Structural Integration
Structural Integration is NOT the same as massage.
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Structural Integration is series work - meaning that multiple sessions are used to help unravel lines of tension and body patterns that are no longer serving you to aspire toward more ease, more balance, and more integration of the different parts of the body. Currently Tricia offers a 12-Series and 3-Series.
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The therapist and client work as a team during the session - meaning that as I perform the different techniques I will ask you to add some kind of movement. Examples of movements include bending and straightening the knee, pointing and flexing the foot, moving the toes, breathing. Therefore, you will need to stay engaged during the entire session. The movements will help to educate your nervous system and will help to release your fascia (connective tissue).
You will be asked to get off the massage table a few times during the session to walk around and integrate the work into your body. I will also evaluate for any changes that have occurred in your body each time you get up.
Some of the work is performed sitting on a bench rather than lying on the massage table, particularly when we are working on the spine.
LOGISTICS:
1. Allow 2 hours for your first session. The following sessins will last 75-120 minutes. In the first session we will spend time talking about what is going on your body and your body's history before we start any of the hands on work.
2. Make sure to wear underwear and, if applicable, bra that you feel comfortable wearing for the entire session.
3. Please do not apply lotion or oil to your body the day of the session.
4. We will spend time in each session "body reading" to map what is going on with your structure and how it is changing in order to plan and adjust each session. The "body readings" will be done at the beginning, during, and at the end of each session - you and Tricia will look at your body in a mirror to assess the work.
What is Structural Integration?
Structural Integration is a manual approach that addresses chronic postural holding patterns that can lead to pain and dysfunction.
Most of us have collected extra tension through the course of our lives either from injury or surgery, imitation of our parents, friends, or heroes, repetitive activities or attitudes we've acquired along the way. These injuries and tensions form a pattern in our bodies. These patterns become written into our muscles and/or skeletal form and into the tissues that go between - the connective tissue.
Structural Integration helps to free the binding and shortening in the connective tissues, which we refer to as the "fascial network" and to re-educate the body in efficient and energy-sustaining patterns. The goal of Structural Integration is to help unravel lines of tension that are no longer serving the body to aspire toward more ease, more balance, and more integration.
What is a 12-Series?
A series of 12 structural integration sessions that progress through the body. The first four sessions are generally more superficial, freeing the tissues on the front, back, and sides of the body and freeing the shoulders and arms from any binding to the trunk. The middle four sessions address the “core” of your body, working into the central stabilization muscles closer to the spine. The last four sessions integrate “core” and “sleeve” into your habitual movement (and address specific problems you bring to the table), leaving you with a lasting and progressive change that will echo throughout the rest of your life. ​
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The session plans are based on your body structure, not on where you feel pain. Any tensions, aches, or pains that you have will be discussed and taken into account, but, often, where you are feeling pain or tension is not where the underlying problem lives. Structural Integration is not about "chasing pain" but about lining up the body to, hopefully, resolve your pain for good.
What is a 3-Series?
A series of 3 structural integration sessions that can be done as an introduction to prepare for a 12-Series or as a truncated version if a full 12-Series is not possible.
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A 3-Series can also be appropriate following a 12-Series typically 3 to 6 months following a 12-Series if additional bodywork is required.
Pricing:
12-Series or 3-Series for $140/session
60 minute Intro Session for $140
120 minute Intro Session for $220
Location:
Capitol Hill, D.C.