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Welcome to Core Structural Therapy!
Core Structural Therapy
The first question that everyone asks who comes to this site is how does Structural Integration differ from massage therapy? This is a very good question as often they are put into the same category; however the approach, methodology, theory, technique of both is quite different, as anyone whom has received a session of Structural Integration will attest to.
Structural Integration is designed to restore a person’s body to its natural state of alignment in relationship to the constant force of gravity. Structural Integration takes into account those compensations that have accrued over a lifetime, and provides a series of sessions, or sometimes individual sessions, to return the body to a more natural state of alignment and ease. These are specific goals of SI, we are seeking to restore the integrity of an individual as he / she relates to the gravitational field, we have specific goals, techniques, and objectives for each session to accomplish this end according to what that person’s body brings to the session.
Structural Integration practitioners receive training in the 10-session “recipe” originated by Dr. Ida P. Rolf. Each session in a series is based on goals, and each builds on the results of the previous session to produce lasting change in a person’s structure. Massage therapy on the other hand does have wonderful benefits, both from a relaxation perspective as well as from the orthopedic massage perspective. I speak to this issue from experience, as originally trained as a massage therapist and specializing in orthopedic massage. However, the goals of this umbrella of bodywork are to work with the body from a relaxation / well being modality or to treat local areas of pain or ischemia.
In a Structural Integration session, although someone may be complaining of a rotator cuff injury, we may in fact be working on a part of the body away from the site of pain. Dr. Rolf, was fond of saying “where you think it is, it isn’t”. In simplistic terms massage therapy on average works more locally with broader and general goals, Structural Integration on the other hand seeks to restore and balance the whole system, the whole person to achieve the greatest potential for that individual, whether this is a mother, office manager, athlete, student, etc.
Professional athletes, dancers, and performance artists throughout the world have successfully utilized CORE Structural Integration. Business and professional leaders have found that the beneficial results have improved their focus and attention, their vitality, and their creative abilities. Structural Bodywork can significantly balance the emotional and cognitive abilities of anyone who completes the 10-session series. During the 10 session series, we follow three phases with the work as outlined below:
Phase 1: CORE Extrinsic: Consists of the first three 90 minute sessions. These sessions are called “Extrinsic” as they deal with the Superficial Facial Layers. The intent is to begin to create space in the body for the work that is to take place during the ‘CORE’ or ‘Intrinsic’ sessions and it includes the treatment to lengthen the front line of the body, beginning to free restrictions in the pelvis, increase capacity of breathing, improve the foundation of weight bearing through the balancing of the arches of the foot, ankle and lower legs, and finally begin to create ‘width’ in the body.
Phase 2: CORE Intrinsic and it includes the treatment of the four deepest sessions that work with the alignment and balance of the pelvis, spine, and cranium.
Phase 3: Integration and it includes treatment for the final three sessions, which seek to integrate the upper and lower divisions of the body, as well as coordinating brain hemisphere function. These three sessions have often been referred to as the “sculptural artwork” of structural integration.
