Hi All,

I hope you are keeping safe out on the ice. I find when I am walking on the ice, it is a tricky balance between being careful and not being so overly careful that I don’t get too stiff and afraid of falling.  If you go rigid while falling, you will hurt yourself more.  If you do fall, check out our March free clinic as we will be focusing on low backs and hips.

Fall Safer with Aikido:

One of the many great skills you can learn from Aikido is how to fall safely. Most exercises are done with one or more partners so you are always adapting your movement based on who you are working with. I am impressed at how safe and inclusive Aikido of Montpelier is. While the Thursday evening beginners Aikido series I mentioned last month is coming to a close, Aikido of Montpelier is still open for drop inns at 6 on Thursdays, and 5:30 on Tuesdays.  Visit http://www.aikidoofmontpelier.org/ for more information.

Free Raffles for 3 Sessions of Structural Integration: 

I have two free raffles this month, each for three session of Structural Integration (valued at $300).  If you are a Hunger Mountain Coop member, you can enter the raffle during member appreciation day on the 16^th of February. If you are a member of City Market Coop, you can stop by any time in February as my practice is the featured community connection for the Month of February.

Free Chair Massage For Hunger Mountain Coop Members:

I am going to be offering free chair massage at the Hunger Mountain Coop on the 16^th of February for Coop members from 2-4pm.  There will be other therapists offering free chair massage at other times that day.

Arm and Shoulder Free Clinic:

We have only a 2 more openings for our February 14th arm and shoulder clinic, but we are happy to put you on the waiting list. These are free four hand 20-30 minute sessions for people with arm and/or shoulder pain.  If you or anyone you know is interested in coming to the clinic, contact me and I will schedule you in.  Rebecca Riley (certified Rolfer®) and I have been working together as a four hand massage team for the last two years and we are happy to announce that we will be doing a monthly free clinic.  Each month will feature a different focus. Our next Clinic will be in March and will focus on low backs and hips.

Offering exchange through local time banks:

I am willing to take up to three people at a time through the series using the REACH Service Exchange Network, and The Onion River Exchange (half time bank credits and half cash payment).  I have no openings right now for new clients via this barter system, but expect to have an on opening soon. For more information about these time banks, check outhttp://www.orexchange.org, and http://reachvt.org.

Fund Raisers:

I am still looking for fund raisers that hold raffles and silent auctions.  If you know of any good causes that could use a gift certificate, please let me know.

Preventing Injury through a better understanding of your Connective Tissue Workshop:

On March 3rd at the Hunger Mountain Coop I will be teaching a workshop about some of the recent research on fascia and will explore ways in which we can keep ourselves from getting injured through cultivating a healthier connective tissue net.  The Class will cost $5 for Coop members and $8 for non Coop members.

Herbal Support for Winter Time Sleep:

My wife, Rebecca Dalgin is a Clinical Herbalist and is teaching a workshop at The Happiness Store and Experience in Maple Corner, from 11am-1pm on February 25th:

"Winter offers a lesson in the art of hibernating, waiting and dreaming of all the possibilities that may manifest in the spring. It is the season of the seed, waiting quietly beneath the snow, holding the flowers of summer. For humans too the winter can be a time to replenish resources for the cycle of seasons to come. In this class we will discuss herbal support for healthy sleep while sampling some delightful and relaxing herbal teas." RSVP to Rebecca at rebeccad@vtherbcenter.org. No charge.

Alexander Technique:

The other day I received some work from Katie Back an Alexander Technique practitioner.  She is a skilled therapist and teaches both individual and group classes.  Katie’s touch is gentle and effective and her movement cues are clear and eye opening.

Be good to your bodies, keep warm, and if you do fall, don’t fall too hard,

Hi All

It is getting cold. It is the time of year when we start to hide in large coats with our shoulders up near our ears. At the same time, many of us are focused on the stress of holiday shopping and the added factor of family dynamics. It is hard to remain present in our bodies during this time of year. We all take on old patterns when we are stressed, which is an ok place to visit but it is important to remember that we don’t have to stay in those old patterns permanently.

