After 20 years of practice I still find it both challenging and stimulating to try to articulate what it is that has kept me passionate about this fascinating method of bodymind transformation.? Structural Integration is an innovative approach to well-being that recognises a natural order inherent in the human being. When the musculo-skeletal system is re-balanced and re-aligned and optimal movement restored, our innate self-healing abilities stimulate new vitality. But the essence of Structural Integration is much more than receiving treatments ? it is about body awareness and a conscious choice to bring aliveness, alignment and fluidity to one?s own daily body use.

Structural Integration ? its origin and evolution

Dr Ida Rolf was the founder of Structural Integration.? Dissatisfied with available treatment for a friend?s disability, she studied Osteopathy and Chiropractic and took inspiration from wherever she could find it ? the work of F.M. Alexander, Mabel Todd, Amy Cochrane, Homeopathy, Yoga and others. She synthesised her studies into Structural Integration, training practitioners from the early 1960?s until her death in 1978. Her original school split into the Guild for Structural Integration and the Rolf Institute and many other schools, including Aston Patterning, Hellerwork, Postural Integration and Mana Integrative Therapies Incorect tag used in this page, please contact administrator to correct this page, thank you. have grown from her inspiring work. Her vision of different schools of Structural Integration developing with their own emphasis and direction is being fulfilled.

Our Bodies are Shaped By our Lives

A young child is so soft it is sometimes a little difficult to believe how stiff and inflexible many of us become as we age. Yet even in their teens, young westerners often find it difficult to squat flat-footed on the floor. Twenty-eight years ago when I was visiting a Fijian village, I was invited by a small group of men aged between fifty and seventy years old to show them some yoga - they had seen me practicing on the beach one day. They followed me with interest and amusement through basic movements. I was curious about their flexibility and showed them the difficult full lotus seated posture. None of them had seen or tried this posture before, yet I was delighted and surprised as they each easily folded their legs into a position that very few, if any westerners ?off the street? could perform. Their

daily sitting-on-the-floor reality in the almost chairless Fijian village would be a painful, physical marathon for most of us who rely on our environment to support us rather than on our own internal strength.

Changing the Shape of the Past ? the Issue is in the Connective Tissue

Each of us is systematically shaped by the movements and experiences of our lives. We begin life soft, supple and flexible ? but most of us don?t stay that way!? Injuries, repetitive postures and strong emotions produce chains of compensations in the body. Wrist, shoulder, neck and low back pain become accepted norms for people who hunch over computers, slouch in car seats, perform repetitive activities unconsciously and don?t release daily patterns of tension.

Without any social pressures on her to do so, I observe my cat in her daily programme of stretching, rolling about and moving in spontaneous ways that relieve stress, extend range of movement and prepare her for her life as a huntress in the fields and forest around our house. She has been a good teacher for me.

Ligaments, tendons, cartilage and bones are all ?connecting ? types of tissues: stress-responsive, self-repairing and capable of changing state. So are the less solid blood, lymph and cerebrospinal fluids, and fascia. The cartilage that connects the bony parts of a woman?s pelvis softens during pregnancy to facilitate the birthing process; broken bones when pressed together mysteriously weld into an even stronger join.? The fascia is a pervasive wrapping material encasing everything in the body from tiny nerves and individual muscle fibres to large muscles and bones. Ideally the fascia is a moist, adaptable spacing and joining material, but when the body is held still in positions for extended periods, such as when a limb is in a cast after a break, the fascia listens seriously to this ?don?t move? message and sets itself for the long term. So although our muscles respond by either getting pumped up or shrinking, it is our unique 3D fascial body stocking that holds us in the shape that helps our friends to recognise us.
Ten Steps to a New Vitality

The good news about our incredibly adaptable body is that although daily movements sculpt us into awkward postures we?d love to get out of, we can also re-train our movement and body structure, our perceptions and attitudes, to create a new vibrant body. It has taken considerable time to create our current body state, so it would be unrealistic to ?solve? all the problems in one or two treatments.? Yet even a brief introduction to the method can have a profound impact, relieving pain and restriction, bringing back a feeling of lightness and fluidity, waking up the body to new possibilities. One corporate client said he felt like ?an absentee landlord who had finally come home to his own body? ? with the tools to really enjoy being there.
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The Structural Integration Series is a carefully designed programme rather like a certificate of well-being ? a Warrant of Fitness. In ten sessions of one to one-and-a-half hours, the entire musculo-skeletal system is re-aligned and re-balanced. The practitioner uses light and deeper touch to free restricted areas, movement re-patterning and exercises, to help you develop more dynamic body use. Unlike massage or other manual therapies where the client is passive, the approach involves a lot of participation.? For example, with a wrist restriction, the practitioner may use both hands to slowly lengthen and open the tissue in the forearm asking you to make small rotational movements or open and close your hand using measured resistance to work more specifically. This may be followed up with an exercise to take home.? Awareness experiences and the cultivation of a curious, self-enquiry attitude become essential if we are to appreciate the impact of our attitudes and emotion on our body as well as make conscious choices.

We need to maintain our cars so they run smoothly, and get regular Warrant of Fitness checks. Yet we tend to ignore our bodies ? until something breaks down. Surely our bodies deserve at least the same attention and resources we devote to our cars?when you are feeling ready to drive a high performance vehicle, call your local Structural Integration practitioner for a ?Warrant Of Fitness?.

Sol Petersen is a Structural Integration trainer based in New Zealand. He is the director of Mana Integrative Therapies and organises Myofascial and Structural Integration trainings in Australasia and Europe.
Structural Integration Trainings and Practitioners

For information about sessions, practitioners or trainings contact Sol:

Mana Integrative Therapies, Waimana, Coromandel, R.D.1

phone: 07 8668971 mobile: 021 893055

e-mail: structuralintegration@xtra.co.nz

website: www.integrativetherapies.co.uk