Types of Bodywork:
Structural Integration
When you cut into a chicken, recall the stretchy, translucent layer? That's connective tissue, called fascia. Fascia is similar to a body-stocking located just beneath the horse’s skin. It extends from the nostrils to the hooves and everywhere in between.If horses (as well as all mammals) didn't have fascia, they'd be nothing but a bag of water. Fascia gives them their shape. It also contributes to the health of the horse by increasing transport between the cells, moving nutrients into the cell and toxins out.
In addition to its location just under the skin, the fascia also extends 3-dimensionally throughout the body, encompassing muscles, organs, bones—in short, all structures inside the body.
Whenever the fascia has been disturbed in one place in the body, the fascia in other areas of the body will be affected as well. This is due to its interconnected nature. It's impossible to influence one area without also influencing others.
The goal of Structural Integration is to rebalance the fascia in order to promote optimal energy efficiency within the body. As a result, the horse's immune system is positively affected and he can now move and perform optimally.
Structural Integration is a form of bodywork originally developed for humans by Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D. For more information on her work, please visit www.iasi.org.
Over the years this work has been adapted to the equine body. Normally, it is comprised of 3-5 sessions of intensive myofascial work.