Cultivate Better Posture The Organic Way

Read the full article here: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/05/cultivate-better-posture-the-organic-lasting-way-ruthie-streiter/

By Ruthie Streiter

Many of us would love to have better posture without having to think about it or “make” it happen. Who has the time or mental energy to be on constant alert about whether or not we are slouching or standing all hunched over?

Some people think that in order to attain better posture they must constantly remember to “correct” themselves. This kind of approach will leave us exhausted, sore from over-working, and frustrated because there’s no way we can sustain this kind of monitoring.

Authentically good posture doesn’t require constant effort. Instead of making what we perceive to be postural “corrections,” the method I suggest is to engage in a focused practice of muscle engagement in a personalized program to imprint healthy patterns in the body tissues (muscles and fascia). In this kind of practice, we gradually cultivate and internalize:

1. improved body mechanics

2. better positional relationships between body parts

3. better body-part-positioning relative to gravity

If we commit to this kind of daily practice, the default resting position of the body will start to improve. Ultimately, the point of structurally-targeted exercise is to reach a state in which the body is aligned without any effort at all. Doesn’t that sound appealing?

Influenced by cultural normative reactions to pain and desire for quick-fixes, some people are drawn to bolster their environments with expensive chairs, ergonomically-angled computer screens and special shoe inserts. Of course making sensible, optimal choices in our environment is important—but these external factors only play a partial role in standing and sitting with more structural integrity and ease.

These technologies are crutches that may offer some relief, but relying on them solely will keep us dependent, internally lacking, and alienated from the opportunity for body balance and autonomy.

There is power in realizing the potential of our internal technologies. Our bodies, even weathered from life, are innately brilliant systems of mechanics and life force that have so much potential for functional balance and intrinsic support. Though many of us do not experience embodiment like this 24/7, because we naturally get thrown “off” from tension, stress, neglect and misuse, let’s remember that moving towards this harmonious state is accessible with proper body, mind and heart conditioning.

From this point of view, we don’t give up and give in to orthotics (for example) without robust participation. We stimulate our internal arch support regularly in effective, accessible exercises; we condition our legs, pelvis and spine to be available for full-body shifts initiated by changes in the feet. I’m not saying to throw away your orthotics immediately—we can accept assistance from technology and simultaneously implement active, organic solutions.

Several wonderful yoga, bodywork, therapeutic exercise, and conscious movement methodologies exist in the world to guide us and inform us. Structural Integration (aka Rolfing), Yoga for Structural Balance, Iyengar Yoga, Feldenkrais Method and the Alexander Technique are a few examples of intelligent platforms.

As we participate appropriately in our structural evolution, we can more and more relax into our bones. We can get grounded and celebrate our weightiness. The result is not only an experience of effortless ascension but also of radiant expansion.

I invite you to get started and see for yourself!

Here are 10 guidelines for cultivating better posture, organically and for longevity.

1. Forget about forcing the old-fashioned book-on-the-head type of posture. This approach is outdated, contrived and superficial.

2. Get to know yourself well, with compassion. Any kind of self-work requires self-study. How do we know what we are working towards unless we start to observe and understand ourselves and our patterns? In the context of self-intimacy, our efforts are geared more accurately.

3. Open what’s tight. Often it’s tightness in the abdomen that’s pulling the chest down, or tightness in the buttocks that’s thrusting the pelvis forward, or a tight chest that’s tugging the shoulders forward. Shortened, stiff muscles and fascia can pull the body parts out of their neutral, happy placement. We need to create suppleness in the most restricted tissues, a process that requires training; just random stretching may not be strategic or specific enough to break us free where we need liberation.

4. Strengthen what’s weak. We need to focus on what needs strengthening relative to the rest of the body. Sometimes we are slumping because we lack tone in certain muscles. It’s not simply that we need strength to stand up straight. More accurately, we need more strength in the right places to maintain balanced tone and texture in the whole web of muscles and fascia. This balanced web, with an even distribution of muscular tension around bones and joints, offers us a state in which we can relax while standing up.

5. When you are not doing a focused, targeted self-care practice, relax! We “open” and “strengthen” in the context of a formal practice and the better resulting patterns are naturally reinforced in every day movement. Unconscious extraneous tension and misguided over-correction habits are detrimental. In the absence of extraneous muscle activity, dormant muscles have a chance to wake up and express themselves.

6. Cultivate the sensitivity to notice subtle changes. Noticing these small shifts in body position and movement facility is as important as the shifts themselves. Observing and experiencing a change is the seed moment of deeper transformation—suddenly a new imprint is in the body and consciousness; it will be easier to return to that place.

7. Focus on the way your body is moving differently instead of obsessing over aesthetics or your appearance in a static position. People typically want visual results. But often what comes first, and what’s even more important, are dynamic results. The body starts “moving” differently. If we want the aesthetics, I suggest we focus on function. Proper function gives way to grace, elegance and ease. We need to get beyond a two-dimensional focus on culture-created standards of beauty. Would you choose seemingly picture-perfect posture if underneath the surface the body is a functional mess?

