The brochure says: Imagine your body feeling relaxed and peaceful yet poised with energy. Imagine having the ability to move with flexibility while enjoying maximum strength. Imagine using your body free of pain, stiffness or chronic stress. Well, I had heard of Structural Integration, the Rolf Method, and how years ago people said how painful it was. Then I decided that I needed to try it – my body was telling me it needed something. I talked with Andrei Kazlouski about the pain level and he said that when it begins to get uncomfortable he wants to know and then he always lightens up on his touch. Treatments aren’t painful like they used to be years ago. The technique has changed that way.
Sitting a lot, lack of good muscle strength, and scoliosis, had me pretty miserable, so I made an appointment to see what this alternative health modality called Structural Integration was all about. Many injuries and physical bad habits (moving incorrectly) changed the alignment of my body which made it hard for me to walk without pain. I have learned that pain and strain is my body’s way of telling me it is out of balance. So, it was time for me to do something serious about it!
Andrei is a gentle soul who knows his stuff. His ability to detect the origin of the tightness within my body causing the physical misalignment was fascinating. As I laid on the table wearing my gym clothes, he began working on my feet and legs. He explained that was necessary because if the bottom of the body is not in alignment, the top of the body will not hold the alignment.
It felt different from a massage. Andrei used a range of techniques to lengthen and reposition the protective and supportive layer that surrounds each muscle and provides a matrix that supports every tissue in the body. This is called fascia. The amount of pressure he used varied. Sometimes it was a slow, deep, stretching movement, and sometimes a constant applied pressure. And it wasn’t painful!
I was involved in the process. Andrei at different times asked me to make continual small movements or take slow deep breaths while he worked. This allowed him to access and work with the connective tissue. He worked in an unhurried and deliberate way and encouraged me to give him feedback so that I was always within my comfort level.
Andrea told me that people who experience Structural Integration usually feel a greater awareness of body posture. This was certainly true for me! After one of my first treatments, I walked into the reception area and the assistant director who was sitting there said, “Wow, look at you!” I not only felt lighter, but I was walking much straighter and it really was so much easier to move. Not only that, but I had no pain – it was just so easy!
