Anatomy Trains Structural Integration Training

​Anatomy Trains Structural Integration Training Part I. San Diego was 3 weeks in a different life. Stripped of home, husband, puppies, routines, comforts, all of it. Heading out there I had every intention of maximizing every moment with my friend and colleague, Rachel Graham. We had a lot of mobility content we wanted to film, conversations to capture, many plans. However, on the way out there, I messaged and let her know that I was in a precarious way. I was feeling the exhaustion of completing a big project and working long hours prior to leaving. She was, too. I asked if we could just make sure we ate good food and moved our bodies daily for the first week. That ended up being our strategy for the entire trip. We did it! We cooked good food and we moved our bodies everyday, in addition to our 8 hour immersion style school days. It was a win. Every day was an opportunity to see if I could really take care of myself. We also got to spend time in nature on the weekends, La Jolla tide pools, safari park adventures, and more.

 I was known at school as the hydrator, my commitment to my gallon of water never ceased. At the end of every day we sorted through what we affectionately called “brain pho” and tried to differentiate the gobs of material we’d covered. We’re still doing that, actually. We’re studying weekly until we return for part 2 of this training at the end of April. Learning with a small group of curious individuals with diverse backgrounds and histories can be a life changing experience. It certainly has been for us. I actually met my good friend Rachel at a fascial stretch training in Arizona. We clicked on all the levels. We joke that some people meet us at different corners or intersections of our lives, careers, humor, etc. We meet each other at all of them. It’s a pretty rare find. We spent 3 weeks in an airbnb happily coexisting and cohabitating with lots of laughter and nary a spat. Well, maybe there was the one about olives on nachos. That’s a no for me.

Every class day started with some movement, maybe it was meditative, maybe it was playful. It was always intentional and connected to the concepts we were going to cover that day. Maybe it was connecting with another person, back to back, and seeing what surfaces would connect and which ones wouldn’t. One day it was rolling around on the ground trying to recreate movement by following where your eyes took you, like a baby might. One day it was a ruckus dance party, another a smooth set of spinal opening waves. It was thought provoking, fun, magnetic, lovely. So inspiring to be in a space where movement snacks are a curated part of the learning experience. Each day we sunk our teeth deep into anatomical and movement related topics. The relationships of the bones of the feet and the compartments of the lower leg, the fans of the hips, the pelvis and ribcage relationships. Everything is connected, but we sifted through those connections with a fine toothed comb to make more sense of them. So that when we say “everything is connected” we can think through what is connected to a particular issue in a grounded and scientific way. There is still plenty of unknown and magical mystical parts of bodies and bodywork, but the approach here is to ground our treatments with knowledge, assessment and movement to ensure that we’re helping our clients in the most effective way possible. Many times an area might be getting all of your attention, and the problem isn’t there. So instead of pressing deeply into an area that is likely not the culprit, we can hopefully help your body reposition to a more functional state. 

As we journeyed through the entire body Ms. Frizzle style (hope you’re old enough to have watched the magic school bus), we gained a deeper understanding of our own bodies and movement patterns. This new understanding and deeper excavation of things held, both emotional and physical, had a very powerful effect on me. It helped me assess some current movement practices I had that weren’t serving me anymore, some rigidly held ideals I was clinging to that weren’t really mine. Another layer peeled back. Each time this happens it’s scary. You think you feel so secure in what you're doing and how you’re doing it, only to continually realize the impermanence of everything. It’s a pretty great place to be. 

At the end of 3 weeks, I had let go of some patterning in my shoulder and my abdominals that opened me up to exponentially more freedom of movement in my body. Not only that but I also got to experience some of the discomfort that comes with powerful structural change. For all of it, I am grateful. It was very challenging, I was out of my comfort zone in all the ways and movement felt very different. My experience of myself and who I thought I was changed immensely. I’m still sorting through it. 

Moving forward to part 2 of this powerful program April 22-May 5. I will be looking to treat 16 individuals with the ATSI 3-Session Series. This series of sessions begins with BodyReading postural assessment, and then techniques for balancing the pelvis, the shoulder girdle, and the spine. The 3 series of structural integration is a great introduction to structural bodywork, and clients often report improvement in posture, breathing, movement, energy, and improved body awareness. Please reach out if you would like to work through a 3 series with me starting mid May!