STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION
Structure determines function.
How well you feel and move depends on how balanced your body is. To get to the source of your pain, you have to affect the structure, not just treat pain symptoms.
Structural integration is a process of bodywork that restructures your entire body. Through a series of sessions, your specific pattern of tension is replaced with a new pattern — one that gives freedom from pain and develops muscular and bone balance so you can move with ease.
THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION PROCESS
Before, during, and after the 10-series
10-Series — 3-Series — 5-Series
Structural integration (SI) is broken down into groups of sessions called series. There are three different series within the SI process, each named for the number of sessions they contain. They are: the 10-Series, the 3-Series, and the 5-Series.
The SI process is like building a house — you need a solid foundation before you can add all the details (paint, window treatments, landscaping, custom cabinetry) that make your house your home. The 10-Series establishes the foundation for alignment and balance in your body; the 3 and 5-Series add the details.
Most people find chronic pain relief and improved mobility during the 10-Series because with each session, your body is taking on a more balanced pattern.
After the 10-Series, your body has a solid foundation and is ready for advanced SI work. This is usually in the form of a 3-Series, though sometimes, it may be appropriate to receive a 5-Series. The 5 is the the most challenging work to receive, yet it is also the most transformative. Your practitioner will decide what advanced series is appropriate for your body.
SI SERIES TIMELINE
Structural integration is not a maintenance program — it is a process of optimal development. Since our bodies are not fixed in time, the SI process helps us to continue developing a higher level of balance so our bodies (and minds) can function optimally.
The SI process has two periods. Within each “cycle” there is an active phase and a rest phase. The active phase is when you are actively receiving one of the three SI series (10 series, 3 series, or 5 series). This is the time when you put in the work, so to speak. Your body is actively going through a structural change, becoming more opened, aligned, lengthened, and integrated. The rest phase (usually 2-4 months) is the time between series. This is where your body integrates and assimilates the changes that happened during the active phase. This is the time when you go back to the activities you did before SI (yoga, walking, sitting, weight training, etc.) with fresh eyes and a more thoughtful way of performing them.
Each SI cycle helps to develop a new normal, a new baseline, specific to you.