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by Melinda Copp
Ten or even five years ago,
mention of the words “Rolfing®” or
“structural integration” likely elicited
quite a few blank stares. And most
people outside the holistic health
industry probably never considered
that their everyday aches and pains
could be associated with connective
tissue. But today, like many other holistic
therapies, structural integration
is a growing field. As more and more
people are realizing that they don’t
have to live with bodily discomforts,
poor posture and the stress that these
conditions create, they are actively
seeking new solutions.
As awareness of structural integration
grows, demand for practitioners
is growing with it. For massage therapists, structural integration
offers a great opportunity for career advancement
and a deeper knowledge of the human body.
What is structural integration?
 Structural integration was created by Ida P. Rolf, PhD,
a biochemist who, more than 50 years ago, started developing
her holistic system of soft tissue manipulation
and movement education as a way to organize the entire
body in gravity. She studied a broad array of sciences
and holistic therapies, ranging from atomic physics and
mathematics to yoga and homeopathic medicine. All of
her research played a part in her development of structural
integration.
Structural integration works to align the human structure
in space by altering fascia. Fascia is an elastic network
of fiber that encases and protects muscles, and separates all functional units of the
body.
To understand how fascia works,
think of the human body as a complex
system of blocks wrapped in
this elastic layer of connective tissue.
Each block may be made up
of additional smaller blocks and
arranged in their own sacs of connective
tissue, all of which work
together as a whole in movements,
behaviors and responses. Ideally,
these blocks are arranged in a balanced,
ordered pattern that allows
for normal movement. But when injury, strain or gravity
alters the arrangement of the blocks, the fascia network
is also strained and altered, and the entire system can
be disrupted.
Because fascia works as a whole throughout the body,
damaged areas transmit strain in various directions
and a person may feel pain or discomfort in places that
aren’t related to their injury in conventional ways. Successfully
integrating a person’s structure means creating
symmetry by realigning the components of their body
in three-dimensional space. So essentially, structural
integrators work with a client’s connective tissue to resculpt
the entire body and create symmetry on all three
major axes.
Structural integration work is designed to be done
in 10 to 12 sessions—with one session every week or
two—and each session addresses a different area of the
body. It is a process that involves reassessment in each
session, and nurturing the client-practitioner relationship
with open communication.
Clients often see and feel a difference in their stature
and well-being after just one session, and the results of a
full series can continue long after it is completed.
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American Massage Therapy Association®
