Institute for Structural Integration Training Program
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Basic Connective Tissue Massage Course:
Body Mechanics Through Individual Instruction & Fascial Manipulation
Advanced Connective Tissue Massage Course:
Movement Education and Body Observation & Advanced Fascial Manipulation
Institute for Structural Integration's Practitioner Structural Integration training program is taught in three phases over 500 hours. In Phases I and II, students observe daily instructor demonstrations of one of the ten sessions and hear a detailed explanation of the work while it is in process. Students are allowed to question, comment, and palpate, during the demonstrations. It is in this interaction that the skills of seeing, layering, and understanding the Recipe are more fully developed.
In Phase III all the skills learned in Phases I and II are utilized in the actual practice of Structural Integration in the classroom. Abiding by Dr. Rolf's tradition each student exchanges all ten sessions with a designated classmate in class. In addition, they perform the ten sessions of Structural Integration with three models from the community. All manipulation work is closely supervised by the instructor. In that context the strengths and weaknesses of each student can be addressed. The immediate and personal feedback from the instructor enhances the learning process.
Throughout the entire program special attention is given to the study of anatomy from an experiential perspective. Building upon the foundation of the prerequisite programs, proper body mechanics are refined to new levels of expertise. In addition, prominent expert guest lecturers from the community are invited by ISI to augment the structural learning with movement training and somatic studies.
Phase I - The Art of Seeing Human Structural Alignment
During Phase I students develop skills in Structural Integration. The first is that of seeing. Dr. Rolf taught that sight is touch at a distance. She considered this the greatest challenge of Structural Integration. To see in Structural Integration means viewing how the human body aligns itself segmentally in space and the relationship between it and the gravity field. To analyze the human structure as it stands and moves in three dimensional space is an essential component of Structural Integration.
Students learn to identify personal structural patterns how a person carries or holds him/herself and to see how to change those patterns. ISI's program encourages students to see a person as they were in the past, who they are now, and who they are becoming. Considering all of this, learning to see is an ever-changing phenomena that requires self-discipline, self-awareness, and time.
Phase I is the beginning of a life-long process of making a difference viewing the human structure and its movements in a non-linear way, involving many complex relationships.
Phase II Feeling the Core
The second and most critical component of learning Structural Integration is to see with your hands. This experience is called fascial layering. To layer fascia the student balances the innermost muscles with the outermost muscles. ISI's approach is unique because layering is practiced repeatedly with individual instruction.
Students are taught specifically to feel each fascial layer. Using intuition and palpation, they learn to explore the energetic qualities of the tissue and how each fascial layer responds to touch. This skill can be learned only through private, hands-on instruction. Regardless of how well a student can see the structure, it is ultimately how well he or she is able to manipulate the fascia that determines what structural changes occur. Manipulating fascia is the key to becoming a successful practitioner of Structural Integration.
Phase III - The Process of Making a Difference: Integrating Human Structure
The third aspect of the learning process is for students to gain an understanding of the Recipe. The Recipe is the culmination of Dr. Rolf's life's work and is structured as a ten-session sequence of fascial manipulation and movement re-education.
The Recipe is not a technique. It is a process of understanding and implementing structural balance through the body's fascial connections and their relationship around a vertical line within the gravity field. Students are challenged to apply the Recipe to an individual body and thereby gain a great deal of wisdom about the human structure in general.
At this point Structural Integration becomes an art which enables the student to structurally integrate each individual client.
Click here for further information on the curriculum and our teaching methods
Phase I
April 4-8, 12-15, 26-29,
May 3-6, May 17-20
$5400
Phase II
September 13-16, 20-23, 27-30
October 11-14, 18-21
$5400
To register contact John Latz 786-606-9744