8. If you notice yourself fatiguing into an old familiar pattern and you also feel that you have the awareness to change positions, do it gently. There’s a fine line between gentle adjustments and counter-productive imposed effort.

9. Be patient. True, lasting transformation in posture is a gradual process.

10. Appreciate your uniqueness. No human body is perfectly symmetrical and certainly real live humans do not look like any kind of text-book anatomical “ideal” (nor should we). Achieving perfection is not the goal. This is about evoking your personal potential, not about trying to look like someone else or any ideal. Your best isn’t going to look like anyone else’s best. And you’re beautiful, whether you are at your best or on the way there (like the rest of us).

Cultivate Better Posture The Organic Wayfreetobelee@gmail.com2022-06-28T13:32:07-07:00

Gravity and Optimism.

Gravity & Optimism.

Article by Ruthie Streiter

photo: Lana Bernberg

I recently read on a fitness blog a question about addressing rounding in the upper back.

The fitness ‘expert’ replied by saying,

“Gravity is not your friend. You have to keep those muscles strong so that you don’t let gravity win.”

Is gravity inherently out to get us?

To me this sounds quite pessimistic. Gravity is basic to our environment and inescapable (unless we go to outer space). If gravity is intrinsically unfriendly to us, then it means we ultimately live in an unfriendly world.

It’s true that our bodies can accumulate tension and destructive patterns which cause gravity’s effect on us to be undesirable and even harmful. But is the more desirable relationship to gravity one in which we are fighting hard and winning? That sounds exhausting!

“Only our relationship with gravity determines whether we experience it in a constructive way or destructive way. Depending on the structure of the body on which it acts, gravity can either support us and provide a springboard for our activities or it can pull at us and tear us down.”

~ Joseph Heller

Is your relationship with gravity ultimately a constructive or a destructive aspect of your embodiment?

The potential is there for it to be constructive—this is the paradigm shift that we need to adopt.

Just like the elements of our planet exquisitely support human life, gravity also is a basic aspect to earth that innately allows us to thrive. We are creatures of the earth and we are creatures of gravity.

illustration by Leif Backus

Gravity gives us bone density, verticality, command over movement, and the potential for effortless, expansive embodiment.

If gravity is expressing itself in our bodies as compressed, compromised joints and tissues, then there’s work that can be done.

In order to stay aligned, so that we are available to receive gravity’s gifts, we must engage in a process of unwinding and unraveling the tension and holding patterns that accumulate in our bodies as a result of all-too-commonplace stress, trauma, neglect and misuse.

We must journey towards structural and functional harmony through bodywork, corrective movement, balanced strengthening, releasing and healing.

“We want to get you to a place where gravity is your friend; a nourishing force.”

~ Dr. Ida Rolf

Isn’t it life affirming to think that this basic element in our environment has infinite potential to support us? Gravity is the ultimate free resource.

We can restore our natural state, one that is free from the residue of the past. We can evolve towards our own personal best: a state in which we thrive in our most natural and efficient physiology and in harmony with nature.

The opportunity for this kind of personal conscious evolution (a concept coined by Dr. Ida Rolf, creator of Structural Integration bodywork) also has collective significance.

If we proceed with the symbiosis of ourselves and our world embedded in our tissues, what kind of optimism will emerge? What kind of reverence and gratitude for our home, Earth, will rise to the surface of our collective consciousness?

As we heal ourselves, we also heal the planet.

Ruthie Streiter: Ruthie is a Structural Integration Practitioner and a yoga teacher in Brooklyn NY, specializing in therapeutics and creating structural and functional harmony in the body. She is the founder and director of both Decompression Project , which offers programs to improve body structure and promote awakened embodiment, and End of Knowing Yoga School , a unique learning sanctuary that fuses the ancient wisdom of yoga with the cultivation of structural balance. Through Decompression Project, Ruthie created an extensive Yoga Video Library . Ruthie writes regularly on her two blogs, The Primary Structure and the End of Knowing Blog , as well as for many online wellness publications.

Gravity and Optimism.freetobelee@gmail.com2022-06-28T13:40:38-07:00

Myths and Realities About The CORE

Myths and Realities About the Core ~ by Ruthie Streiter

In a fitness world loaded with recommendations and catch phrases about the “core” and “core strength,” it can be confusing to navigate this complex topic.

It’s time to move towards a more informed, accurate and applicable understanding of the core so that we can make contact with it in a beneficial way.

What is the “core” anyway?

Different body paradigms and methodologies have slightly varying definitions of the core. The explanation I offer here is informed by the work of Dr. Ida P. Rolf, a scientist and the creator of Structural Integration bodywork, and Joseph Pilates. Both were powerful and brilliant body and movement experts who thought about the core in compatible ways.

