Systematic Body Restructuring * Segmented Sessions * Long Lasting
Increase Range of Motion * Decrease Pain
DanceCore does Dr. Ida P. Rolf's Method of
Structural Integration
Structural in itself does not hurt, yet it does. You see, we tend to go to your personal pain tolerance and work out the adhesions. DanceCore bodywork is designed to work with athletic needs. Our massage philosophy is that as long as you can relax your muscle tissue during the stroke we are getting good work done. The moment you contract against the stroke it has become too deep.
Structural Integration starts with the idea that you will be working with us for 10 or more sessions. Each session builds on the last and systematically restructures your ability to stand erect and move with correct body mechanics. We have a passion for assisting athletes to reach their greatest performance and prevent injury.
As the client you are in charge of your massage. It does not offend a therapist if you ask for lighter or slower strokes; but it can injure you if you do not say anything. It is important that you take personal responsibility for your health and realize that the therapist has the capability of hurting you and does not wish you to get injured. It is not a competition to see how much pain you can take. Communicate and your bodywork can do wonders for your body.
All bodywork followed by core training has the longest lasting results. The bodywork moves out poor posture and bad habits. The core training instills good habits and reinforces excellent alignment.
Fascia:
Your muscles and bones are surrounded, on multiple levels, with a wrap called fascia (both directional and multidirectional fibers). Fascia contains a glue-like substance called colloid that behaves similar to honey (being viscous when hot and sticky when cool).
Many athletes will have deviations on this system due to injury or specialized training.
Natural shifting and warming of the fascia becomes easier after receiving bodywork. Once your body has removed adhesions between muscles the fluid range of motion increases while pain reduces.
This type of bodywork is most easily done with Viewing Clothing rather than sheets. It takes an additional 5 minutes of time to shift sheets and some areas are too difficult to reach and maintain a client/therapist professional setting. We require men to wear mid-thigh (or shorter) compression shorts/spedo and women to wear mid-thigh (or shorter) biker shorts and a colored sports bra (not white). Before and after sessions we will take pictures to evaluate posture, improvement, and future work needs.
It does take up to four to ten days for the fascia to complete shifting from this deep form of bodywork. It is normal to feel bruised or queazy while your body adjusts. If sharp pain occurs call your therapist for more information. Plan on the ten session taking anywhere from seven to eleven weeks.
Tensegrity
Image used with permission
Your body is fully connected with fascia running from bone to muscle and back again. The fascia has no beginning or end which translates to the body being fully connected. When one portion of your fascia gets tight and misaligned it will pull the rest of the body. If it is not adjusted fairly quickly it has a domino-affect in pulling other body parts out of alignment. This results in stiffness, misalignment, and eventually pain and a decrease in performance.
Massage Modalities
For the record, Structural Integration is not a massage modality. It is it's own training and expertise. Some in the list below also can be their own training and expertise; however we learned them during our massage therapy education.
There are many massage modalities, too many to name, and we use a handful of them. All massages start with the idea that we will probably use Structural and a little Trigger Point Therapy. However, it is important to understand that your practitioner will use the best tools for your individual needs. Some modalities we use include, though are not limited to, Reflexology, Cranial Sacral Therapy, Hydrotherapy, Cryotherapy, Acupressure, Sports, Russian Sports, Unwinding, etc.
There are many massage modalities, too many to name, and we use a handful of them. All massages start with the idea that we will probably use Structural and a little Trigger Point Therapy. However, it is important to understand that your practitioner will use the best tools for your individual needs. Some modalities we use include, though are not limited to, Reflexology, Cranial Sacral Therapy, Hydrotherapy, Cryotherapy, Acupressure, Sports, Russian Sports, Unwinding, etc.
The Problem is the Solution
Often a problem is hidden behind the symptoms. I (Kristy) see often during a massage with Trigger Points (Trps) the pain being in one portion of the body and the cause being inches or feet away in another muscle. I've tried to find a good way to help a client know that I am working on their immediate problem; I'm just prepping the area by working where the source is.
To Illustrate:
I often have clients come in who say "I have Carpal Tunnell Syndrome" and they point to a referall zone for the Infraspinatis. Most of them have never heard of the Infraspinatis and certainly don't believe that a muscle on their shoulder blade could be causing such pain in their arm and hand.
I point to different body parts while I explain to them that sometimes the Pectoralis Major and Minor can cause these symptoms, the Scalenes can cause them, and the hidden culprit is usually the infraspinatis. I'll work on their forearm to help the pain; but first I'll work on their back and start problem solving.
More often than not the main problem is far from the symptom, usually on the opposite side from the pain, and the client has the opportunity to learn how to stretch, exercise, and generally help themselves to reduce their pain. I love to clients walking away empowered to take their healing into their own hands.
If you ask my clients the will probably tell you I am pretty passionate about teaching them about their bodies so that they are in charge. I know that if I teach them what their symptom is they will be able to go straight to the problem and alleviate their pain at the source.
Our Conversation
Brian and I discussed, over breakfast, the problem being the solution. It makes perfect sense. In fact it is how men got on the moon recently; because they applied PERT. This philosophy is calculating what the end was and walking backward to find out exactly what had to come just before the present. They started at the Earth and ended at the launch on the Earth and detailed out everything in between. By going through all the problems they discovered all the solutions second by second.
So do we consult with clients what they wish to accomplish and create of plan of action. What has to happen just before they are fully living....all the way back to where do we start.
Concluding...
Bodies are created to heal. They are a miraculous galaxy of cells communicating with cells surrounded by cells and held together by cells. These small and seemingly insignificant portions of a whole are the incredible reason we function in our lives. They do exactly what we tell them to do, even when we are not paying any attention to them, and when we teach them to heal they will do just that.
I have seen bones "un-twist" (reversal of spiraling torsion over 4 year period) and shorten, tumors dissappear, tooth infections reduce in less than an hour, and fascia change where it holds the muscles. Not everybody has the energy or belief to heal at the same rate; but I've always witnessed my clients healing.
-Kristy Lynne 9/7/2012
