Structural Integration

I am currently offering the ten session series of structural integration in the Ruidoso area. Sessions are between 1 and 2 hours long, averaging at 1.5 hours. They should be completed within 10 weeks, but can take as long as twelve, or as little as six, averaging about one session per week.

I integrate consciouness and mindfulness-based practices to help bring you to greater body awareness. Becoming aware of your body and how you hold it is one of the first major steps to changing it. We do hold our bodies. They are not in position randomly. However you stand, sit, and walk in your life is a choice, though it may not be conscious. If we begin to make these choices conscious, we have a better chance of making choices that make us healthy and happy.

Structural Integration of the Mind

Our bodies aren't operating by themselves; they're taking orders from our brains. Very often, the structure of the body can be a function of our thought patterns and belief systems. I take this into consideration and give room for the fact that if a body is going to change, very likely the mind paired with it will change, too. If thoughts or feelings need to be expressed during a session, I encourage this.

Structural Integration of the Heart

Emotions can be stored in the body. While emotions aren't necessarily going to be a component of your journey through the ten-sessions, they can be. If they are, tapping into them and experiencing them without judgment or analysis can be a powerful tool for accepting our lives and being ok with what is. When touching the body therapeutically, these emotions are given the opportunity to come up. As a therapist, I recognize this and am open to it, if these are things you want to explore.

Structural Integration of the Body

Structural Integration (SI), developed by Ida Rolf, aims at bringing the body into peace with gravity by working with the connective tissue, or fascia. Connective tissue wraps every muscle fiber, tendon, ligament, bone and organ in our bodies. It is a sheath-like wrapping which when healthy, along with the muscles, acts as a tensional system to precisely and gracefully move our body through space. When adhesions begin to form, connective tissue can bind us, restrict our movement and eventually cause pain.

Connective tissue has the property of thixotropy: when at body temperature or just below, it is in a gel state; when heated it melts to a semi-liquid to liquid state. Using this property, SI uses strokes that apply heating pressure and drag that melts and stretches connective tissue, freeing it from adhesions. SI is given in a ten-session format that is designed specifically to bring the body into alignment as a whole. This approach recognizes the interconnectedness of all our body parts, knowing that a slight misalignment in the foot can throw our entire stance off, causing pain even as far away as the neck.

Body Reading

This man has hyperextended knees, excessive curvature in the lower back and upper back. This structure is not uncommon in people today. Lower back pain and stress in the upper shoulders can be causing this and caused by this.

Everybody's structure is different and no one needs or should get the same 10 sessions. While each session does have specific goals, these can be achieved most effectively by using a different approach for each person. Therefore, each session is tailored to you specifically. I can do this best if I am able to look closely at your body to see what is going on in it. Sometimes our bodies have subtle asymmetries and being aware of these can yield much more effective sessions. This is done partially spending the time working more on the areas that need it more, while working the balanced areas less. Before each session I ask for a few moments to take a look at how you stand on the earth. This helps us both get the most out of the session.

What is it like?

SI is most of all very pleasant to receive. However, it differs significantly from spa or relaxation massage in that it is not designed to feel good, though it usually does. It is designed to change the connective tissue, not the muscle. It consists of very specific strokes that are chosen and arranged specifically for each person, depending on his or her structure at the time.

These strokes generally move very slowly, going rather deeply into the tissue. You need never feel pain during a session with me. For structural change to happen, sensation can be intense, but never painful. Sometimes a feeling of release or tingling is reported.

Possible benefits include:

Increased range of motion
Decrease of chronic pain
Increased overall energy
Greater balance and grace
More erect posture
Greater peace with gravity
Emotional release

The Ten Session Breakdown

Session 1 - Opens the breath. Works on the abdomen, chest, shoulders.
Session 2 - Lengthens the back line. Works from the knee down.
Session 3 - Creates space between the pelvis and the ribcage. Works the lower back and shoulders.
Session 4 - First of the core sessions. Works anterior pelvic attachments and inner thigh.
Session 5 - Works more anterior pelvic attachments and anterior thigh and abdomen.
Session 6 - Final core session. Works posterior pelvic attachments and spine.
Session 7 - The Bridge Session. Works the neck and head.
Session 8 - Integrative, lower half of the body.
Session 9 - Integrative, upper half of the body.
Session 10 - Integrative, whole body.

Structural Integration Prices

10 Session Series paid in advance	$900
Pay for 1 session at a time	$100 each