My hands-on Structural Integration practice is open with COVID-19 office guidelines in place for everyone’s safety.

If you have any questions, contact Liz here.

Virtual sessions are done over Zoom and are tailored to your needs.

Online you can get support for: 
*stress & anxiety 
*chronic & acute pain
*tension & holding patterns 
*structural and functional challenges

Focus on Superficial Layers (1-3)

Session 1:This session focuses on getting more breath, and begins to free the shoulder and pelvic girdles from the rib cage and surrounding structures. This is accomplished by working superficial tissue around the rib cage, shoulders, arms, and hips. Neck and back work is included at the end of almost every session to balance and integrate the work into the body. Most people report feeling immediately relaxed after this session and the relaxation lasts for a couple of days. This session is excellent for addressing shoulder, rib, and neck pain.

Session 2:Next we address the foundation. Feet, lower legs and your back are the territory to provide better support for your body in gravity. 

Session 3:Now we move to the sides and establish more space between your shoulders, ribs and hips. The goal here is to ease strain patterns in the front-back dimension. You might think of it as giving the body depth by opening the “seams” along your sides. The sides of your torso, neck, and hips are organized to allow these major segments to better support each other; improving the relationship between your upper and lower body.

Focus on Deep Layers Sessions 4-7

Session 4:We move back to the legs in this session, focusing on the inside of the leg from the ankle to the pelvis, at a slightly deeper layer. The relationship of the foot to the pelvis is aligned; torsions at the knee and hip are addressed. Manipulating adductor attachments allows increased range of movement of the pelvis, which starts the pelvis on its way to becoming more horizontal. This session provides the feeling that the legs are supporting the abdominal space and providing lift for the upper body, a new experience for many back pain sufferers. This session can be effective for hip and knee pain.

Session 5:We pick up from the last session, up the front of the abdomen, quadriceps, and psoas, lengthening the front of the body and providing lift up the center of the structure. By freeing deeper pelvic and abdominal restrictions, which can inhibit pelvic movement, the pelvis can continue its shift to a more supportive and balanced horizontal position. Clients frequently report a longer front feeling; quite the opposite of all the hip flexion we experience working in front of computers, commuting, sitting in meetings, bending over to pick up children, etc.

Session 6:This session lengthens the deep muscles of the back and hips, matching the change achieved in the front in session five. Starting in the legs, if necessary, we address the calves, hamstrings, back of the pelvis, and up both sides of the spine to the head. This work can be extremely beneficial to back pain (including soreness due to scoliosis), sciatica, and tight hamstrings.

Session 7:All the work we’ve done so far has been necessary before we could organize the head and neck. This session focuses on the upper shoulders, head, neck, and sometimes the arms. After this session, clients often feel that their head is more “on.” By this time in the series, flexibility, athletic performance and body symmetry are usually noticeably improved.

Focus on integration and overall function Sessions 8-10

Session 8/9:The final sessions are about integrating all we’ve done. We will look at how you function and move from lying down, to sitting to standing.

Session 10:The final integration: This session is usually customized to each individual’s body and needs. This is our opportunity to complete, for now, all we’ve been able to free. We will smooth the fascial wrappers over the structural changes that you have gained, and make peace with anything that remains. This session usually involves the whole body at a somewhat more superficial layer.

What’s next:

Movement education and awareness is sprinkled throughout the ten-series and there are many ways to explore how you function after the 10-series in order to help you encourage long- term structural change. Although structural shifts attained continue to integrate and affect your body long after the sessions are completed, there are other things you can do to nurture structural balance. With this in mind, we’ll discuss ergonomic considerations, relaxation and body awareness techniques, and stretching/toning exercises, that are directly affecting your alignment.

The ten-series is designed to leave your structure at a balanced place. Many clients complete a ten-series, get good results, and never feel the need for another session. Others view SI as an important way of maintaining their bodies and come in for regular “tune ups” (anywhere from bimonthly to quarterly). This is particularly common among athletes, heavy computer users, people who have had severe injury, chronic illness or invasive surgery, and people with scoliosis.

After the 10

Some clients find so much more ease and improved function in their bodies after the 10 sessions, that they incorporate SI into their self-care. When they want more sessions, they don’t need to redo the 10, because there is much more in the world of SI. We can talk about this is find what would work best for you and your needs. One thing to keep in mind is if you have a fall or “something feels amiss” you can schedule a session or be in touch so we can see how SI can best support you. 

Online Bodywork

Yes, you can receive online bodywork with great results!

If you are feeling stressed, tense, or living with physical discomfort it might help to know that there is a pathway to feeling better. In a virtual bodywork session we begin with guided, simple to do movements supportive to your structure, function and nervous system.  When your body is calling out, having a way to listen, understand and respond can lead to more ease and less discomfort.

I have been working online for years and have cultivated an approach to meet your unique needs. It’s engaging, relational and restorative.

Testimonials

“When you are a practitioner that has to sit a fair amount for work, your body can become rigid, tense, and sore. Liz Stewart's guidance expertly and gently encourages your body towards ease, release, and freedom from old body patterns that contribute to physical pain. She sees your body patterns clearly and guides you with her calming presence toward deeper relaxation and presence in your body. I highly recommend her work, she is a true expert.”

– Elizabeth A. Olson, Psy.D., LCSW Owner, Collective for Psychological Wellness, PLLC737
www.collectiveforpsychologicalwellness.com

"Every time I work with Liz I am blown away by the staggering amount of knowledge she has about the body and how it works. Her seemingly simple techniques can have a profound impact on your physical being."

– Lee D. Kassan, MA, LPsyA, LMHC, CGP, LFAGPA
Editor, Consultation Please in AGPA Group Circle
Former Editor, GROUP
Editor, Consultation

In-Person Bodywork

Structural Integration Bodywork

My practice is open on a limited basis. You will need to agree to follow the Covid office guidelines we have in place by clicking here. Together we will find the best option for you to reconnect and feel more aligned and easy in your body.

Liz Stewart draws from over 30 years of experience as a highly accomplished Structural Integration (Ida P. Rolf Method) practitioner, trainer and somatic supervisor for mental health professionals and coaches. Liz supports and challenges her clients to understand and make full use of themselves in their work. Liz’s approach to her work is engaging, connective and supportive, much like the fascial network that holds our bodies together, and includes a strong emphasis on body awareness. Her understanding of tensional forces, integration and connection sets Liz apart as a somatic supervisor and trainer.

She aids her clients in learning their own body’s cues and triggers that speak in mysterious ways. Liz brings her experience in Structural Integration, movement awareness, Polyvagal Theory, neural vascular techniques, Modern Group Psychotherapy, TraumaDynamics®, decoding body language and business management. Liz’s work has been described as “comprehensive, deeply transformative, highly intuitive, observant, and fun.”