The core consists of the deepest layers of muscles in the body. When visualizing the core of a human body, think about the core of an apple—it’s the deepest part and runs along the axis. Core muscles include the deep muscles of the spine, the deep layers of abdominal muscles (psoas and transverse abdominus), the muscles of the pelvic floor, the diaphragm and the inner muscles of the ribcage (inner intercostals).

Myths About Core

Myth #1: Core strength is about getting a “six-pack” and/or a “flat tummy”. The muscle that creates the six-pack appearance is the rectus abdominus muscle, the most superficial abdominal muscle (meaning it lies closest to the surface). This makes the rectus inherently not a core muscle. Strengthening the core is about totally different muscles. More often than not, the main role that an overly worked-out rectus abdominus plays in core strengthening is that it interferes; in this case the rectus needs to relax and soften in order to access the real core body.

Myth #2: I should do sit-ups to strengthen my core. It’s possible to do something that resembles a sit-up or a crunch that might fire up the core muscles, but more often than not, traditional sit-ups tend to activate muscles (like the rectus abdominus) which are not part of the core. Many people who do a lot of sit-ups have to go through a process of un-doing all the unbalanced strength they accumulated because that “strength” interferes with true core awakening.

Myth #3: If I go to a Pilates class, I am definitely working my core. It is possible, and common, to participate in exercises that are considered core-targeted in essence, but, due to weakness or a misunderstanding of how to execute the movement, end up using muscles which aren’t the core. Really using the core in core-targeted exercises requires skill and nuanced understanding of how to engage internally.

What do you mean by an “integrated” core?

In this context, integrated means that we aren’t talking about someone who is solid in deep layers and soft everywhere else or vice versa– what we are looking for is powerful balance. The core should be strong so that it is healthy and alive in a way that is appropriate relative to the rest of the body. If someone has a very strong, contracted core and very weak limbs and outer-layer muscles, then in order for that person to cultivate an integrated core and an integrated body, he/she would need to focus on releasing and lengthening the core and strengthening the non-core muscles that are weaker.

In an integrated body, muscles have balanced strength relative to each other, and true flexibility means that muscles and surrounding tissue (fascia) have balanced flexibility relative to each other. A random muscle which is “strong” or a random muscle which is “flexible” doesn’t mean much in the world of body integration; anything meaningful is about relationship and balance.

Why work on the core body?

Here are three good reasons:

1) Protect your back! An appropriately strong and healthy core will ensure that your back doesn’t have to work overtime. As the core muscles get strong, they also lengthen, providing a sturdy structural support for the spinal column, and preventing spinal compression and related ailments (of which there are many).

2) Diminish chronic tightness and muscular compensation patterns. A weak core will have back muscles working overtime and it doesn’t end there. Chronically tight hips and shoulders can also be the result of a sleepy or weak core. The body craves a proper division of muscular labor. If some muscles are under-working, others will be over-working. This manifests differently in every person. When each muscle is “doing its dharma,” there’s way more functional harmony.

3) Changes in other layers of your being. As you create a stable core, examine changes that might occur in your mental and emotional bodies and in other parts of your life. The state of the core is the physiological expression of something deep inside of you.

Here are 10 tips for exploring your core and cultivating a healthy core body.

This is foundational information that will help you get more out of Pilates classes, yoga classes, and exercise in general. Work towards generating that deep muscular support that is so healthy and make meaningful contact with the inner-most landscape of yourself.

1. Relax the outer layers. The deep core muscles often get overpowered and shut down by the strong (and often over-active) outer layers of muscle. By relaxing the outer back muscles and superficial belly muscles (like the rectus-abdominus-6-pack muscle and the external obliques) and imprinting that letting go, you give the deeper muscles a chance to wake up and be utilized in the body.

Your body has a natural intelligence and those core muscles want to be alive and well! By removing the surrounding tension, it allows that natural intelligence to emerge.

2. Lengthen your trunk, especially your abdomen. Creating length goes hand in hand with relaxation. Once tension patterns in the sleeve and in the abdomen are relaxed and neutralized, the next step is to introduce length. Utilizing gentle, internally generated engagement, and active arms and legs, practice creating length in your trunk and in your abdomen in creative ways.

Generating length works well in side bending, twisting, or even playfully stretching out on the floor. Feel how you can lengthen the back side of the trunk, the front side and the plane deep inside the trunk between the front and the back.

3. Forget about the six-pack. Igniting your core isn’t about gaining that six-pack. The six-pack muscle is an important abdominal muscle (which, by the way, doesn’t have to be a washboard to be in tact), but it is not a core muscle. A pre-occupation with creating a visual effect in the abdomen might actually interfere with the introspective and nuanced process of contacting your true core.

