Structural Integration resets a whole body postural pattern.
Before
After
Structural Integration in a nutshell
Our stories are written in our bodies. Our entire body adapts to every experience we have or have had. When we injury ourself or repetitively strain parts of our body through work, through sport, through carrying stress or children or too much of everything, our bodies adapt. When one part of our body changes, every part of the body must accommodate and adapt to that change. This is why no pattern is carried in one area of the body but is actually rooted in the whole structure and the creative way it organizes itself to to support your body within the context of who you are and what you do or have done. As such, Structural Integration addresses the whole body and how the many parts are relating to one another and creating overall postural and functional patterns that may be the root of the pain or limitation that you are experiencing. We look at unwinding the facial tensions in the body bit -by-bit, and resetting the way we are functioning and living within it.
How it works
Structural Integration sessions can be used to resolve particular problems, or to help ease and support more efficient and supportive posture and daily function. Structural integration can be seen as an extended course in reacquainting yourself with your body in motion, whether you are a finely-tuned athlete, or a computer-bound couch potato. Most of us have collected extra tension through the course of our lives, either from injury or surgery, from our repetitive activities, or attitudes we’ve acquired along the way. These injuries and tensions form a pattern in our bodies. Exercise and conscious postural awareness may help, but most of this patterning happens below our conscious awareness and becomes part of “who we are”. These patterns become written into our muscular tensions, or skeletal form, and into the tissues that go between: the connective tissues. The SI approach is to free the binding and shortening in these connective tissues, what we refer to as the “fascial network”, and to re-educate the body in efficient and energy-sustaining patterns. This process happens over a series of sessions. The Structural Integration process has 12 separate and progressive sessions, although the actual number you need may vary. To begin these sessions, your practitioner will talk over your history and help you set realistic goals for the process. with an overall goal of addressing fascial imbalances in the body which may be contributing to overall postural imbalances and or dysfunctions or injuries. We work with the "facial network" in the body according to the way that the body distributes force and tension through the fascial network. or limitation in the body is held within a the pattern of the whole body. Which is why, when we suffer from chronic pain or limitation in the body, we are often confused why our pain persists. The overall intention is to create progressive physical change toward greater balance, mobility and function in the body. OBJECTIVES Decrease pain • Increases mobility and ease Improve chronic postural patterns Improve sports performance • Supports injury prevention & rehabilitation Create an overall sense of ease and balance in the body massive percent of adults are living with chronic pain which can be debilitating. Historically, we have viewed and addressed the body as unrelated parts. However, the connective tissue (fascial) system of the body connects the entire body through tensegrity forces. If the tension forces in the body are unbalanced; we experience movement dysfunction, limitation, pain, and an overall sense of instability and imbalance. In addition, we all live in a unique body, which is structured by our history; including injury, daily activities, genetics and life experience. ATSI takes all of these factors into consideration and approaches the body from a holistic perspective, with the intention to approach and treat the unique needs of each person.
ATSI: A deeper explanation
Anatomy Trains Structural Integration springs from the pioneering work of Dr Ida P Rolf, as developed, by Thomas Myers. ATSI consists of a multi-session protocol (usually 12) of deep, slow fascial and myofascial manipulation, coupled with movement re- education. ATSI is one of a number of schools that train practitioners in ‘Structural Integration’, Ida Rolf’s name for her own work. Structural Integration is practiced as an old-world craft with a 21st century comprehension of how your body structure works. The ATSI ‘brand’ of structural integration concentrates on doing deep, lasting, and significant work, with anatomical precision, blended with movement and sensitivity to the unfolding individual experience. The ATSI‘recipe’ for structural integration is based around the “Anatomy Trains Myofascial Meridians”comcept, which are explored in the book written by Thomas Myers, published by Harcourt Brace (Elsevier) in 2001 and a 2nd edition in 2008. The design of ATSI is to unwind the strain patterns residing in your body’s locomotor system, restoring it to its natural balance, alignment, length, and ease. Common strain patterns come about from inefficient movement habits, and our body’s response to poorly designed cars, desks, telephones, and airplanes, etc. Individual strain patterns come from imitation when we are young, from the invasions of injury or surgery or birth, and from our body’s response to traumatic episodes. Beginning as a simple gesture of response, movements can become a neuromuscular habit. The habitual movement forms one’s posture, and the posture requires changes in the structure – the body’s connective tissue ‘fabric’. In other words, a gesture becomes a habit becomes a posture and eventually lodges in our structure. These changes are rarely for the better – anything that pulls us out of alignment means that gravity works on pulling us into more misalignment or increased tension to counteract the force. Compensation begets compensation, and more symptoms. ATSI is designed to unwind this process and reduce structural stress. The method depends on a unique property of the body’s connective tissue network. Connective tissue is a remarkably versatile bit of biology. It forms every supportive tissue from the fluid blood to the solid bone, and a host of sheets, straps, and slings in between. The muscular tissue moves us around, but it works through the connective tissue fascia, tendons, and the ligaments at every turn, and it is the connective tissue complex that holds us in the shape we are in. When we are injured or stressed, no matter what the source, there is a neuromuscular response – usually involving some combination of contraction, retraction, immobility, and often rotation. These patterns put some muscles under strain (where they develop painful trigger points) and also pulls at this fascial fabric, requiring it to shift, thicken, glue itself to surrounding structures, and otherwise compensate for the excess sustained muscular holding. Especially for chronic and long-held patterns, it is not enough to release the muscular holding, though that is definitely a good start. Freeing and repositioning the fascial fabric, along with re-integrating the movement patterns so that they stay easily in their proper positioning, is the job of ATSI. In this sense, ATSI could be seen as a companion to osteopathic or chiropractic care, but instead of thrusting the bones back into place, we adjust the fascial ‘guy-wires’ so that they stay in place – the new alignment simply becomes part of who you are, not something you have to work at or repeatedly see a practitioner to maintain. The ATSI “brand” of Structural Integration is different from other comparable trainings such as those offered by the Rolf Institute, Hellerwork, or the Guild for Structural Integration. •ATSI uses a wide “vocabulary” of touch, not just deep work, to evoke lasting and progressive change in body pattern. •ATSI’s method of “bodyreading” (visual analysis) is logical and coherent, unfolding the skill step-by-step. •ATSI’s “recipe” for the unfolding of the sessions is based around the Anatomy Trains Myofascial Meridians. •ATSI proceeds from a deep understanding of “issues in tissues” (the emotional underpinnings of patterns in body carriage and tension), hence our tagline, “Map the pattern, shape the change”. Basing the sessions around the body’s myofascial continuities ensures that 1) the entire body is covered through the series, 2) clear session strategies allow for individual patterns and preferences, and 3) our work is easily explainable to other health professionals. The ATSI training has the same “open inquiry” ambience that characterizes the Anatomy Trains weekends and unfolds as a “relaxed intensive.”