One of the best explications of biomechanics and how to think holistically I have ever seen--Bravo!
Jeffrey Maitland, Ph.D, Rolf Institute
Neurological Plumbing...
To explain Spinal Unwinding in a nutshell, rather than pushing the bones of the body into "place" (a la Chiropractic), we instead make the space for where we want them to go, i.e.: creating the path of least resistance. Performed in a comprehensive (all over) fashion, the gentle process allows for the gradual movement of the spine and ribcage towards balance while easing the pinch on the neurology running through those bones.
Neurology is electric for sure, but it is also a fluid thing. Nerves are bio/chemical-electric, fluid-filled tubes and hoses running throughout the body. Why is that important? Because compressing a wire is a whole lot different than compressing a hose. Compression takes on a whole new significance.
In more technical terminology, "Spinal Unwinding" is the practical application of specific and comprehensive unwinding/releasing/softening of the interosseous (between-bone) fascia and fascial membranes (the "Interstitium") in order to alter fluid pressures within those membranes. Changes in fascial fluid pressures then create movement tendencies in the adjoining bony segments - the vertebrae and ribs. These created movement tendencies then open and de-compress the interosseous/between-bone space, which, at the vertebrae and ribs, is where the super-highways of neurology flow through. Within the highways of the neural system flows cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and we are ultimately effecting the fluid pressure and flow of CSF. Decompression of neural pathways benefits the flow, pressure, and concentration of CSF.
To explain Spinal Unwinding in a nutshell, rather than pushing the bones of the body into "place" (a la Chiropractic), we instead make the space for where we want them to go, i.e.: creating the path of least resistance. Performed in a comprehensive (all over) fashion, the gentle process allows for the gradual movement of the spine and ribcage towards balance while easing the pinch on the neurology running through those bones.
Neurology is electric for sure, but it is also a fluid thing. Nerves are bio/chemical-electric, fluid-filled tubes and hoses running throughout the body. Why is that important? Because compressing a wire is a whole lot different than compressing a hose. Compression takes on a whole new significance.
In more technical terminology, "Spinal Unwinding" is the practical application of specific and comprehensive unwinding/releasing/softening of the interosseous (between-bone) fascia and fascial membranes (the "Interstitium") in order to alter fluid pressures within those membranes. Changes in fascial fluid pressures then create movement tendencies in the adjoining bony segments - the vertebrae and ribs. These created movement tendencies then open and de-compress the interosseous/between-bone space, which, at the vertebrae and ribs, is where the super-highways of neurology flow through. Within the highways of the neural system flows cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and we are ultimately effecting the fluid pressure and flow of CSF. Decompression of neural pathways benefits the flow, pressure, and concentration of CSF.
Introduction
In June of 2003 I began my studies into structural therapeutic bodywork with a basic course in “Rolf Structural Integration” taught by an instructor named Neal Powers. An inspirational teacher, Neal avoided speaking in absolutes and taught differently than any other bodywork instructor I previously had or was to encounter. While much of the Rolf Structural Integration field was concertedly focused on applying a structural principle known as “Tensegrity” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensegrity) to the structure of the human body, Neal hardly mentioned the word, nor did he focus on any specific muscle or group. Instead he mostly looked at joint movement, and where restrictions in the soft tissue impaired that movement.
During the first class, Neal worked with his demonstration client supine on the table (“face-up”). One of the first techniques that he demonstrated was to work from underneath the client and into areas of the body that felt like “holes” or hollow spots. He would simply put his hands into the hollows to work with the tissue there to “make space”, allowing the constrained tissue in that area to relax and the body to more easily lie on the table. Later on I was to learn that Ida Rolf, the founder of “Rolf Structural Integration” and “Rolfing”, also worked in a similar manner, and when assessing the body, would immediately be drawn to shallow areas of the body that were not moving or lacked the transmission of breath. These were so often the holes of the body, and this is where she often focused her interventions.
As my bodywork education progressed, it became apparent that other advanced practitioners and “intuitives” in Rolf Structural Integration or other modalities worked in an often very similar manner. And across the sea, Chinese medicine practitioners similarly would often focus their interventions on areas of the body that were “stagnant” or lacked the movement of “Chi”.
