach the edges of a familiar pattern through a small movement or change in contact. We take time and ease back as needed.

There is room for movement, stillness, or simply being met where you are. 

Gentle hands supporting a client’s head during a bodywork session
South Coast Presence symbol: an arch, crescent and hands supporting a star

Room to notice.
Time to respond.

Natural light across the timber walls and treatment table in the studio

A little room
to just be.

Gentle hands-on care.
Time and space to rest.

03 / Your appointmentNeurofascial therapy

What to expect
in your session.

There is time to arrive, settle and talk before we begin. Most of your session is spent with gentle, hands-on contact, with space for a short conversation afterwards.

  1. Before we begin.

    We begin with a conversation about what brings you here, your health history, and anything you would like me to know.

    We talk through the approach together, with time for questions and any preferences about touch, positioning or clothing. You are welcome to remain fully clothed throughout the session if that feels more comfortable.

    Bodywork can take place lying down, sitting, or in another position that feels comfortable for you. We can adapt positioning to accommodate mobility needs, with support and time to change position as needed.

    Nothing happens without your agreement, and you can change your mind at any point during the session.

  2. Gentle, responsive touch.

    I use sustained contact and slow, small movements, guided by anatomy and myofascial training. I pay close attention to how your body responds, adjusting pressure, pace and position as we go.

    You might notice warmth, a shift in your breathing, or an area that feels easier to rest. You might notice very little. If something catches your attention, you can pause with it.

    You are also welcome to simply rest.

    When your system has capacity, we may gently explore the edges of tension or bracing. We approach this slowly, allowing time, and easing back as needed.

    There is no set sequence and no particular response you need to produce. You do not need to talk, analyse what you feel, or make anything happen.

    This is not about forcing a release. It is about offering enough safety, time and support for your body to find its own way toward greater ease.

  3. Time before you leave.

    We leave a little time to sit, talk and ask questions. You are welcome to share anything you noticed, but there is no need to find a change or put your experience into words.

    Where useful, we can also talk about noticing sensations in everyday life with curiosity, without needing to interpret them or change them.

    The aim is simply to support your body’s own capacity for ease, balance and change over time.

At your nervous system’s pace.

A note on pressure and “feeling something happen”
You may want a dramatic shift in tension, firmer pressure, or a more obvious sense that something is happening. I understand that wish.
In this work, though, we follow your nervous system’s pace, not your mind’s pace.
I use slow, gentle contact, paying attention to your responses and what you tell me. The touch may stay light or still. We do not increase pressure or movement simply to produce a noticeable shift.

04 / Who it may suitA gentler option.

When you’re
looking for
a different pace.

Living with persistent symptoms or a long-term health condition can ask a lot of you. When your body feels uncomfortable or unpredictable, it can be difficult to feel at home in it.

This work may appeal if symptoms, stress or overthinking have made it hard to feel comfortable in your body, or if you are looking for a gentler approach to ongoing tension.

It offers attentive, hands-on support alongside your existing care, without asking you to feel differently before we begin.

01

Living with ongoing health challenges
You live with persistent symptoms or a long-term health condition. You would welcome hands-on support alongside your medical care, with room for your experience beyond the symptoms themselves.

02

Looking for gentler contact
Firm pressure or more intensive bodywork does not feel right for you. You would prefer slower contact, with time to notice what feels comfortable.

03

Finding it difficult to switch off
Stress, anxiety or emotional strain leave you feeling on edge, caught in your thoughts, or tired but unable to settle.

04

Unsure what to make of what you feel
You find yourself second-guessing sensations in your body and would welcome space to notice them without pressure to interpret, explain or change them.

05

Making space to reconnect
Life is busy, and much of your attention goes towards thinking, planning and getting things done. You would welcome time to slow down, notice your body and feel more connected to yourself.

You do not need a diagnosis or a particular problem to explore this work. You are welcome as you are.
This work is offered alongside medical and psychological care, not instead of it. Before we begin, we discuss your health and whether the approach is appropriate for you. 

05 / Your practitionerJess · South Coast Presence
Jess, the practitioner behind South Coast Presence

Hi, I’m Jess.

For a long time, I found it difficult to explain what I do. My work did not sit comfortably within massage, traditional bodywork, or any single modality I had trained in. I kept trying to place it into an existing box, when what I was actually doing drew on more than one.

So I created my own lane: Neurofascial Therapy.

It brings together my foundation in exercise science, including human movement and biomechanics; my nursing background; Kahuna massage; myofascial training; and Root Cause Therapy. While Root Cause Therapy is not biomechanical, it has been important in the way I understand subconscious patterns and the deeper stories that can shape how we hold ourselves.

What I offer is not one technique applied in the same way to every person.

It is the culmination of my study, clinical background and lived experience, offered through attentive, non-forceful touch.

Questions & answersSouth Coast Presence

Frequently asked questions.

A little more about the work and what to expect.

How is this different from remedial massage, physiotherapy, or structural bodywork?

There can be overlap between these approaches, and every practitioner works differently. What distinguishes my approach is the attention I give to how your body responds, rather than working towards a predetermined structural outcome.

I work with anatomy, but I’m not trying to make your posture look a certain way or push tight tissues into releasing. Contact is slow and responsive, with your comfort and feedback guiding the pace.

Rather than asking your body to accommodate a technique, I adapt the work to you. There is no need to push through pain or make a particular change happen.

Is this work only for physical pain and muscle tension?

No. While many people seek out Neurofascial Therapy for physical discomfort, tight muscles or guarding after an injury, the work can also offer support when you are experiencing mental or emotional strain.
Mental and emotional stress can show up in the body.