Culturally, we are too focused on appearances, and the appearances that we worship have been conditioned in us. Our culture values and understands a six-pack as a desirable abdomen more than an integrated, alive psoas muscle and a belly which embodies internal length and receptivity. As conscious practitioners, we need to recognize and transcend this shallow conditioning and focus on the physiology and consciousness that matters the most. In this way we can rebuild and exemplify a new, more intelligent, healthier and compassionate value system.

4. Visualize your psoas. The psoas is a primary and important core muscle. It runs along the front of the lumbar spine (one on each side), connects all the way down at the very top of the inner femur and functions as a deep hip flexor muscle (quite relevant to everyday activities like walking!) It is a deep abdominal muscle that lies behind the abdominal organs and can also be considered a “back” muscle because of its adjacency to the anterior spine.

The alignment and functional health (or lack thereof) of the psoas has a profound impact on the health of the lumbar spine and whole lumbar area. You can think of your psoas as a supportive muscular “spacer” for the lumbar vertebrae, keeping them adequately spaced out and supported. Compression may cause a whole slew of back problems like arthritic conditions and slipped, herniated and bulging discs.

Being able to visualize the psoas will help to access it in targeted strengthening exercises and stretches. Awareness of the psoas can also be powerful in any yoga pose or exercise—almost any movement or activity in life can be enhanced by checking in with the psoas and inviting your consciousness to brighten it up.

5. Distinguish between “core” and “sleeve” in movement.

In Dr. Ida Rolf’s model of the core body, she articulates the distinction between core and sleeve. The core muscles work together as a functional unit. All the muscles other than the core make up the “sleeve.” Sleeve muscles work together too. Play with movement that is initiated and supported by core muscles. Then play with movement that is initiated and supported by sleeve muscles.

In dynamic exercise, sports and yoga, and even in normal life, our movement ideally transfers from core to sleeve to core to sleeve, gracefully and effortlessly and naturally, and the core and sleeve are in constant conversation. Explore how an alive, strong core can support sleeve limbs and outer layers.

6. Spinal extension, slow and steady. In active spinal extension exercises, like salambhasana, there is an opportunity to work delicately and intricately with the deepest spinal muscles. Abruptly or aggressively practicing spinal extensions will kick in the outer layers of back muscles. Enter these poses smoothly and slowly. Try meditating on the deepest areas around the vertebrae. This will ignite the core back muscles, cultivating their tone and imprinting their wakefulness while keeping the sleeve quiet and secondary.

7. Pay attention to your pelvic floor. The space between your sitting bones, pubic bone, and tailbone is a mysterious universe in an of itself. Get to know it, study it, feel into it. There are infinite ways to engage (and relax) this part of the body, and simply exploring and experimenting in this arena is a great pre-requisite for success in pelvic floor exercises as done in yoga, Pilates, kegels, and mula bandha.

8. Breath awareness. Breathing is so intimately connected to the core body. The diaphragm and inner intercostals are important core muscles—since all the core muscles essentially and ultimately work as a unit, the movement and flow of the breath is intricately intertwined with all core engagement. Take some time every day to study your breath as a witness and discover inside yourself how it contributes to the essence of the core. Find a great pranayama teacher to learn some traditional breathing exercises to practice; they have immeasurable benefits.

9. Feel into the central axis. This is the ultimate yogic exercise. The central axis of the body is the sacred energy channel. It is the realm of the ancient (and contemporary) yogi. Breathe into the central axis of the body, use the power of your consciousness to invite a sense of openness in the channel. Yoga asanas will help to release physiological and energetic blockages. Feel the central channel from the base of the pelvis all the way up through the top of the head. When your mind inhabits this space, you are living in your core body.

Hint: relax, open, and lift the very back of your throat. This is a powerful entryway of the central axis.

10. Learn the bandhas and kriyas properly. There are some practices in the yoga tradition that deal specifically with core engagement, both physically and energetically. Uddiyana bandha kriya is a cleansing practice in which there is an interesting and unusual muscular engagement of the core muscles at the end of the exhalation, particularly the diaphragm. Nauli is a cleansing practice in which the abdominal organs are massaged internally and stimulated. In another form of uddiyana bandha appropriate to engage during asana practice, the deep lower abdominals are awake and pulled gently towards the spine and a lightness is created in the abdominal organs. In mula bandha, the perineum (muscle of the pelvic floor) is intricately and delicately engaged (a practice which is more elusive than most people think).

It’s always worthwhile to study these techniques with a knowledgeable teacher. It’s easy to misuse and misunderstand these practices, which must be done in the context of an informed, safe breathing sequence and by engaging in the correct manner.

