JUMPING INTO A YOUNGER BODY

“Relaxing and reorganizing, strengthening and stretching                           to ease physical and emotional stress.” 
A talk with Gabi Rosenthal, the only Israeli Advanced Practitioner of Structural Integration.

Many of you will have heard of this style of body work and have not really known what it is about. Structural Integration is first and foremost the integration of the human body in gravity. Through a series of ten basic sessions of deep connective tissue manipulations, each one building on the last, S.I. reorders the body to bring its major segments – head, shoulder, thorax, pelvis and legs to a vertical and horizontal alignment.

Of all the forces affecting the human body, gravity is among the most powerful. Body misalignment in gravity results in chronic strain, lowered vitality and impaired biological and psychological functioning.
Because the body is better balanced after S.I., it expends less of its vital energies against gravity. This biological energy efficiency is often experienced as a higher level of alertness and vitality. Movement becomes easier and overall personal functioning tends to improve.
People of all ages come to S.I. for help with neck pain, back problems, impaired mobility and other difficulties which originate with internal strains. Others seek to improve athletic performance and to enhance personal growth toward a fuller realization of their potential. Many people come to the clinic because they are experiencing debilitating pain and seek relief.
An illustration of a typical example of this is that of a conventional doctor who came to the clinic in very poor spirits, having resigned himself to a life of pain. He had been unable to work for half a year because of his sciatica and had tried everything that conventional medicine had to offer. A friend and a former client suggested he try S.I. “You’ve tried the conventional, how about giving alternative medicine a chance? If Gabi mistreats you, you can always get away”, he said. I reassured him, “You don’t have to believe in anything. Just tell yourself that you will give it a chance.”
After five sessions, the doctor phoned me one morning. “Gabi,” he said, “You won’t believe it. I’m standing on my feet again!  What do you say?”  After the ten sessions, the doctor was back at work and had resumed a normal life. Now, two years later, he is still free of pain.
When a client comes to the clinic for the first time, I need to get a lot of information regarding the client’s medical history, including injuries, accidents, illnesses, operations and general state of health. This by necessity is a very detailed investigation. Then, before I start the actual S.I. work, I do what I refer to as “damage assessment” i.e. the assessment of postural misalignment. This I do at the beginning of every session. While the content of the session is something that has been prescribed, the organization of the session cannot be changed, but of course, if a client is in great pain in one particular area, I use techniques learned through other studies to help relieve the pain temporarily until that area of the body is reached in the S.I. program. Each S.I. session builds upon the results of the previous one, so that results are cumulative. The first sessions remove strain from specific areas of the body, the lower back, neck, knees, etc. The remaining sessions organize and align the body as a whole resulting in better balance, enhanced freedom of movement and a higher energy level. MOST CLIENTS SAY IT IS LIKE JUMPING INTO A YOUNGER BODY. They report that they sleep and move better, they feel alive! There is a new environmental outlook. The actual circumstances and conditions that one is surrounded by, take on a new meaning. What we once perceived as breakdowns, we are now able to handle as challenges. The condition of living becomes one of opportunity, enthusiasm and excellence.

Sessions generally last for an hour and a half and sessions are scheduled a week apart. Initially, without any further treatments after the ten sessions, a person will continue to improve for an average of one to one and half years. However, stress is a fundamental factor in maintenance. A wise client would return every three to six months for a maintenance treatment, just as he maintains his car, without further thought. However, the greater the stress on the person, the more frequently he would need to return for treatment.
In summary, each client comes to the clinic with his own story and each day new dramas are told. There are a myriad of variations and situations which are stress related and which S.I. help to relieve , situations such as headaches, migraines, diabetes and visual disturbances, all of which the S.I. work is not intended to cure, are relieved as a “good natured” side effect of the treatment. The body itself has integrated itself with gravity and stopped its struggle against it. ONE OF THESE success stories could be yours !!!