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Q & A with Daniel Burnes, CSI
Q: How does Structural Integration differ from massage?
A: They both have hands on the body work. The difference, in my mind, is that with massage you are working to move fluids, working to open up areas individually, but you are doing it on a one-time basis. The client comes in, and you're addressing the issues at that visit. It's not as deep. It's not as slow. And generally the sensation is pleasant all the time.
In Structural Integration, I work on an area slower and deeper, attempting to release the fascial tissue from the individual muscle fibers, from the muscle itself, and to release the fascia between muscle groups.
The tissue gets stuck through time, either from injury or lack of movement, or from doing certain movements repetitively. This happens in work or sports, or other activities where people are constantly doing one thing. The tissue gets stuck in a certain pattern, and the client might not even be aware of it.
What I do is apply pressure, delivering a sensation (some people call it pain, I prefer "sensation".) On a pain scale of 1-10, a client is going to feel somewhere between a 2-5, maybe a 6 at times. They are going to recognize the "pain" after a while as a therapeutic sensation, because of the release they experience afterwards.
Initially it's my job to help them to learn how to breathe through it, and work with me so we are working together to achieve this. They are not just lying there going to sleep or relaxing. It is a working together relationship where I am constantly checking in with them to achieve a common goal of more movement and more ease of movement.
My work actually releases the tissues from life-long patterns of restriction and holding so that they can have more freedom of movement in their arms, legs, their neck and head, their whole torso. Everything opens up and moves, so the client actually feels lighter and taller.
And it takes less effort to stand and move. Our biggest enemy in this world is gravity. If it takes 90 percent of your energy to overcome gravity, and you can reduce that level, then you have more energy to think and function.
Q: Do you work with the muscles as well as with the tissues?
A: The way I look at the body is that I look at everything as connective tissue. Because it is, even the bones are considered to be connective tissue. You can change the shape of the bone even. The bones are fluid, elastic. They move. You can change the alignment of a bone by applying pressure and asking for movement through the pressure. The bone will change its actual shape.
In fact most people get taller after a 10-series, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Some people get even taller if they really have a neck that's pulled forward and their arms are pulled down and their legs are twisted. Some people have gotten an inch taller.
There is fascial tissue surrounding the bone, fascial tissue holding the organs in place-- everything is surrounded by fascial tissue. It gets short, tight, stuck to surfaces like other bones and muscles. If you have ever experienced talking to an elderly person and they turn their whole body and not just their head and neck, that is what happens to fascial tissue when it gets stuck.
The biggest enemy of our body is lack of movement. If you don't move, things just get stuck together. The body doesn't think; it just reacts to stimuli. If somebody is at a computer all day with their shoulders hunched forward and doing the mouse, they'll come in to me and exhibit shoulders rolled forward, head leaning forward.
You can counteract this through your own type of movement exercise if you want. It will take longer than a 10-series. Yoga accomplishes the same thing, it just takes more effort and a longer period of time. What I do as a Structural Integrator is to accelerate the opening so you can carry that through in your stretching, yoga, meditation, exercise or whatever you do.
You've got to take responsiblity to go out and do other things to assist yourself in this opening. Structural Integration is one piece that I think everybody should check out and experience first-hand to know whether or not it is right for them.
Q: How old do you need to be to receive Structural Integration?
A: There is really no age limit; no one is too young or too old. I have worked on infants as young as 2 months of age. You don't do much, but in 10 minutes they change. When they come back and are on the table, you can tell that they want it. If I have a client who is receiving a 10-series, I will do his or her children (6 and under) for free.
Q: If you had Structural Integration from the time you were a baby, would you say it was like "preventative medicine"?
A: Yes, it's a way to maintain your body, like getting your car tuned-up. If you never change your oil; if you never change your air filter or fuel filter, the car is not going to run very long.
Joint pain is generally caused by tissue being so tight that it has pulled the joint tight. Arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis are caused by people doing one motion over and over. The tissues get shorter as a reaction. If you lengthen them, you're not going to have that pain.
What I like to tell people is that the person who lies down on the table is not the person who gets back up after a session. The changes are permanent. But people need to learn how to deal with stress, so they don't add more stress back into their bodies.