Monthly free Clinic:

Rebecca Riley (certified Rolfer®) and myself have been working together as a four hand massage team for the last two years and we are happy to announce that we will be doing a monthly free clinic.  Each month will feature a different focus. Our first clinic will be sometime in late January.  We will be offering half-hour four hand sessions for people with neck pain. Stay tuned for more information.

Fund Raisers:

I am looking for fund raisers that hold raffles and silent auctions.  If you know of any good causes that could use a gift certificate, please let me know.

Offering exchange through local time banks:

I am willing to take up to three people at a time through the series using the REACH Care Bank, and The Onion River Exchange (half time bank credits and half cash payment).  I have one opening for a new client via this barter system. For more information about these time banks, check out http://www.orexchange.org, and http://reachvt.org.

Change in rates:

I plan on raising my rates for the new year, so if you have been waiting to schedule your series, you may want to schedule them soon so you can pay the old rate.

Community Acupuncture:

In other news, I just received a treatment from the Montpelier community acupuncture clinic.  This is a sliding scale clinic.  It is an affordable way to try out acupuncture. Check it out www.montpeliercommunityacupuncture.com/

Fascial Fitness:

I was reading an article about fascial research written in the 2011 SI Journal.  The article talked about fascial fitness. Most exercise focuses on building and stretching muscles, yet most sports injuries are injuries to fascia (tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissue).

This article explored ways that we can build and maintain a healthy fascial network. Recent studies have shown that our fascia can be quit elastic and if maintained properly our fascial system can give us a bounce and guard against injury. It turns out that that forces of muscles alone do not account for how kangaroos are able to jump so high.

I am not going to get into the specific exercises that promote fascial fitness right now, but some of the basic fascial fitness principles are making your movements smoother, fuller, elastic and more joyful. Try running or walking up stairs having your feet make as little sound as possible. By softening your foot fall, you may be able to distribute more of the force through your tendons instead of just your muscle bellies. To build fascia fitness, exercises should be fun and dynamic not overly repetitive or monotonous.  

Fasica also benefits form proper hydration. If you are running for more than 10 minutes, your fascia may begin to dry out causing your running to feel less bouncy and your posture more collapsed.  If you are a runner, try walking for a couple of minutes after every 10 minutes of running to prevent facial dehydration.

Fascial growth is slower than muscle growth, but has more lasting effects. The article states that “It is possible to work without a great deal of strain-so that consistent and regular training pays off. When training the fascia, improvements in the first few weeks may be small and less obvious on the outside.”  While it does take longer to build this change lasts longer. For more information about Fascial fitness visit:  http://www.fasciafitness.de. 

New Year’s resolutions:

When thinking about New Year’s resolutions the principles of fascial fitness come to mind.  It is tempting for me to make grand promises to myself, and while at first I may even try to follow through with these promises, they are likely to fall by the wayside once I get busy doing other things.  It is hard to make lasting change quickly.  For my resolution, I am going to try to come up with some easily practiced but consistently implemented goals.  While I may not see results fast, I hope that my work will have some lasting effect.

Enjoy the rest of 2011, keep warm, and appreciate your body.

Irvin Eisenberg, BCSI

PRESS RELEASE

New Structural Integration Practice Holds Open House September 24^th

Montpelier, VT – Board Certified Structural Integrator, Irvin Eisenberg, invites the community to come for a celebration and informational open house in honor of his new practice. The open house will be held from 10-2 PM on Saturday September 24th at Portals Center for Healing on 28 School Street, Montpelier (in the yellow building next to the library). There will be delicious local treats from the Farmer’s Market, free demonstrations, tours of the office, and a chance to win the first three sessions of the series.

Structural Integration is a modality of bodywork characterized by deep lasting structural change achieved through a systematic series of soft tissue manipulation. Originating with the pioneering work of Dr. Ida P. Rolf, Structural Integration has proliferated into a variety of forms amongst Dr. Rolf’s students. Eisenberg is trained in a strand called Kinesis Myofascial Integration (KMI), developed by Thomas Myers drawing strongly on the work of Dr. Rolf, Moshé Feldenrkais, and Buckminster Fuller.