Ruthie Streiter is a Structural Integration Practitioner and a yoga teacher in Brooklyn, NY, specializing in therapeutics and creating structural and functional harmony in the body. She is the founder and director of the Decompression Project, which offers programs to improve body structure and promote awakened embodiment, and the End of Knowing Yoga School, a unique learning sanctuary that fuses the ancient wisdom of yoga with the cultivation of structural balance. Ruthie created the DP Embodiment Course, an educational program to help people thrive in their bodies at work and Decompression Videos, a library of therapeutic yoga sequences design to help people “practice right for their body types” at home. Ruthie writes regularly on her two blogs, The Primary Structure and the End of Knowing Blog.

Photography (top image and image of Ruthie) by Lana Bernberg.

~

Editor: Malin Bergman

From Elephant Journal

Myths and Realities About The COREfreetobelee@gmail.com2020-11-13T15:36:51-08:00

Lesa Sol Pensak – Rolf Structural Integration in Davis and Lake Tahoe

Lesa Sol Pensak is Board Certified Advanced Structural Integrator certified from the Guild for Structural Integration.
Lesa is also a Holistic Health Practitioner and Massage Therapist certified from Mueller College of Holistic Studies. She has 33 years of private practice.

True North Rolf Structural Integration has a new office in Davis.

Lesa (15) Various structural and movement imbalances may be blocking you from reaching a more stable state of body and mind. The Rolf Series’ goal is the physical and emotional evolution of an individual through the lengthening and integration of the body.

Lesa has helped many people discover how Rolf bodywork can dramatically enhance one’s posture and movement possibilities. You will move with greater ease and awareness.

Structural Integration is a powerful combination of manual therapy and movement education which can be complimented by Acupuncture, Pilates, Gyrotonics, Osteopathy, Yoga and other disciplines.

Lesa was on the Board of Massage Examiners, Massage Instructor, National Exam Writer, Level 3 Ski Instructor and Technical Trainer.

Contact Lesa @ (775) 443-8500 truenorthrolf@gmail.com www.truenorthrolf.com

Lesa Sol Pensak – Rolf Structural Integration in Davis and Lake Tahoefreetobelee@gmail.com2023-02-06T23:56:47-08:00

Yogis Discover Rolfing Enhances Their Practice

Yogis are discovering that the intense yet stimulating movements of Rolf Structural Integration can enhance their practice.

Did you know that Ida Rolf developed her work in part inspired by yoga? Rolf Structural Integration and Yoga seem to be variations of a single theme: both working towards the physical and emotional evolution of an individual through the lengthening and integration of the body. This is not surprising considering that Rolf Structural Integration has its roots in the principals of Yoga.

Many yogis are discovering it can help correct the various physical imbalances that keep them from reaching a more stable state of body and mind. A Structural Integration series can dramatically enhance your yoga practice by opening up new movement possibilities and when combined it is more beneficial than either alone.

Ida Rolf began studying yoga back in the 20’s in New York with a tantric guru named Pierre Bernard. She studied yoga for many years. At the time, yoga was almost unheard of in the U.S. so she never thought that there would be the kind of resurgence of yoga in the West the way there has been.

When she created Structural Integration (aka Rolfing), she was asking, “How do I create a yogic experience in a western way?” Structural Integration was aligned with the goals of yoga as “a physical system that enriches the student’s body, mind and spiritual well-being through an understanding of structural balance.”

Everybody was thinking of fascia as simply the packing material that goes around the other tissues. Now, we’re finding out that it’s a powerful regulatory system. I’ve seen this in my practice…as we make changes to the body, the person often experiences changes mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

We’re looking at the potential offered by body work, Yoga, Structural Integration, Osteopathy, and so on—all these body therapies are contributing to this realm of wholism. Going forward, I think we may see these modalities unite into a very powerful combination of manual therapy and movement, where everybody is speaking one language.

Yogis Discover Rolfing Enhances Their Practicefreetobelee@gmail.com2020-11-13T15:36:52-08:00

Staying Fit: Yoga, Rolfing and Fascia

Staying Fit: Yoga, Rolfing and the Elusive Cinderella Tissues by Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D.

What is the most plentiful tissue in the body — and the most ignored?

The answer is fascia — the gooey, gliding stuff that holds you together. Fascia is a broad term for the extracellular matrix of fibers, “glue” and water surrounding all your cells, and wrapping like plastic wrap around muscle fibers and muscles, organs, bones, blood vessels and nerves — and finally as a second skin around your entire body.

“Fascia is like the Cinderella tissues of the body,” says Tom Myers, a leading thinker in integrative anatomy and author of Anatomy Trains. “It has been the most ignored of all the tissues in the body — at least up until recently. Yet, fascia is critical to understanding the body and what it takes to keep your body functional and healthy all life long.”

In recent years, the interest in fascia has surged. In 2007, fascial researchers and practitioners banded together to initiate the biennial Fascia Research Congress, where researchers and health practitioners can share new discoveries. (The Fascia Research Congress 2012 will be held in Vancouver in March.) Understanding the elusive Cinderella tissues offers an important glimpse into important, yet not widely known, aspects of bodily health and function.

