Certified Structural Integrator Rolf Method | Patricia Fincher Richland, WA

What's so different about Structural Integration?

When I'm trying to describe Structural Integration (SI), people often comment, "Oh yeah, like chiropractic/physical therapy/massage."  Even clients and people I know well often surprise me by saying things like, "Wouldn't it be easier with a higher table?" or "I just got some organic coconut oil wholesale; would you like some for work?"

Well...no, because SI is unique in these ways:

It is the only modality which relates the body to gravity.  That's what it's all about---helping the person use gravity for support, rather than fighting it.

Structural Integration is not an empty phrase.  In order to relate well to the gravitational field, body parts and systems have to operate in harmony with one another---to be integrated.  Then they can also integrate with the gravitational field.

To integrate with gravity, the human body needs verticality.  We do our best to organize the body around a vertical line.  Looking at the side, a straight line should pass through the ankle, knee, hip joint, tip of the shoulder, and ear.

In order to do that, we work not directly with muscles or bones, but rather with the fascia or connective tissue which gives the body its shape.  Dr. Rolf called it "the organ of form".  To me, muscles and bones are landmarks, not targets.

To change the shape of the fascia, you need to hold it, not glide over it.  So oil and other lubricants are decidedly inappropriate.

To work effectively without damaging my own body, I use a low table.  Mine is actually a little higher than average, about knee-high on me.  If I used a higher table, it would be like trying to play a piano with the keyboard at head height; I would cripple myself.  The table is also wide, so that I can sit beside the client when that position is helpful.

SI is a system, not a technique.  The primary technique most practitioners use is myofascial release, but myofascial release is not SI.  Myofascial release and other techniques are also used in many other forms of bodywork, which are not integrative.

For optimal effect, the client must participate.  This is not something the practitioner does to or for the client; it something they do together.  When the work goes well, the client gets freer lighter and more upright with every session, ending with what feels like a new, younger body.