“Strength that has effort in it is not what you need. You need the strength that is the result of ease.” Ida Rolf
Structural Integration is hands-on work, and looks something like massage. I carefully adjust the depth and timing of the work so that you are comfortable throughout the process. I may work with you lying down, but also likely will do some work with you sitting up and standing.
Your comfort and safety always come first in our work. Structural Integration is traditionally done with clients dressed in their underwear. I am fine with working with fully dressed clients. I can work slightly faster if I can see more skin. I do insist that everyone wear a minimum of underwear and jog /bra tops for women. Your modesty and personal beliefs are always relevant. Wearing soft clothing like a t-shirt and sweat pants or bike shorts is a good option.
Dr. Ida Rolf pioneered this work, and created a basic model of ten sessions. Dr. Rolf originally called the work “stacking”, referring to lining up the parts of the body one on top of the other. By easing things into place you start to feel “tuned up”. A balanced body is much less effort to carry around.
I am able to do a ten-session approach, or customize based on that model. I find this work to be excellent for resolving injuries, and faster than any other system I’ve seen. Structural Integration gets to root causes and brings about surprising improvements.
Structural Integration works by lengthening fascia. Fascia is the material that holds everything in place in your entire body. Fascia is the base for your skin, the wrapper on your organs, bones and nerves, and notably the “sausage casing” around every muscle and group of muscles. It is everywhere, and has been called “the Web of Life”. Working with bodies and ignoring fascia would be like studying wind and ignoring that there is air.
Structural Integration gives you a chance to free yourself of patterns left over from old injury. These can go back at least to the day you were born. Changing your basic shape creates new perspectives on all experience.
Structural Integration changes posture. If you sit for work, you will feel much less tired at the end of the day. Wrist and shoulder problems respond well to this approach.
This work is particularly effective with scar tissue. It is fabulous for helping recover from surgery. And it is great for getting rid of the achiness that a bone break can leave behind.
Athletes will find more power and less pain. Dancers and performing artists will have more clarity and expression available, as well as less vulnerability to injury. The increase in ease and the changes in bearing affect confidence in a very positive way. Structural Integration gives you a chance to re-organize the history of your body.