Overthinking, emotional strain or feeling unable to switch off may be accompanied by physical bracing, changes in breathing, fatigue or increased sensitivity.
Whether you are experiencing physical tightness, mental exhaustion or a general sense of being unable to settle, gentle contact offers a quiet space to rest.

The intention is to support your nervous system and give familiar protective patterns an opportunity to soften, without forcing a particular response.

Does a session require an emotional release or dramatic physical “unwinding”?

No. There is no particular response you need to have, and nothing you need to make happen.

You do not need to revisit past experiences, express emotion, or have a dramatic physical release. Quiet, ordinary experiences are welcome too.

If feelings or sensations arise, there is no pressure to explore them or give them a meaning. We can stay with what feels comfortable, change the contact, pause, or stop. You don’t need to push through anything.

What might I notice after a session?

People respond differently. You might feel rested, notice a change in tension or movement, or feel much the same initially. There is no particular response you are meant to have.

Some people notice subtle changes over the hours or days following a session. You might become aware of different sensations, movement or areas of tension, or feel that your body is continuing to settle. Others may not notice anything in particular. There is no right or expected response.

There is no special aftercare routine and nothing you need to analyse. Give yourself room to rest if you feel like it, and carry on with your usual activities as comfortable.

If you notice increased pain or other symptoms, please let me know. Discomfort is not something you need to push through, and it should not automatically be understood as a release or a sign that the session is working.

New, severe, or worsening symptoms need appropriate medical attention rather than being attributed to the session.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no set number, package, or expectation of ongoing treatment.

You are welcome to book a single session and see how the approach feels for you. Some people choose to return regularly; others come occasionally or when their circumstances change.

We review what you are noticing and whether the sessions are useful to you. There is no pressure to keep coming.

Is this work suitable if I have a chronic condition, past surgery, or long-term health challenge?

Living with a chronic condition or having had surgery does not, in itself, rule out a session.

The work is gentle and adaptable. You don’t need to tolerate deep pressure, hold an uncomfortable position, or have the affected area worked on directly. Contact, positioning, pace, and session length can all be adjusted.

Before we begin, we talk through the relevant parts of your health history, any care instructions, and what helps you feel comfortable. You do not need to arrive feeling well or have everything resolved before seeking supportive care.

Can I come during a pain flare or while recovering from an injury or surgery?

In many situations, yes. You do not necessarily need to wait until all pain or sensitivity has settled.

This approach does not rely on deep pressure, stretching, or working directly into an injured or painful area. A session can involve very light contact elsewhere, supported positioning, and a pace that asks very little of you.

Recent injuries, surgery, and new symptoms guide how we work. Any relevant restrictions or care instructions are respected, and new or unexplained acute pain may need assessment before hands-on work.

The intention is not to challenge the injury or force movement, but to offer comfortable, responsive contact during recovery.

What should I wear, and do I need to prepare?

Wear light, comfortable clothing that allows you to rest and change position easily.

You can remain fully clothed throughout the session. The bodywork can be done lying down, sitting or in another comfortable position, and we can make adjustments for mobility needs.

You do not need to prepare, practise anything, or arrive with a specific goal. There is nothing you need to “work on” before you come.

If there are particular positions, areas of touch, or other things you find uncomfortable, you can let me know beforehand or when you arrive.

You are welcome as you are.

Do I need to talk or explain what I’m feeling during the session?

No. After our initial conversation, you are welcome to spend the session in quiet.

You do not need to analyse sensations, find the right words, or discuss past events. I may check in briefly about your comfort, and you are always welcome to give feedback.

You can ask for different contact, change position, pause or stop at any point. You don’t need to stay quiet to avoid interrupting the session. Your preferences are part of the work.

Can I come while receiving other treatment or support?

Yes. You do not need to choose this work instead of the care you already receive.

Let me know about current treatment and any relevant instructions so I can take them into account. There is no expectation to change or stop what is already supporting you.

Can we work with a particular thought, memory or movement pattern?

Yes. If there is a particular thought, memory, situation or movement you would like to explore, we can include it in your session.
Sometimes bringing something to mind, or making or imagining a small movement, can help us notice how a familiar protective response shows up in your body. Alongside that response, gentle, supportive contact offers different sensory information.
The intention is to give your nervous system an opportunity to experience the familiar pattern in a new way, with a greater sense of support and safety. Over time, this may help reduce the need to brace or protect.
We approach this gradually and only when it feels manageable. You don’t need to share details or revisit an experience for the work to be meaningful.

Is Neurofascial Therapy a somatic approach?

Yes. It is a somatic approach to bodywork that is attentive to the nervous system.

Through my hands, I notice how tissue moves, where there is resistance, and how one area responds when another moves. My clinical background helps me interpret what I am feeling and decide when to wait, soften, or adjust contact.

You also have a different view of the same body. You may notice your breath, where you are bracing, or how much effort a small movement takes. This kind of inner noticing is called body awareness, or interoception: the ability to sense what is happening inside the body.
Noticing sensations can support awareness, settling and a different relationship with discomfort.

When things are quiet enough, you might notice something subtle that usually passes unnoticed. With my support, you can pause and get a clearer sense of what you feel: Is it steady or changing? Local or spreading?

You do not need to interpret it or make anything happen. Sometimes simply noticing what is there makes it feel less worrying.

06 / Appointments & enquiries

Working with your body.
At a gentler pace.

Unsure whether this is what you’re looking for?
You’re welcome to get in touch before booking.

Book now ↗
Session prices60-minute session $120
90-minute session $170

Longer sessions may be available by arrangement. Please get in touch to discuss.
Phone0412 570 397
EmailEmail Jess ↗