If the title sounds like a foreign, even cold concept, you may be surprised to learn how comfortable having a structurally balanced body is, how enlivening it feels. The trick is being aware. What I mean by the trick is the vast majority of us are living with unbalanced, cockeyed bodies without ever having a clue that these imbalances are most likely the cause of the mild to severe fatigue or pain you feel. Over the years, most of us have had accidents and injuries of all kinds that left our bodies a bit "tweaked" if you will. As we recovered, we probably didn't notice the subtle ways our bodies compensated to accommodate our injuries through the healing process. Over time, those structural compensation patterns, large or small, have slowly been rigidifying into structural / postural / movement imbalances without you ever noticing. Like a snake, slowly inching up on its prey without being noticed, many are caught in the grips of old postural patterns seemingly all at once. In actuality, the pattern has most often been exerting itself within our bodies for years.



Consider this, how many times since early childhood have you fallen.... from any distance, been struck in some way by something that hurt, been in crashes and accidents of any kind, had life changing intense emotional experiences, etc.. The fact is, by the time you feel that twinge in your back, or that stiff neck, or frozen shoulder, often years or even decades of accumulative imbalances have been sneaking up on you, slowly but surely. This is the grip of old structural imbalances finally getting your attention. A lot of the time, with pain!



If you are thinking this makes sense but doesn't apply to you because your body is balanced, here is a quick and easy no cost way to check for yourself!

The next time you are in your birthday suit in front of a mirror, take a closer look at your body than you normally do. To make the most of this little adventure, while you are standing in front of your mirror, imagine drawing a line down the center of your body from your nose to your toes. So you would be looking at your body as having two distinct, separate halves. Giving yourself lots of time, look at your body carefully noticing the differences in your left and right sides.



To help distinguish the differences more clearly, you can tack a string into the ceiling in front of the mirror with a small weight of some kind tied at the bottom to keep the string truly straight. Another good option is cutting a long piece of black electrical tape in half, (so it is half as wide) and simply put the tape in a straight line, top to bottom on the mirror. Now stand right in the middle of your line and look at your body from a perspective of side to side. This could get interesting! To have an even fuller perspective, it may be fun and informative to have someone you are comfortable with look with you.



Another option is to get set up, and if you look "perfect", then just close your eyes and count to 30, (about 30 seconds) and take another look. Without our built in visual orienting mechanism to keep us balanced in space, our bodies will resort automatically to where the least effort is to maintain balance. If you are still in line, congratulations, you just may be structurally integrated! Remember, make it fun!!



Points to look for regarding structural integration are:

First of all,

1) Notice how even or uneven as the case may be, your shoulders are. Is one lower than the other?

2) Notice the space from each ear to each shoulder. Is one space greater than the other? How is it different?

3) How about your head? Is it sitting evenly on top of your shoulders with the sides of the neck even in length?

4) Notice your ears. Are they even, or is one closer to the shoulder than the other?

5) Now really take a close look at the front of your shoulders. How are they different? Is one more forward than the other? (this is where a second set of eyes can be helpful)

Next, notice your chest and nipples.

1) Is one nipple lower? If it is, do a little investigative work and trace down what other parts are involved in that pattern. (If you are a woman, of course this may be due to a discrepancy in breast shape as well.)

2) Next take your attention to the sides of your torso, from your armpits to your hips. You may notice a difference in length from side to side causing the contour of your skin to be different. Does one side have a crease higher than the other. Is there more tissue bunched up on one side as well making it look fuller?

3) How about your hands? Are they hanging at an even length, in the same position with each other next to your body?

Now lets zero in on that line down the middle of your body.

1) Notice your navel, is it exactly in the center of your body, or over to one side of the line?

2) And your hips, do they look perfectly symmetrical? Take a close look. Again, another friendly set of eyes is helpful here. The pelvis is a complex structure with many variations of imbalance possible.

3) Place your hands on your hips at the same point on either hip. See if this helps to further clarify height and position differences. You can also look down at your hands to get a different perspective.

OK, now for the legs and feet!

1) Notice your feet in the mirror. Are they evenly positioned, facing straight ahead?

2) If you look down at them, are they lined up evenly straight across, or is one further back?

3) How about your knees? Are the knee caps pointing straight ahead? If not, notice where they are pointing.

If all of this seems like too much trouble there is a simpler way still, although not nearly as effective. All you need to do is stand in front of a mirror fully clothed but with your shirt tail un-tucked, if wearing a shirt. Now just move your body around any old way for a few seconds and then find your natural stance again.

1) Now notice your collar. Is it perfectly symmetrical around your neck? Is there a gap in one side?

2) Look at the seams at your shoulders. Are they even?

3) Are the buttons in a straight line all the way down your front?

4) Look closely at the end of your sleeves, be it a long or shirt sleeve shirt. Do they hang even?

You can also see many of the birthday suite check points in clothes, just not so clearly.



If you find any of these discrepancies in your posture, you are a perfect candidate for Structural integration bodywork!



Tucker W Sharp,

Structural Integration Practitioner/Teacher

350 17th Street #208

Costa Mesa, Ca. 92627

714.321.8190 See All articles From Author Tags:

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Word Count Appx. : 1203 | Article Views 529 Published 04-08-2008