The KMI Structural Integration series consists of a multi-session protocol (usually 12) of deep, slow fascial and myofascial manipulation, coupled with movement re-education. The KMI 'brand' of structural integration concentrates on deep, lasting, and significant work with anatomical precision, blended with movement and sensitivity to the unfolding individual experience. The end goal is to leave clients with greater awareness of their body and ease in their daily posture while also assisting in injury prevention and relief from chronic pain.

Eisenberg has owned a private bodywork practice for the past four years and is pleased to bring his training as a Structural Integrator to the Central Vermont Community. For more information on the open house visit fascialbodies.com or call 802-113-7678 x4.  All are welcome to drop in at any time during this event.

I am looking forward the 2nd annual Vermont Healer’s expo. on Saturday March 26th. This should be a really fun event.  There will be many different Vermont healers, from energy workers, and shamanic healers, to chiropractors and hula hoop instruction. Rebecca Riley and I will be offering free 15 minute, four hand massages.  I will also be offering a workshop as described below.

Holistic Postural Exploration: A movement investigation with Irvin Eisenberg, LMT and Structural Integration Student. 

The goal of this workshop is to better understand the kinesthetic effects of posture. We will explore both mechanical and emotional aspects of movement through experiential activities. How does it feel to walk with your knees locked?  What about with your chest deflated, or your head tilted upward?  How might our bodies compensate and when might this be limiting?

Attached is more information about the expo.  I hope to see you there.

Introducing: The Kinesis Myofascial Integration 3-Session Series

While the full KMI series involves twelve sessions, there is enormous opportunity for tissue “re-education” in this succinct series of three, with a renewal of comfort, balance, and awareness.

Scheduling now at the introductory rate of $150

For three sessions this gives you a savings of $90. 

Introductory offer good until April 1, 2011.

I have now completed the second part of the my three part Structural Integration training in Main.

During Part II of my KMI training we learn a three session series. The goal of these sessions is balancing muscle tone and re-draping the fascial layers across the body. The first session focuses on the pelvis and legs; the second session focuses on the rib basket and arms; The third session focuses on the head and spine.

What follows is a brief summary of the value of each session in the context of the three series.

While each session has its own focus, there is time during all of the sessions that is spent working on the back and on the neck.  Each session is done with the client in either their underwear or bathing suit.  This is because clients will be getting on and off the table for standing and walking assessments during the session.

Session 1: Lower Limbs

The first of these sessions deals with our base of support, our lower limbs.

As bipedal creatures it is tricky to stay balanced.  Most people expend more energy than necessary to remain standing or walking.  While all of the sessions in this series effect how we keep our balance, this session starts with the foundation (our feet) and works with balancing the pillars of our structure.  Freeing up our legs and pelvis allows us to move through the world with more ease and frees up our energy for other activities.

There are a number of things this session is useful for. This session works on helping feet get healthier neutral arches, balancing the weight between toes and heels, and relieving strain on the knees which can be locked “bowlegged”, or “knock-kneed”.  This session also works with the dynamic nature of the hip socket and the angle of the body weight over the legs.

If this session is done alone, it will have good temporary benefit.  Most changes realized in this first session can not stay without doing further work to balance the upper body over the lower body.  The effects of these three sessions are cumulative, so to receive the full benefit in the legs one needs to receive this session in the context of the three series.

Session 2: Ribs, Abdomen, Shoulder, Arms.

During this session how much breath the client is taking in, how their arms hang and swing and how their rib basket sits on the abdomen are explored.

This session is more tied in with emotions and outward expression than the other sessions because it is our upper bodies that we use primarily to interact with the world around us.