Here are four fascinating facts about fascia:

1. All You Learned About “Muscles” Is Wrong A primary lesson emerging from new research into fascia is that all we learned about muscles is wrong. “That illustration in your doctor’s office of the red-muscled human body is a body with its fascia cut away,” says Myers. “It’s not what you look like inside, but it’s a lot neater and easier to study. And, it’s the way doctors have been taught to look at you.” We commonly speak about the musculoskeletal system, and the muscles attached to the bones of the body. But according to Myers, muscles in fact don’t attach to bones. Fascia does. “Muscle is like hamburger; it can’t attach to a bone,” says Myers. “There’s fascia going around and through the muscle. And when the muscle runs out, that fascia from the outside and the middle of the muscle spins into a tendon, just like yarn.” It may be useful for our thinking mind to dissect the body in to some 600 muscles and their tendon attachments to bones. However, the body doesn’t think in terms of 600 individual muscles. “Your brain does not think in terms of biceps and deltoids,” says Myers. “There is one muscle that exists in 600 fascial pockets. Ultimately, the brain creates movement in terms of large fascial networks and individual motor units, not our named muscles.”

2. Much More Than a Wrapping Material Fascia is not just a passive wrapping material, but a live, biological fabric, which directs the traffic of forces around the body, and responds and remodels itself as forces change. Some researchers, like Helene Langevin of the University of Vermont, suggest that the connective tissue network may function as a whole body communications system, which influence the function of all other physiological systems. How exactly such a whole body network would be communicating within itself is as yet unknown, and there may be several pathways. Langevin has developed evidence, for example, that the fascial network may correspond to the network of acupuncture points and meridians. In this framework, acupuncture needles produce cellular changes that propagate along connective tissue planes. A similar effect is created by the stretching of the connective tissue created by yoga poses or externally applied stretch and pressure during bodywork.

3. Redefining Chronic Pain In its healthy state, the fascial network stretches and moves without restriction. However, age, injuries, repetitive stress, poor postural habits and even emotional trauma can cause fascia to lose its flexibility and become tight and restricted. This helps stabilize the body in the short term, but unfortunately, it also locks you into a chronic strain pattern that can be hard to correct. Think of it like wearing a thin silk suit. If you pull on one part of the suit, the tension patterns will show up throughout. Fascial strain patterns translate through the entire body, and affect the structural network of the entire body. They may lie at the root of chronic pain issues like migraine headaches, chronic back pain, or fibromyalgia, or other pesky pain problems that just won’t go away. For this reason, bodywork techniques focusing directly on the fascia, such as Rolfing and myofasical release therapy, can sometimes stimulate tremendous physical and/or emotional release where other modalities come up short.

4. A New Understanding of Fitness: While we usually think in terms of fitness as strong muscles and cardiovascular endurance, we ignore fascia at our own peril. Having an integrated and well-trained fascial network is important not just for anyone engaged in sports, but for anyone wishing to retain a healthy and functional body throughout life. When you train the body, the fascia is trained as well. However, it may not be the way you would want to train it. If your fitness routine involves mainly machines, you will not end up with a fascial network that is as strong, versatile and capable as you’d like, but rather a one-dimensional network that may respond less efficiently to challenges. “Exercise machines are great for building individual muscles and terrible for training your fascia, because they train the fascia in one particular direction, one particular vector,” says Myers. “You end up training fascia, which is not prepared for life, because life doesn’t come at you right straight down the same vectors that the machines do.”

In terms of training, Myers says, favor movement forms that involve a lot of variety in direction and load, which builds versatile balance and stability into your body. Yoga asanas are particularly useful for stretching the long chains of fasica in numerous directions ways, offering the kind of system-wide engagement it needs. Training too hard or repeating the same routine without variation can lead to fascial adhesions or injury.

For more, see Tom Myers free report on YogaUOnline: 10 Tips for Fascial Fitness. The full interview with Tom Myers: Fascia, Yoga and the Medicine of the Future.

Staying Fit: Yoga, Rolfing and Fasciafreetobelee@gmail.com2020-11-13T15:36:52-08:00

Discover the power of Rolfing

Special to the Bonanza

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nv.

Deeply transformational bodywork called The Rolf Method of Structural Integration is now available in Incline Village Lake Tahoe and Davis.

The Rolf Method blends structural, energetic and manual therapies and are a complement to Acupuncture, Pilates, Yoga and other wellness practices. It’s a dynamic alternative to traditional therapies and the results can be profound: significant relief from pain, enhanced range of motion, improved athletic performance and well-being.

This is the result of hands-on manipulation and core movement education developed by Dr. Ida Rolf that works on connective tissue to release, realign and balance the whole body with lift and length in the field of gravity. One’s posture and freedom of movement is enhanced, while pain from many causes, including back pain, trauma and repetitive motion injury may be resolved as a side effect.

Hands-on interventions with visual and functional assessments coupled with client education bring about positive and long lasting outcomes.

