At our best, we humans are grounded into the earth and also reach toward the sky, much like a plant with roots growing toward the sun. We experience joy of 3-D reality and reach beyond it. Being vertical in gravity is distinctly human, but over time we sometimes lose parts of that verticality. We begin to wear our shoulders as earrings, we rock back on our tailbones to sit, we collapse into our chests. We lose our “ground” or our “sky.”

In Rolfing® Structural Integration, we observe those things that make you stand up straight, or not, and how you move, or not. When you shake hands or hug someone, are you grounded through your feet, or could you easily be knocked over? Does your arm reach and lengthen, or is it a system of rigid hinges and levers? Does your chest open?

The early Rolfing Structural Integration sessions create mind-body connections like “Where am I relative to the ground?  Where am I relative to the space around me? Where am I relative to other people?” The later, deeper, sessions delve into “Who am I?” and “How do I connect with others?” and “Where am I going?”

But increased connection isn’t always enough, because most of us have spent our lifetimes creating restrictions. What is a restriction anyway? Sometimes it’s connective tissue – fascia – that the body has built up in response to a mental, emotional, or physical hurt. The fascia is normally a lubricant that helps the muscles glide across each other, but it can also be a natural cast that prevents movement and protects us. To see what fascia looks like, watch Gil Hedley’s “Fuzz Speech.” Fascia is a remarkable protective mechanism, but can go on protecting and restricting long after it is needed. Sometimes because of injury, inactivity, aging, or just because, people lose their ability to move, sit, or stand as they would like. Structural Integration addresses the underlying causes of these issues. Removing the restriction can give you new options for movement and for being. You get to choose between glue and lubricant, and I can help.