Some emotions are expressed in the upper body and can be assisted by this work. An example of this is depression, which could be a description of ones chest. When a person is depressed, they sink into their chest and their head comes down; They have more trouble making eye contact and approaching the world head on.  If this becomes a habitual pattern, the tissue in the chest sticks and it becomes difficult for someone to come out of this position. With some work freeing up individual ribs and the rib basket as a whole, one will be able to start to come out of a depressed posture and will see the world at eye level.

This session builds upon the base of support from session one, and sets the stage for work in session three.  Once someone has more options in both their base of support and greater breath and more freedom of movement/expression in their upper body, they are freer to reintegrate themselves in session three.

Session 3: Spine,and Head

 This session focuses on the vertical axis of the body. Spinal bends and rotations have an opportunity to be worked out and how the head is held on top of the rest of the body is explored.

This session gets into the deep muscles of the back, neck, and jaw.  This is also an opportunity to pick up any loose ends from previous sessions and giving closure to the session so the client feels a sense of completion and is able to continue reintegrating their bodies on their own.

This past week, I completed the first part of my KMI Training.  This was a 75-hour course called Structural Vision taught by Tom Myers with supporting teachers Carrie Gaynor and Lou Benson, as well as a number of skilled teaching assistants.

The holistic approach to looking at the body at this training offered a valuable framework.  We discussed the shortcomings of focusing on a reductionist approach developed by people with scalpels, isolating the body into individual parts.  I was reminded that “we grow people not assemble them” and that as KMI practitioners, we will be encouraged to look at whole system interactions instead of just individual parts such as particular muscles, tendons, ligaments, or bone.  I have begun to learn how to look at overall structure and how to treat the body in such a way that individual parts serve the overall whole.  Integration is the opposite of isolation; structural integration work helps people to reintegrate areas of the body that have not been functioning efficiently with the whole. 

One of the ways that Tom helps us to see the body in a more holistic way is to view the body in terms of what Tom calls “Anatomy Trains.”  Instead of using a scalpel in the traditional way and cutting against the grain of the connecting tissue, Tom has had people turn the scalpel on its side cutting along the fibers producing strings of muscles connected by fascia.  We tend to view muscle as connecting only too bone when in fact if you include all the surrounding fascia, one finds that muscles connect too each other and that the bones are just one point that muscles are pinned to.  One muscle connects and interacts with the next muscle in this chain.  For example, there is tissue that is continuous between the Biceps Braci and Pectorals Minor.  When you flex your biceps you will notice that you are also shortening the fibers in your pecs. Tom has developed this way of looking at lines of muscles running through the body to help us better understand the pulls of tension in our body and how they effect the whole system.

Part I covered a variety of topics including the fascial network and the fractal nature of fascia, embryological and evolutionary development, body reading, safe body usage, and the beginning skills of working with fascia. We were introduced to the field of “Spatial Medicine”  which can be looked at from the macro level of organ systems and organs, but can also be seen in cell structure. For example, the structure of a cell can effect what part of the DNA is read. Tom talked about a study in which the reading and subsequent transcription of the DNA section coding for milk production in mammary cells was correlated to the structure of those cells.  Isolated mammary cells that were placed in a Petri dish and maintained a spherical shape did not produce milk. When a mammary cell were spread out across the petri dish, the nucleus and thus the DNA strands stretched such that the RNA has access to read the section of DNA that codes for milk production, thus structure effecting what part of the DNA is read.  This information can bee found in the January addition of the 1998 Scientific American.  This article is called “The Architecture of Life.”

We also explored how to track the autonomic response through out a session (sympathetic vs. parasympathetic) and how to organize a session accordingly. Stress and trauma as they relate to bodywork were also topics of study. Tom defines a traumatic event as an inability to integrate an experience. Structural integration can help to reintegrate and help lessen trauma. While reintegrating parts of the body, isolated or repressed events can be given the opportunity to also be rexperienced and appropriately integrated.  In helping to integrate parts more fully back into a whole, this work helps people to be more efficient in their actions and to face challenges with a greater degree of flexibility.

During Part II we will be learning structural strategies and the three session series. Look for my first entry on that soon!