FAQs
Structural Integration FAQs
Why is Structural Integration important?
“One important principle of SI is that the body is significantly affected by the powerful force of gravity. In a misaligned state, the body’s valuable resources are used inefficiently, laboring to keep the body aligned and upright. In addition, the stresses of daily life, physical injuries, unhealthy movement patterns and attitudes are things that can bring one’s structure out of alignment. Over time, the body will shorten and tighten to accommodate stresses, creating stiffness, pain, fatigue and lack of well being.”
What is a typical Structural Integration session like?
Structural Integration is able to make changes in posture and structure through the affects of manipulating the body’s myofascial system. The focus is on fascia rather than on the muscles (as in massage). Fascia is a protective layer of connective tissue that surrounds each muscle and muscle fiber. The facial system has the capability to support and stabilize muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones.
During the session they will be using slow, deep, stretching strokes, and at times constant applied pressure to make changes to the connective tissue. Often the clients will have to move as pressure is applied or to stand and move during a session. Clients will be asked to stand up and move around mid-way through the session to allow for neuro-somatic awareness. As tissue is being released, you may experience a number of sensations ranging from warm and pleasant to feelings of discomfort or burning. Often they will work with your breath during the session to assist us in allowing greater depth and ease into the tissues.
Structural sessions are done in underwear or a bathing suit, women often will wear a tube top or sports bra. Each session will begin w/body-reading, you will stand and move to assess levels of balance, alignment and movement patterns. Also, the use of photographs are taken intermittently for your benefit and mine to demonstrate the changes made during that session as well as the overall progression of changes throughout the series.
What is the difference between Structural Integration and Massage?
Massage therapy can provide individuals with a number of benefits such as and certainly not limited to assisting in reducing tight muscles, improve circulation, reduce stress, improve immune functioning, quicker healing of injuries, reduction of edema, etc. These benefits though highly desirable, are usually short term and require frequent follow up visits. The techniques of Structural Bodywork can give much of the same results as Therapeutic Massage, but given the focus of realigning the client’s structure in gravity, this results in longer lasting changes to the overall structural organization of the body. Once a client completes the 10 sessions, he or she may not need to receive another session for a period of 6 months, year or longer depending on his/her lifestyle and needs.
Massage therapy deals with relief of muscle tension and pain. Structural Integration works to change the structural organization of the body, which leads to correcting the sources of tension and pain. Some think Structural Integration is solely a ‘deep-tissue’ massage, the goal of Structural Integration is to assist the body in finding new ways, new patterns to organize and balance itself.
What are the typical lengths of the sessions and what is recommended in terms of spacing the sessions?
Structural Integration sessions run approx. 90 minutes up to 2hrs. Photographs are used to track progress for both the therapist and client throughout the sessions. During the session they will often ask clients to stand and move around in gravity to assess the effectiveness of the work. Work at time is also done both while standing and sitting on the ‘rolf’ bench.
It is recommended in terms of spacing, sessions are 1 week apart or 7 to 10 days. It is this format that will see the greatest structural change in a person’s body. This allows enough time for the clients body to integrate the effects of the work, and reinforce new patterns of movement. That said, they will take clients through the sessions every other week, every third week or once a month, these formats can be very effective in structural change, as well at times easing either financial strains or scheduling issues. For clients that are highly motivated and have the availability moving through the sessions over a 5 – 6 wk course, w/spacing sessions every 5 days can also be an exciting way to approach this work. The general theme is that there are multiple options, often depending on the particular clients needs.
Is there a difference between Structural Integration and Rolfing®?
There is common confusion in the public eye in regards to whether Structural Integration and “Rolfing®” are on and the same or something completely different. To clarify this question, Structural Integration is the body of work originally developed by Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D. Over 50 years ago. After developing this method of bodywork she chose to call the work Structural Integration, it was her early followers that generically coined or nicknamed the work “Rolfing®”, which has subsequently been trademarked. Please be clear this is a nickname of the work and not the work itself. There are now several schools of Structural Integration that trace their lineage back to Dr. Ida Rolf’s teaching. The CORE Institute is one of the 14 schools recognized as meeting all the qualifications to be certified in providing this form of bodywork. There are some practitioners in the field unfortunately who some no fault of their own, and others well that’s a different issue mislead/confuse the general public in regards to this issue. To provide a brief example some of these attitudes of mislead communication is trenched deep in history dating back to almost 30yrs ago, when a few of Dr. Rolf’s closest and lead instructors chose to break from the main institute teaching Structural Integration after her death. During this period, love did not reign supreme and competition and resentment was prominent. However, since the formation of the International Association of Structural Integration www.theiasi.org which was formed to help unify and set forth an organization that over sees the field of Structural Integration as a whole, there has been a shift for the positive in the collaboration amongst all the schools of Structural Integration. But with everything their remains much work and healing and attitudes to shift.
Does Structural Integration hurt?
Structural Integration focuses on working very deep regions of the body which at times can be very intense. The level of intensity in the area is typically directly related to what or how much trauma/strain the tissues have undergone. For example, a client undergoing the 10 sessions who has had many traumas/injuries throughout his or her life may experience the sessions with more sensory richness than an athlete seeking with more resilient tissues seeking to enhance his or her human potential. Physically, sensations range from warm and pleasant to feelings of discomfort or burning. During the sessions, the therapist will work at the pace of the client and most importantly the breath, which assists in accepting the greater level of depth.
What are the common reasons someone chooses Structural Integration?
Typically when clients decide on the 10 series and discuss their goals / aspirations for the work, the most common reasons are:
* To relieve aches and pains – statements are often, “I am only 40, but I ‘feel’ 20 years older than that.”
* To change postural issues
* To increase overall flexibility and movement potential
* To increase performance often in athletics, music, and dance.
* To work with somatized emotional issues
* Ultimately to increase human potential
What are the benefits of receiving the 10 sessions of Structural Integration?
‘The process of Structural Integration is an individual and personal process with a wide range of effects and benefits. In general, a body that is aligned and balanced in gravity moves with more ease, fluidity, efficiency and grace. Movement is a pleasure, breathing is easier and good posture is effortless.
In addition, more efficient use of your muscles allows the body to conserve energy, and creates more refined and economical patterns of movement. This can result in increased levels of energy and alertness. Feelings of stress can also decrease while your level of relaxation can increase.
Structural Integration aims to affect the whole person, emotionally, physically and energetically, by way of altering the physical structure. Our emotions and behavior patterns for instance, are often related to our physical being. As impediments to balance are removed and the body comes into greater alignment, aspects of the self may also become more aligned. An experience with Structural Integration may help release an individual’s potential, promoting positive change, lowering anxiety, improving sleep, increasing confidence, and maturing emotional expression. Finally, the Structural Integration series provides increased body awareness and presence allowing for a feeling of finally being–at home…in your body.’
