Structural Integration is a method of deep tissue manipulation and movement education. It aims to balance the body so that it can deal more efficiently with the downward force of gravity. Structural Integration is named after American biochemist Dr Ida Rolf who developed the method in the 1950’s.

During her life she studied osteopathy, chiropractic medicine, yoga and the Alexander Technique. However, her main breakthrough was discovering that she could achieve changes to a patient’s posture and structure by manipulating the body’s myofascial system. The main goal of this was to organize a person’s body structure in relation to gravity. The method was originally called Postural Release, and then Structural Integration. In 1971 she founded the Guild for Structural Integration, which became the SI Institute of Structural Integration. Eventually, the name “Structural Integration” stuck as a trade name.

Dr Rolf’s central idea was that human heings need to have a good relationship with gravity in order to live and function healthily and happily. Her method of effecting this was to work directly with the body’s connective tissue network (also known as the Fascial Web or the Myofascial System).

Connective tissue is the thin membrane that surrounds individual muscle fibres, connects muscle to bone, forms tendons and ligaments and is sometimes referred to as ‘the organ of form’.

Structural Integration practitioner create space. We work to rehydrate dry tissue and retonify and release stuck or tired muscles. Structural Integration practitioner also work with a client’s perceptual experience, seeking out habitual and limiting movement patterns and helping their clients to explore new, more self-empowering ways to move through life.

Structural Integration usually takes place over 10 individually structured sessions. At the outset the SI practitioner will watch the client performing simple everyday movements and then talk about their feelings and concerns. A list of mutually-agreed goals for the work and a strategy for achieving them will then be drawn up. The work of restructuring and rehydrating the muscle and connective tissue network is done by applying various degrees of pressure and direction. Work is done in underwear – that’s you, not us!

Chiropractic and Osteopathic treatment tends to focus on bone alignment and joint mobility and various methods ranging from gentle tapping to high velocity thrusts are used to manipulate and correct boney lesions. Structural Integration practitioner believe that unless the tension and strain in the soft tissue is addressed and relieved, the bones will continue to be pulled out of alignment and so will need constant re-adjustment. The Structural Integration method involves slow, sustained and focussed pressure in a specific direction to affect the entire tissue bed in which the bones of the body are embedded. The SI practitioner’s goal is to achieve balanced tension which enables the bones to move back naturally into their proper relationship and alignment

It is important to allow the body to integrate the work between sessions while keeping a sense of continuity, so each session can build on the gains of previous ones.

Therefore, sessions are usually scheduled one or two weeks .After completing the 10 series, every few months or so for a tune up.

The Structural Integration series does not need to be repeated. Many clients report continued improvements in posture and movement long after the series is completed

However, many people like to book a few Post-ten Structural Integration sessions each year just to get tuned-up or to work more deeply with specific issues.

Structural Integration is not massage. Although Structural Integration practitioner work with deep tissue and sometimes use massage techniques. It is the quality of the SI training and the special understanding that Structural Integration practitioner have of the human body which makes Structural Integration unique.

It is important to remember that the primary goal of Structural Integration is to realign the body in gravity. It is believed that emotions can be repressed within the body’s connective tissues, so emotional aspects have direct relevance to Structural Integration. An example of trapped emotions is a child being told not to cry and suppressing this natural emotion by willfully contracting certain muscles (e.g. the pelvic floor, shoulders or jaw), an action which, if repeated over time becomes an unconscious holding pattern..

When the chronically tight connective tissue finally releases during Structural Integration treatment, emotionally charged material can be resolved. In this sense Structural Integration acts as a catalyst for emotional growth and change. Structural Integration practitioner are trained to contain this process safely. This aspect is partly what makes Structural Integration potentially such a profound experience.

No. Most Structural Integration practitioner will just have you pay and schedule as you go. In fact, if for some reason you want to switch Structural Integration practitioner during the series, you can. It is your body and your money

Anywhere from twice per week to once a month is the range. Most clients come in once per week. The frequency depends on your body’s ability to integrate the work and what works best for you.

No. Structural Integration SI goes beyond stretching or yoga by releasing the tightest and the hardest areas of your body. Often in stretching, only the looser places stretch. What needs to stretch are the thick, bound up areas. Stretching often produces frustration, particularly for men with those hard, thick legs. Once Structural Integration SI releases these concrete areas, then stretching can help.

Yes, it can feel painful the first time in very tense areas. It is not the pain of injury. When there is pain, it is from experiencing the tension that was always there. If for some reason, you feel it might be too much, you can tell the SI practitioner to stop. You are always in charge.

With chronic pain, clients are often told there is nothing wrong. I have seen clients sent to psychiatrists to treat “imaginary pain.” The interesting thing about pain, particularly soft tissue pain, is that there are no definitive tests to evaluate pain.

Chronic pain in itself becomes an escalating condition often only treated with medication. For many, the secret to ending the pain is releasing the tension and training the body to relax.

Yes, this sounds simple— Sometimes it is that simple. There is an interesting relationship with pain and awareness. The more pain you have, the less awareness you have. The inverse is also true. As you become more aware, which might feel uncomfortable at first, the more you are able to release the tension causing the pain. A SI practitioner works to assist you in releasing your chronic tension and pain. They can only do that if you are relaxing. For that to happen, you must first feel safe, then you must feel that you are in control. Only then can you let go of what you might not have been aware of before or had the ability to release.

From infants to the elderly. Most clients are active children or adults

Through releasing the tension in the fascia, the body becomes more resilient in its structure, movement, and appearance. Most clients report feeling younger because their bodies are behaving as they did when they were young. Much of what we attribute to age is the accumulation of stress and tension.

Often a connection between these four debilitating conditions is the physical exhaustion caused by a body being stuck in hyper-arousal or survival mode. Anyone exposed to constant stress will eventually acclimatise to the stress. You learn to adapt emotionally by becoming accustomed to it and by physically sustaining an alert status.

No matter how strong you are, eventually the continuous stress will wear you down and may eventually present as one or more of the above conditions. To heal, your body must first leave the survival state—the revved-up state. Until your body feels safe, it will be allocating its resources to survival. Structural Integration SI has the ability to deeply release the stress and the self perpetuating survival response stored in the tissue. Once the body comes down, the resources directed to survival can be used for self healing. Your body can rest and heal.

Physicians are referring their patients to Structural Integration practitioner in increasing numbers for chronic problems. There is a growing understanding and appreciation of Structural Integration SI, in part from Structural Integration practitioner being physicians and many physicians experiencing Structural Integration SI. The growing research on fascia continues to put Structural Integration SI in the spotlight as the therapy that treats fascial conditions.