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66 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 1 9 to move. If we take the approach of looking at the relationships of body parts with each other, we get a much better understanding of not only the structure, but also the dynamics of movement and energetic flow and balance throughout the system. We can look at the relationships of body parts next to each other (such as the femur to the pelvis) or far apart (such as the lower legs to the neck) and that helps us understand the relatedness within the body. For instance, a therapist can assess the relationships of the lower leg to the pelvis and how that is related to the client's forward-head posture. Since each body part and body area has an effect on all the other parts, we start to see the bigger picture of what our clients are really experiencing and how we may be able to help the body reorganize itself into a collection of healthier relationships. There are so many structural compensations in the human body that each session and each client must be approached with a fresh set of eyes for our work to be truly effective. Tensegrity is another invaluable concept from the structural realm. Ida Rolf noticed that "weight does not go down in the body, it goes up." As we understand how fascia and other connective tissue gives lift and support to our structures, we start to understand how our physical bodies can endure decades of stresses. We also see why chronic pain persists, as well as why specific joints may need to be replaced as the victims of misplaced force caused by compensatory patterns. model, which is primarily reductive and deals mostly with pieces and parts of the whole. Although this has been necessary for acceptance and credibility of our profession by the current model, it has also limited the understanding of what can truly be accomplished with manual therapies. We believe a more integrative approach is to consider all the body's expressions— structural, functional, and energetic. Structural Level Concepts Since we work with our hands, impacting tissue and structure directly, let's begin by fleshing out the structural aspect of our integrative lens. In massage school, we initially develop a basic ability to observe posture and feel muscle tension. Are bony landmarks even and balanced? Where does it hurt? But this understanding must evolve. We get more advanced and start noticing rotations, tilts, and shifts, looking for how the parts relate to one another. We begin to better understand fascia, the nervous system, and the interconnectedness of it all. There are many great modalities for addressing the fascial system that have helped us help our clients reach their health goals, including the structural integration work of Thomas Myers. The structural integration approach has helped therapeutics evolve from looking at the body against a plumb line to assessing the body's relationships. The former tends to promote a static view of posture, tempting us to force the body to be perfectly straight and rigid. But we aren't walls; we are designed function of the body in order to expand our results. Here's a look at how to begin expanding your assessment and treatment lens to integrate these perspectives. The Body's Expressions Most fundamentally, the body could be considered to consist of three different aspects or expressions—the structural, the functional, and the energetic or informational. The structural aspect consists of the parts and pieces, the anatomy: bones, fascia, muscles, cells, tissues, etc. The functional aspect is the body (and its parts) in motion, the purpose of the parts and the whole. This includes the physiology of cells and systems as well as muscle and joint movement, both internal and translational through space. The functional perspective also considers dynamics in relation to environmental factors, such as gravity or specific stressors. The informational level, also called the energetic level, consists of the flow that is underneath and woven through the rest. It is known through different systems as prana, wei, qi, chi, torsion fields, quarks, etc. This aspect also includes consciousness, thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. These three aspects of the body are inextricably linked. In fact, they could be considered reflections of each other, one and the same, expressed in a different medium. Think of the different map views in Google Maps—default, satellite, terrain. It's the same location, but you see different information based on the lens you choose. Standard massage education and practice deals primarily with the structural/physical level. Although this isn't consistent with touch therapy's roots in ancient healing systems, such as ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, it does align with the current Western medical Not only do we get better at our techniques, adding more to our toolbox over time, we must also allow our way of seeing and understanding the body and our role to continually evolve.