IMPLICATIONS QF TEE THEORY OF STBUCTURAL INTEGRATION FOR MOVEMENT THERAPY Mary donde The first portion of ‘this paper will autmarize the theory of Ida Rolf known as Structural Integration, a5 propounded in an ar- ticle entitled “Gravity, an Unexplored Pactor in a More Human Use of Hhiman Beings," Following the précis, the contribution of the theory to the ceneral knowletige about body image will be discussed. The final part of the paper will set forth the implications of structural integration for dance therapy. £ any students of the nature of human affaires have observed that man‘s outer world seems to be a projection of the world with= in, Ida Relf proposes that many human dilemmas would be tilumin- ated by examining man's physical beine, his body, and that a bec ter organization of physical strictures would be paralleled by a leasening of cultural and mental problems, Man's search into his own nature has baon praecominantly through analytic means during this century, Rolf suagests that syn- thesis is amore fruitful method. Seainning work in this direction has been done by Moithe Feldenkrais, who showed that through de- vient muscular activity the body contour of an individual becomes thn expression of his predominant emotional set. Other work done by ¥. Mattias Alexander provided = technique whereby persons could examine their emotional resconses by meand of an increased avare- nage of how their actions were performed, Sut, even with these excellent researchers, an element of spe- cialization enters ins in that bodily awareness is used to service mental health, Wolf 16 interested in integration which {s not the restoration of the status quo after illness or injury, but ts ra- ther the evolution leading to a creater mankind. She feels chat the present preoccupation of behavioral science with righting wrongn limits manta capacity for integrations Rolf ds at odds with the psychiatrically oriented notion that the body is the expreseion of perscnality. and propounds, instead, the following shocking possibility: * Reprinted from The Journal of Dance, U.C.L.Ai Department of Dance, Vol, 1 Nos 2 (Fall, 1968), TT theoretical statement was written for Dr. Alma “. Hawkins’ nate class in Dance Rehabilitation.7 +» + That the physical body ts actually the person- ality rather than its expressions and is the eneray unit we call man, as it exists in its material, 3-dimensional reality. Yor the pattern is only the externalization of the eneray unit. Conversely, the level and quality of the inner eneray is limited by its pattern. Furthermore, thie particular pattern 4s the only one that, this éneray unit, at its present level, can manifest, the premige that arrangetient in space is fundamental to the behavior of a substance is clarified by the basic understandings of physics and chemistry: atoms and molecules are the pictorial re- presentations of configurations of electrical charges, Salt, for example, ls the externaldzed manifestation of palar (+ and -) ener cy attractions. Once the energy confiquration is understood in sotms of structural relationship, the behavior of the substance be- comes predictable. tructure is relationship in snace, and fur- ther, structure {s behavior. The orecisioned pattern of crystals which 1s salt is quite @ifferent from the random structures of men. So is the infinitely varied behavior of men different from the circumscribed reactivity of salts The absence of consistently patterned structures in man is due the inter-relationship of his phychological, muscular, neural, and viscersl functioning. Sxtensive body image research has shown thet physical patterns result from psychological attitudes. The converse, that psychological sets may have purely physical begin- ainas, is also true, A physical accicent which leave the body misalignes affects the psychological sense of the individual so that he feels inade- quate or insecure and projects this image of himself in his body. 13 effeccs a change in the individual's eneray field, both phy- st ang. csycholocical. Even a slight bone displacement will soina 9 change in a muscular structure and functioning. If weient- na te involved through the injured part, the structure of the holy Will be rebalanced by a sequence of compensatory chances 3 vill result an 9 thickening and shortening of tissues, displace- ments or tmnobilization of muscle fibers, muscles, tendons, ligaments, meia, a0 that free movement te inhibited, not only in the in- area, but also in all areas where compensatory changes have The solidation of tinsuea resulting from physical injury will also occur in reaction te emotional trauma, The physical at- titude then becomes invariable and involuntary and prescribes emo- tional ressonses, "What the individual feels {s no longer an emo-~ sion, a single response to an immediate situation: henceforth he lives, Toves and has his beine tn an attituse."