STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION

What is Structural Integration?

Structural Integration is a Ten Session Manual Therapy that helps realign your whole body by focusing on the connective tissue called fascia, which wraps, holds, suspends, and lubricates everything in your body!

By unraveling the fascia and releasing scar tissue, proper movement and range of motion is restored. Stress, overuse, injury, trauma, and poor posture all work against us. When the body is misaligned, gravity takes a bigger toll on our structure. When the body is realigned, movement because more fluid, stance becomes more stable, and pain is relieved.

What are the 10 Sessions all about?

Session One: Ribcage

Unravels the rib cage which allow lungs to be able to fully expand. Increase in Oxygen intake creates better circulation in the body, helps it flush toxins and heal quicker by bringing blood to stagnant areas.

Session Two: Feet

Works on balancing the feet. This session improves stability within the structure and brings back movement to the feet, allowing them to do their job, which is to absorb the shock of each step with a roll through motion.

Session Three: Low Back (Quadratus Lumborum)

Separates the rib cage from the pelvis, allowing each section to work separate from each other, but together, instead of being bound as one unit. Helps a lot with low back issues, frees up and creates space in the low back region.

Session Four: Releases the Pelvis from the Bottom

This is the first deep pelvis session. The primary work is done on the inside of the leg, where the adductor muscles are located. They attach into the bottom of the pelvis.

Session Five: Releases the Pelvis from the Front

The focus of this session is on the front of the pelvis - the psoas muscle sits on the front of the lower spines, comes down, and out on the inside of the pelvis, over the pubis bone and attached on the inside of the leg. This session also tends to be longer, depending on how quick the therapist can get to the psoas in the proper manner.

Session Six: Releases the Pelvis from the Back

This session focuses on the back of the pelvis and is the last deep session of the series. It works through the glutes and hamstrings.

Session Seven: Intraoral and Nasal

This session focuses on just the shoulders and up! It details around the neck, head, mouth and nose.

Session Eight: Lower Body Balancing

As the series comes to an end, session eight is all about coming out of the deeper layers within the body and back to superficial layers. This session focuses on feet to hips, and works with balancing what is needed to balance.

Session Nine: Upper Body Balancing

Same as session eight, only this session focuses on hips and up. Again, coming back out of the deeper layers.

Session Ten: Joints

The last session is focused on balancing joints; the work is done on Ankles, Knees, Hips, Ribcage, Shoulders, Elbows, and Wrists.



Is Structural Integration painful?

The most common misconception is that Structural Integration is painful. This is not true. All the bodywork is done within the patient's pain threshold. In areas where there is more scar tissue buildup, it may be slightly uncomfortable, but never painful. The most common spoken phrase is; "This hurts so good, like it needs to happen."



Can I just do one session? Why so many sessions?

Yes, you can do one spot session. The full ten series addresses the body as a whole, but a spot session can focus on a pressing issue at hand. The reason the ten sessions work so well is because often where the pain is, isn't where the problem is. By working the whole structure, any underlying issues will be addressed.



What can I expect?

Sessions are generally an hour, some are slightly longer. We will talk about the goals of the sessions and assess your posture, progress, and movement, before, during and after each session. Unlike massage, during each session you will be wide awake and participating through movement, breathing, and awareness. You may feel shifts in your balance, breath intake, range of motion, and posture. It is not uncommon for patients to experience changes in their emotional, mental, and personal lives. As tension is released and balance is restored, it is natural for emotions to clear as well.

This brings healing to the whole body and leads to an improved sense of wellbeing.



What do I wear?

Patients are very involved during the sessions; therefore women wear short shorts and sports bra. Men wear shorts.