STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION
Often referred to as Rolfing.
THE GOAL
The goal of Structural Integration is to help you find a more efficient, smooth and easier way to live in your body. Using the idea that the body naturally wants to organize itself in the most efficient way posible, Structural Integration uses soft tissue manipulation (fascia), movement education and the principle of gravity to align your body in its most functional position. If your body can move and balance from the core, you will find greater freedom of movement, effiecient energy use, new sensations when interacting with your environment, and an increased awareness of the body you live in.
PRINCIPLES OF STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION
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Gravity.
The first principle is that the body lives in a world where it is constantly under the physical effects of gravity. The various segments of the body must be more or less aligned one on top of the other, or else the external muscles begin to labor to maintain the upright posture. Pelvis, abdomen, chest and head balance easily when their centers of gravity are in a line, so that the upright balance can come from deep muscles of the body. Given the world today where we are commonly seated at a desk, hunched over a computer or stuck in one position for long periods of time you can imagine how the effects of gravity work on these body positions.
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The Fascial Network
Structural Integration is a type of bodywork that focuses on the connective tissue, or fascia, of the body. Fascia surrounds muscles, blood vessels, organs, and nerves, it is basically everywhere in the body. To give you a simple idea of what it may be like think of a tight fitting wetsuit just under your skin. But that this wetsuit also envelopes the muscles and organs and bones too. This fascial network gives our body shape, resiliency and adaptation to our environment. The thing is our bodies wetsuit can become stretched, pulled or fitted awkwardly due to many factors like accidents, postural habits or our line of work. To give an example, imagine someone gathered a bunch of your wetsuit around the front of your body and pulled on it. Your wetsuit would stretch and get tighter at the back and perhaps pull on your neck too. This analogy helps explain how a pull or strain in one area of the fascial network can effect a completely different area. Sitting at a desk for hours on end causes your fascial network to adpapt to this seated position. Not ideal for when you want to move and play on the weekends.
The good thing is Fascia is adaptable and willing to change. Structural Integration uses hands on contact to influence fascial layers to help organize the body in a more efficient way. In S.I. there is a release of strained and contracted body tissues and a restoration of healthy tissue and optimal muscular function in the body.
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Treat the whole body
The body is connected and one continuous organism. We are not put together like a car or bicycle with different parts. We all started out as one cell and transformed and developed into what we are today. All parts of the body are linked through the fascial web and therefore pain in one area may be related to strain in a completely different area. This means that chronic pain in your shoulder or back is not always treated directly by working on that part. In a car it would be a matter of replacing it with a new one. However our body is amazing in self healing itself if only it is given a chance. If you are able to balance the whole body and structure then strains and pains tend to take care of themselves.
Structural Integration typically follows TEN SESSIONS each of which has a different focus in the body. Over the ten sessions the whole body is treated. This is crucial in aligning the segments of the body.
learning to stand in gravity can make you feel like you are supported.
your body will adapt to a deskbound lifestyle
Pulls on one area of the fascial web can strain and tighten other areas
"As a lifetime outdoor enthusiast, runner, skier, paddler, surfer and mt. biker I have amassed a plethora of injuries over the years. Fractures, strains, sprains and over-use injuries that have finally caught up with me. Now facing the big "5-0", I recently committed to a re-newed wellness focus on mobility and functional movement and strength. Tom Gellie, Functional Body owner and practitioner has provided me with the foundation that I need to perform at my best for the next 50 years! After just one session with Tom, I experienced significant changes, not only in my posture but also my range of movement. Subsequent sessions progressed methodically to unveil a body consciousness and posture that I had long forgotten, I have never felt younger or stronger. Thanks Tom !"
Bodie - Owner of Surfit