? clit. "Structure. ftune., 1963). mF. Intecration,” reorinted from Systematics, + Pe 18.a Chronic psycho-museular attitude cannot be basically changed by con- scious thought, er even by mental suqaestion (imagery). The actual muscle tone must be altered, Rolf believes that an integrated man is “a person capable of free flow, free exchange, free movement (resilience) both in physical ody and in emotional expression."3 Her method for achieving inte- grated behavior patterns 1s structural rather than behavioral in ap- proach, Attitudinal changes are observable, concurrent with the building of more balanced bodies. In order to clarify the structural approach, Rolf compares the body to architecture. An architectural construction manifests strain to the degree to which it deviates from an optimal relation to the pull of gravity. Since the body is flexible, the origin of such strain is more difficult to pinpoint than in a building. Because of its inverse weight distribution (broader at top than at base) and motility, the bedy needs strong internal symmetry. Body masses mist be able to counter-balance each other gravitationally, adjusting to changes {n muscular mass as the latter alters with move- ment. When psychological change occurs, as above described in con~ nection with physical and emotional trauma, the muscles will not counter-balance each other in the most efficient way: substitute in= tegrations are formed in the process of compensation. The result is ungatisfactory both in terms of precision and of energy expended, There 4s only one pattern of action which 15 most economical of en- eray for any giveh movement. Muscular balance has other significance besides efficiency of movement. It 1s a sign that the body*s metabolic and neural trana- mission ig functioning without restriction. It indicates that phy= sical work can be performed with the minimum of energy and effort, leaving energy available for efficient performance of vital func- tions, as weil as for external activity (expressive, communicative, or recreational}, In addition, muscular balance has aesthetic excel lence. Gravity, then, is the decisive factor in personal integrations Gravity plays a dual role in the life process =~ it may tear the body down or support it. Body Coordination ts evidence of how well the man 1s re- lated to the earth. . . Por man 1a an energy field, as the earth and ite outward envelope of forces 1s an energy field. How well a man can exist and function depends on whether the f4eld which is himself, nis psychological and psysical personality, is reinforced or disorganized by the field of gravity. Looked at fram this angle, gravity not only upholds a man, it feeds him.4 The force of aravity acts as 4f it operated through a vertical line at right angles to the earth, To benefit from this force, Pe 12. pa lz.9 man's archiesetural structure must be organized symmetrically around an imaginary gravity line which passes through the ear, shoulder, histone, knee, and ankle. The balanced body is thus like an aggre- gate of blocks made up of the head, thorax, pelvis, and leas. The spatial placement of these blocks is determined, however, by the muscular and fascia) tissues. In the case of maladjusted body structures, correct alignment along the vertical can only be a- chieved by altering the length and tone of the myofascial tissue: "Unless such a change ‘s made, the body reverts to its original pos- ture and the restrictiong to fluid flow and to interpersonal com munication are rebuilt." Basic personality change therefore involves a change in rela~ tionship so gravity, The more its support is evoked by organizing the mater~ fal body so that the earth's gravity can work through it, the more apparent it becomes that any claim to the vord integration, either in the physical or psychological Fields, necessarily implies an adequate support from the earth, Conversely, all cases of psychological insecurity or inadequacy will be accompanted by an inadequate relationship of the physical struc- ture to gravity. Rolf's implementing technique, “Postural Release", involves manipulation of myofascial tissues to remove restrictions so that the body can move in accordance with {ts anatomical structure. The process not only modifies the static contour of the body, but also alters the dynamic pattern of movement. Once the basic reatric- tions are removed by ten hours of the manipulative technique, fur- ther corrections occur spontaneously. The work stimulates improve= ment tn metabolic and cardiac and respiratory functions, and with Beme subjects vision is improved. In ali cases, the individual gains an increased awareness of himself both physically and psychologically, Ana because the energy unit has thus become more potent, increased and more finely tuned perception results. It can easily be seen that structural integration 1s a powerful theory in the service of the Finer evolution of mans Rolf concludes by commenting that many Eastern religious cults have had techniques for refining the body in order to further in= divicual psychic progression, and that they too recognized the 4im- port of gravity. Early in any such attempt to perceive his greater environ- ment, Man 48 forced into realizing his relationship to that ubiquitous engray, the field of his environmental Mother, the Earth. bidv, pe 13y SIbide, oy i4e Tabi, y pe 135