Lesa Sol Pensak is the owner of True North Rolf in Davis and Incline Village.
Board Certified, Advanced Structural Integrator, Holistic Health Practitioner and Advanced Massage Therapist since 1989.

Learn more about Pensak at www.truenorthrolf.com

Discover the power of Rolfingfreetobelee@gmail.com2020-11-13T15:36:52-08:00

Dr Rolf Speaks posted by Lesa Sol Pensak

“Anybody and everybody can put hands into a body and change a body. And have mercy, good lord, on you if you come and say to me, “Well I know I did a good job ‘cause I changed the body. All you have to do is get your fists into somebody, you’ll change that body; you can change it very unhappily. It’s just as easy to take a body apart – in fact it’s almost a lot easier – than it is to put it together. But the reason you call yourself a worker of structural integration is because you put it together, and if you don’t put it together, you’re doing something else; you’re not doing what is being taught here. It’s very, very important to realize that.”

~Dr. Rolf Advanced class audio recording.

Dr Rolf Speaks posted by Lesa Sol Pensakfreetobelee@gmail.com2020-11-13T15:36:52-08:00

Structural Integration Mission Statement

The Guild For Structural Integration

The dictionary defines a mission as “a continuing task or responsibility that one is destined or fitted to do or specially called upon to undertake.” Accordingly, the Guild offers the following mission statement:

The Guild is dedicated to the traditional teachings of Dr. Ida P. Rolf. The product of her life’s work and teaching is the “Recipe”; a ten- session sequence of structural, fascial and educational goals which establishes order in human structures. Due to its efficacy in symptom alleviation, both physical and emotional, there is little doubt that the Recipe will survive in various forms as techniques; it is not certain that it can endure as art and craft without the special dedication of those individuals who are inspired by the potency of intention and wisdom of process concealed within. The Recipe is not technique. The Recipe is more than a discrete succession of myo-fascial goals and intentions. The Recipe is, rather, a process, based on a set of relationships, which establishes structural balance and order. These relationships are based upon sound theoretical physics as well as some traditional metaphysical hypotheses. Relationships belong to the realm of art, they are non-linear. Technique is better suited to scientific and linear analysis. The Recipe, as taught in other schools, has been modified or, perhaps, specialized in several ways. Some of these modifications ignore the underlying priorities in Dr. Rolf’s teaching. The Guild is formed to insure that the Recipe does not lose its potency of intention, its expression as art, nor its comprehension as process.

Dr. Rolf’s teaching emphasizes the concept of the personal line of vertical intention, the “Line.” The Line passes through the centers of gravity of the body’s vertical blocks. The Line, in our concept of the Structurally Integrated human, does not pass through bone, except at the top of the head. In actual fact, this weight-bearing line does pass through bone in all but the most exceptional human structures. Indeed, it was Dr. Rolf’s observation that our species had not yet successfully completed its journey to uprightness. The Recipe is designed to offer personal assistance in this evolutionary voyage. The emergence of the unstressed vertical, the Line which passes only through soft tissue is evidence of progress toward this goal. The Line being defined as a set of theoretical points in space is not real, but experiential, and it can be, perhaps, must be, intentional. The horizon is the horizontal reference for the Line. The shoulder girdle and the pelvic girdle must contain true horizontal balance to define and support vertical extension. The Line goes through the top of the head and through the bottom of the feet to infinity. The Line forms a relationship between the field which is man and the field which is earth, the field of gravity. The Line is transcendental, it relates the realm of material particles, of basic physics to the non-material, the world of energy fields. While Dr. Rolf’s metaphysical hypotheses concerning the Line are not original, her use of the Recipe as a tool for exploring them is unique. The idea of using a vertical line of extension to integrate one’s personal energy field with the energy field of the earth is a compelling idea with both practical and visionary implications. The Guild recognizes the singular importance of the Line as raison d’ etre for the recipe. We believe that effort to clarify and develop a clear sense of vertical extension should be a path for personal growth. And further, that instruction concerning the Line is an essential educational aspect of the practice of Structural Integration.

The practice of Structural Integration is, clearly, a logical choice for traditional, holistic, and self-help professionals. However, many of Dr. Rolf’s oldest, most successful and well-known practitioners were not attracted to her work by professional considerations alone, but rather by the personal challenges which she believed were inseparable from the practice.

The practice of Structural Integration was presented as a path of personal growth and integrity, where personal alignment implies structure on all levels: physical, verbal, logical, spiritual, and emotional. The practice was also presented as a path of service, which “refines” the spirit of the practitioner, and assists in the development of true sight and compassion. The discipline of the path is the performance and understanding of the Recipe. Repetition of the Recipe disciplines the mind and clarifies the will. Awakening our consciousness of the Line becomes the personal goal and the Line our inner guide. Fanciful ideas of personal growth, life paths, service and the awakening of special sensory abilities may have little to do with professional competence but they have much to do with the exploration of human potential. Therefore, the Guild believes these extra-professional challenges are useful, even essential, and should be presented to all practitioners of Structural Integration.