Still, this old-school manner of working lacked a current theoretical explanation. Tensegrity and its analogous extensions were inadequate to explain both how and why the technique worked. Meanwhile, structural bodywork’s 40-year fascination with Tensegrity all but relegated the old approach to the trash bin of forgotten bodywork techniques.
For my part, in working to develop a new theoretical understanding of the body -- one that considers the environmental aspect of pressure, and regards it equally in importance as other fundamental aspects (i.e.: gravity), I eventually found myself working in a similar manner as Neal Powers and seeking out the holes of the body, but with a great deal more particularity.
I didn’t however set out to be working in such a manner, but rather after a decade and more of pursuing a theoretical understanding of the relationship between fluid pressure balance and neurological compression, I found myself there, while also being able to explain in fairly precise terms why I was there.
This is the story, albeit in a strictly logic-based format. It’s thick at times, and complex, but so is the human body. In the end this is simply a different way to understand the human body, one I hope makes both logical and intuitive sense as well as answers some previously unanswerable questions, while connecting a multitude of dots.
On the practical side of things, I began the process by consistently failing. I got good at it. But, my clients stuck with me and over time the theoretical never failed to guide the practical and as both were developed and refined, successes overtook failures, accuracy improved, and smarter sequencing was derived. The result is a measure of practical consistency that I feel may now be shared responsibly.
Next:
In June of 2003 I began my studies into structural therapeutic bodywork with a basic course in “Rolf Structural Integration” taught by an instructor named Neal Powers. An inspirational teacher, Neal avoided speaking in absolutes and taught differently than any other bodywork instructor I previously had or was to encounter. While much of the Rolf Structural Integration field was concertedly focused on applying a structural principle known as “Tensegrity” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensegrity) to the structure of the human body, Neal hardly mentioned the word, nor did he focus on any specific muscle or group. Instead he mostly looked at joint movement, and where restrictions in the soft tissue impaired that movement.
During the first class, Neal worked with his demonstration client supine on the table (“face-up”). One of the first techniques that he demonstrated was to work from underneath the client and into areas of the body that felt like “holes” or hollow spots. He would simply put his hands into the hollows to work with the tissue there to “make space”, allowing the constrained tissue in that area to relax and the body to more easily lie on the table. Later on I was to learn that Ida Rolf, the founder of “Rolf Structural Integration” and “Rolfing”, also worked in a similar manner, and when assessing the body, would immediately be drawn to shallow areas of the body that were not moving or lacked the transmission of breath. These were so often the holes of the body, and this is where she often focused her interventions.
As my bodywork education progressed, it became apparent that other advanced practitioners and “intuitives” in Rolf Structural Integration or other modalities worked in an often very similar manner. And across the sea, Chinese medicine practitioners similarly would often focus their interventions on areas of the body that were “stagnant” or lacked the movement of “Chi”.
Still, this old-school manner of working lacked a current theoretical explanation. Tensegrity and its analogous extensions were inadequate to explain both how and why the technique worked. Meanwhile, structural bodywork’s 40-year fascination with Tensegrity all but relegated the old approach to the trash bin of forgotten bodywork techniques.
For my part, in working to develop a new theoretical understanding of the body -- one that considers the environmental aspect of pressure, and regards it equally in importance as other fundamental aspects (i.e.: gravity), I eventually found myself working in a similar manner as Neal Powers and seeking out the holes of the body, but with a great deal more particularity.
I didn’t however set out to be working in such a manner, but rather after a decade and more of pursuing a theoretical understanding of the relationship between fluid pressure balance and neurological compression, I found myself there, while also being able to explain in fairly precise terms why I was there.
This is the story, albeit in a strictly logic-based format. It’s thick at times, and complex, but so is the human body. In the end this is simply a different way to understand the human body, one I hope makes both logical and intuitive sense as well as answers some previously unanswerable questions, while connecting a multitude of dots.
On the practical side of things, I began the process by consistently failing. I got good at it. But, my clients stuck with me and over time the theoretical never failed to guide the practical and as both were developed and refined, successes overtook failures, accuracy improved, and smarter sequencing was derived. The result is a measure of practical consistency that I feel may now be shared responsibly.
Next:
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