Structural Integration

Structural Integration

Anatomy Trains / Structural Integration seeks to unwind the strain patterns residing in your body restoring it to its natural balance. Common strain patterns come about from inefficient movement habits, and our body’s response to poorly designed cars, desks, telephones, airplanes, etc. Individual strain patterns come from imitation when we are young, from the invasions of injury or surgery or birth, and from our body’s response to traumatic episodes. Beginning as a simple gesture of response, movements can become a neuromuscular habit. The habitual movement forms one’s posture, and the posture requires changes in the structure of the body’s connective tissue ‘fabric’ or fascia. These changes are rarely for the better and usually create increased tension to counteract the force imposed on our body.

Structural Integration will teach you a new sensory language that is meaningful to you in terms of communicating to your deeper self — your fascial network.

The Fabric /The Fascia

Connective tissue is a remarkably versatile bit of biology. It forms every supportive tissue from the fluid blood to the solid bone, and a host of sheets, straps, and slings in between. The muscular tissue moves us around, but it works through the connective tissue fascia, tendons, and ligaments at every turn, and it is the connective tissue complex that holds us in the shape we are in. When we are injured or stressed, no matter what the source, there is a neuromuscular response, usually involving some combination of contraction, retraction, immobility, and often rotation. These patterns put some muscles under strain and also pull at this fascial fabric, requiring it to shift, thicken, glue itself to surrounding structures, and otherwise compensate for the excess sustained muscular holding.

  • During the initial treatment session, I will do an intake that includes your health history, followed by an initial physical assessment which will include: postural alignment, your breath, and basic movements. The information gained will be used in designing a session strategy for you. Structural Integration is usually performed between four to twelve sessions. I will tailor my approach to your needs and preferences. A typical session runs for an hour and a half and takes place once weekly or every two weeks for the whole treatment series.

  • Depending on your goals and needs, I will discuss them with you and devise an individual plan to get your body back to balance.

  • See following description of sessions 1-4, 5-8,9-12.

  • The first four sessions work on the superficial soft tissues of the front, back, and sides of the body.

  • Sessions five to eight, work on the soft tissue structures that relate to the core, the deeper aspect of the body. We start from the feet and end at the neck and jaw.

  • The final four sessions, sessions nine to twelve, are the anchor for the work of the previous sessions. One session will address the legs and pelvis, one the pelvis and torso, one the shoulder girdle and arms, and finally the ending session ties together whatever was most important within your 12-session series.

  • Three session ATSI series

    Single sessions for introduction and maintenance sessions

  • An option for those new to ATSI, a shorter introductory series can stand on its own or serve as a springboard to a full series. The introductory series covers the first 3 sessions of the “Sleeve” work as well as a dedicated session for the arms. Occasional “tune-up” sessions and goal-based mini-series are also an option for past 12-series clients.

  • Use the session as an all-over tune-up, a relief from physical and mental tension, pain, and bodily discomfort, or as an introduction to this kind of bodywork.

The Method

ATSI is a hands-on bodywork method of reorganizing the body, but it is, first of all, a theory of movement. Reorganizing means knowing the body’s full potential for movement. ATSI’s goal is to unwind this process and reduce structural stress. The method depends on a unique property of the body’s connective tissue network. Freeing and repositioning the fascial fabric, along with re-integrating the movement patterns so that they stay easily in their proper positioning, is the job of ATSI. The new alignment simply becomes part of who you are, not something you have to work at or repeatedly see a practitioner to maintain.

The Concept / The Recipe

The ATSI ‘recipe’ for structural integration is based on the “Anatomy Trains Myofascial Meridians” concept. There are twelve ‘tracks’ or ‘anatomy trains‘. These muscle chains create lines of tensional pull which, when all working together, create the frame of the human body. Tensional forces resulting from muscular contractions and load demands are spread to adjacent- and distant- tissues via facial sheets. Our body gradually adapts over time, to global muscular patterns. Whether long-term work-related or coping after an injury, these patterns can be unsound and slowly tug the body out of alignment.

  • Single Session $160

    Three /four Series $150 per session

    Twelve Series $140 per session