The decision to become a Structural Integration Practitioner involves a lifetime of continual learning and intellectual challenge. But it further implies a decision to develop one’s inner knowing, the integration of mind, body and spirit.

Mission Statement

Structural Integration is a method and a philosophy of personal growth and integrity.
The vertical line is our fundamental concept. The physical and psychological embodiment of the vertical line is a way for BEING in the physical world. It forms a basis for personal growth and integrity.
The teaching of Structural Integration is transmitted through a form called the “Recipe.” The “Recipe” is the tradition, the foundation, the essence of Dr. Ida Rolf’s teachings.

« The Guild Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D. »

Structural Integration Mission Statementfreetobelee@gmail.com2020-11-13T15:36:52-08:00

FAQ's About Rolf Structural Integration

Structural Integration

Structural Integration is a scientifically validated body therapy. Unlike massage, Structural Integration focuses not on the muscles but on their protective layer, called fascia (also known as connective tissue). Muscles are contracting tissues that give the body and organs physical movement. The fascia surrounds the muscles, bones and organs in the body. The fascia gives muscles their shape and the body its structure.

Structural Integration aligns and balances the body by lengthening and repositioning the fascia. As fascia is lengthened it allows the muscles to move more efficiently. The practitioner will apply pressure to the body, working the entire fascial system in a systematic way. When restricted fascia is released and lengthened the body can return to its structurally optimal position

The continuing pull of gravity, the stress of daily activities and physical injuries can pull the body out of alignment. The fascia gradually shortens, tightens and adjusts to accommodate the misalignment. When the body is out of alignment it creates inefficiency and imbalance resulting in stiffness, discomfort and loss of energy.

When a body is aligned and balanced it moves with greater ease. It requires less energy to function. Good posture is effortless and breathing is easier. The body becomes more flexible, more coordinated and athletic performance improves.

What will I experience in a Structural Integration session?

Structural Integration is performed in ten sessions. Each session is approximately one hour in length. It is preferable that the sessions are received, one per week for ten weeks in a row. The ten sessions are administered progressively; each session builds upon the last until complete integration of the body is achieved. The process of Structural Integration includes balancing the body in segments and achieving vertical alignment from balancing the body from front to back, side to side, top to bottom and inside to outside.

At the beginning of the first session the client completes a health questionnaire and spend some time speaking with their practitioner about the goals and intentions as applied to their unique situation and structure. Male clients receive work in underwear or swimsuit, women in two piece swimsuits or bra and underwear. The practitioner will observe the client, how they stand, walk and other general movements. In some cases a photograph or digital image may be taken if the client is interested in seeing before and after results. The specific goals of the session will be discussed. The client will lie on a massage table so the practitioner can work with their body. The client will participate in the session often being asked to breathe into the area being worked on or to make small, specific movements.

During the session the client may experience a warm, pleasant sensation from the area that the practitioner is working with. Some individuals do not experience any sensation while others may experience momentary discomfort. The practitioner will apply the appropriate pressure, based on the clients needs and feedback. During most of the sessions the practitioner will help the client to become aware of habitual patterns of movement and imbalances in their body and will help them work toward making changes in these patterns in their daily life.

After the basic ten series is complete a client usually allows a period of time for the body to adapt and fully integrate before scheduling additional work. The waiting period can be anywhere from one month to one year based on the client’s unique experience. After the waiting period the client can return for tune-up sessions or advanced sessions to further the process of integration. In some instances practitioners will work with clients in ongoing sessions to achieve specific goals

What are the benefits?

Structural Integration is a very personal process. It is important to remember that because no two people are alike, their experience and the benefits will never be exactly the same. As a result of the process people often appear taller and slimmer. Some actually gain anywhere from 1/4” to over 1 inch in height. Feelings of discomfort or pain are often alleviated. Other often experienced benefits are greater flexibility, a feeling of lightness and fluidity, better balance, increased breathing capacity, increased energy and greater self-confidence.

While Structural Integration is primarily concerned with physical changes in the body, it affects the whole person. We are made up of emotions, attitudes, belief systems and behavior patterns as well as the physical being. All are related. Align the physical structure and it will open up the individual’s potential. Clients often report positive changes, stating less stress, greater self-confidence and improved ability to handle life’s changes. Such changes have been reported in all age groups.

Does Structural Integration last?

YES! Photographs taken of clients years after the Basic Ten Series show that changes are still present and structure often improved. Keep in mind however, as life changes, bodies change in response. Any injuries, accidents, lengthy illnesses and emotional stress may necessitate additional work.

FAQ's About Rolf Structural Integrationfreetobelee@gmail.com2020-11-13T15:36:52-08:00