Treatments » KMI Structural Integration

WHAT IS STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION?

We all live with the force of gravity upon us. Our relationship with gravity can help us or hinder us depending on our postural alignment. If we have a good postural alignment the force of gravity can travel through us uninterrupted. Gravity can thus actually help us to stay upright and balanced. If on the other hand gravity is not able to pass through us in an efficient way then we are affected more negatively by its force upon us and our bodies have to work hard to carry us through life. This is less efficient and uses up a lot more energy therefore having a negative effect on our overall well being.

Dr Rolf believed that many of the dysfunctional bodily patterns found today are the result of the body’s failure to intelligently negotiate its relationship with gravity. She used to say that “Gravity is the therapist”. In her words:

“One individual may experience his losing fight with gravity as a sharp pain in the back, another as the unflattering contour of his body, another as a constant fatigue, and yet another as an unrelenting threatening environment. Those over forty may call it old age; yet all these signals may be pointing to a single problem so prominent in their own structures and the structures of others that it has been ignored: they are off-balance; they are all at war with gravity” (Rolf 1977).

The structural integration series is an excellent way of bringing ourselves into better postural alignment and allows us to live more effortlessly in our gravitational field.
Structural integration, also known as Rolfing after its founder Dr Ida P Rolf, is a style of bodywork which works to rebalance your body and bring you into better postural alignment. The work was developed by Dr Ida P Rolf in the 1950s and became popular in the 1960s and 70s. Since then its popularity has grown considerably and it is now taught around the world. Dr Rolf had a scientific back ground and became interested in alternative forms of health care such as yoga, osteopathy and Alexandra technique. She also understood the influence that the fascia and muscles have on our posture and how, when they are out of balance, they can create negative postural habits which often cause various symptoms around the body.

Although structural integration is proven to relieve symptoms Dr Rolf use to say, “where you think it is, it ain’t”, meaning that just because your pain is in your neck, that does not mean that the neck is causing the pain. In fact most of the time the problem is being caused from imbalance far from the site of pain and for this reason we work with the whole person not just with the problem area.

WHAT IS KMI STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION?

KMI stands for Kinesis Myofascial Integration and is a form of structural integration which incorporates Tom Myers’ concept of the Anatomy Trains into its 12 session series. Each session lasts 90 min and builds on the others, so that by the end of the 12 session series the whole body has been worked on in order to undo restrictions and tightness within the myofascial sysyem.

The Anatomy Trains is a tool which enables us to look at ourselves as a whole rather than a collection of individual parts. Structural integration always recognises this idea and works on the whole person, aiming to integrate all these parts so we can move through life more efficiently.

The myofascial system consists of muscles (greek: myo) and the soft connective tissue (fascia) that intertwines the muscles and forms a continuous web throughout the body. As the tightness in the myofascia is released, many of the everyday aches and pains and chronic problems that you feel can disappear and your posture can be greatly improved. Movement becomes easier and energy levels improve as your body begins to work more efficiently.

WHAT TO EXPECT

This work is carried out on a massage table with the recipient in their underwear. A typical session will start with me assessing your posture and then from this visual assessment I will choose which areas are tight and restricted, and work progressively each session in order to undo the restrictions and improve your postural position. Photos are taken before the first session and at the end of the 12 sessions as an aid to assessment.

The myofascia is in layers throughout our body and the outer more superficial layers, which we call the sleeve, are addressed in the first 4 sessions. A big difference between massage and structural integration is that we work on the fascia and not just the muscles: fascia binds everything and is our organ of support so it can be manipulated and stretched in order to allow our postures to improve. In a structural integration session, you will be asked to do small movements as I work on an area to help the fascia to release.

Once the outer layers of myofascia are softened and more open we are then able to work into the deeper myofascia more effectively, and the middle 4 sessions work on these deeper layers which make up our core. The final 4 sessions are the integrating sessions and give us both the chance to go back and readdress areas in the sleeve and core which are held particularly tight, these final sessions will also balance the pelvic and shoulder girdles as well as the spine and integrate the sleeve and core so as they work with each other instead of against each other.

Structural integration is very different from massage in that it has a definite beginning and end point. After the 12 sessions you will not be expected to receive more structural integration work for up to six months, after that time I will invite you back for the occasional top up session. Structural integration has been proven to create ongoing changes for a long time after the initial 12 sessions and there has been further visual improvement in people’s posture a year or more after their initial 12 sessions.

Testimonial:
Have you ever just wished someone could take the pain away? After years of trying Osteopaths, Chiropractors, Doctors and various massage techniques I had pretty much decided that no one could. I had been told that I had a shoulder injury but found walking uncomfortable, standing for more than a few minutes almost impossible sitting hurt as did lying down. I wasn’t in constant pain but it affected my life, my ability to be active and my confidence. When yet another therapy was suggested I was less than enthusiastic, but could this be the one that made the difference? Well yes it has, and most of the work done by Andrew has been on my hips, legs and feet !! My appalling posture is no more, and the pain has gone, but be warned, this [KMI Structural Integration] is not a nice relaxing therapy, at times I find it very challenging but the results are, for me, life changing. I am not “cured” but I feel my age now, 50 instead of 90. What a relief.
Pam, Shoreham