Dear AGSI Community,
It has been a while since I have had a chance to catch you up on what we have been doing. It has once again been an exciting few months of developing infrastructure, offering trainings and workshops and growing our awesome community. Being co-directors of AGSI has been an amazing experience for both Erin and myself. Structural Integration has been very defining in both of our lives and this opportunity to share our passion for the work is incredibly rewarding. Every day we get to meet new people, work with and develop relationships with practitioners and continue to grow in our own understanding of the potential of Dr. Rolf’s Structural Integration. I am continuously amazed at how many times my work in my practice has “leveled up” over the last year. This is all because of the AGSI community with whom I have gotten to share work with at the table in the classroom, interview for our YouTube channel (AGSI Training Program), swap ideas about the AGSI program, laugh with at dinner and just generally share the excitement for what we get to do for a living. We are an awesome group and have a very powerful service to offer the world. I am continuously amazed at how serious all of you take that responsibilty. Here is a great quote from senior Austin, TX practitioner Ritchie Mintz: “Dr. Rolf died with her boots on and she would expect nothing less from me.”
AGSI has been hard work. Did Erin and I think we would spend countless hours building a website, working with lawyers to become a non-profit, creating staff and student policy handbooks or hundreds of other important tasks? Zero chance AGSI exists today if we did. HaHa! All of these tasks have been catalysts for us to step into our new roles as directors and have enriched our lives.
We are very proud to annouce that in early February AGSI became an approve Basic Training Program with IASI. This approval allows all of our graduates to sit for the Certification Exam for Structural Integrators (CESI) which helps define our profession and sets educational and professional standards. Through the process we have had to define our values and claim ownership of AGSI’s curriculum. Our goal is to carry the torch in the tradition of Dr. Rolf which we are doing by sticking to the traditional immersion training style of having a Foundations of Structural Integration phase, Auditing phase and then the Practitioning phase. We started the program with a hope and a dream and now we have a solid vision for where we want to go and the path to get there.
Basic Training
We have big news in the Training world. Last week we graduated our first class of Auditing students that are now ready to go on to the last phase of our Basic Training, Practitioning. David Davis taught the class in Tucson, AZ to three Auditing students from across the country. The small class created an unforgetable learning opportunity as the students worked closely together and with David. They are well prepared for the Practitioning phase of the training after which they will become new practitioners.
ScarWork
In early March we hosted Molly Hackett for a ScarWork Workshop. This class was held at the serene White Eagle Lodge in Montgomery, TX. White Eagle Lodge is a beautiful sanctuary on a 70 acre country property run by Jane Sorbi. Jane and her crew did an amazing job of making sure everyone felt at home and that the logistics were perfect. This was an all inclusive workshop with most of the class staying on sight and the Lodge chef providing three delicious meals a day. It was the perfect setting for this amazing class. Molly is a great teacher and we can’t wait to work with her again. Her professional and personable style really made the class special. Erin really worked hard pulling this class together, picking people up at the airport, organizing with Jane and most of all finding and organizing 28 models over 4 days. Great job everyone!
Teacher Training
We are in high gear with our Teacher Training program completing the second module of three in January. Each module is four intensive days that are designed to prepare our future teachers to teach Basic Training courses and Workshops with confidence. We are covering a lot of ground in every module. In Module 2 we reviewed and exchanged with each other sessions 4-7 of the Basic series as well as topics like how to teach touch and how to teach seeing and structural analysis. We are not trying to teach techniques but are trying to capture the spirit of our work in a way that inspires craftspeople and artists. This takes a solid foundation of basic skills coupled with the space and encouragement to grow and be creative. Two common themes that keep coming up in the training are “Where is the beginning” and “Is that session you are demonstrating the session that you want to see your students do in 25 years when they are teaching Structural Integration?” We are very lucky to have David Davis teaching this class for us. David has been teaching SI since 1990 (Erin trained with him in 1995 and I did as well in 2001) and has worked with some of Dr. Rolf’s most senior teachers such as Peter Melchior, Emmet Hutchins, Stacey Mills, Nilce Silveira and Neal Powers. Ritchie Mintz has been selflessly volunteering his time to assist David. Ritchie has been in private practice for 45 years, written two books on Structural Integration and found the Texas School for Structural Integration. The best part of the training is getting to know the dedicated pratitioners that have committed to being our future at AGSI. They are traveling to Tucson from all over the US, Canada and even London, England. We have spent eight days and nights together working hard, taking risks, eating meals and laughing. No one is the same person they started the training as on day 1. We have all been pushed to deepen our understanding and practice of the work as well as step into our important role in the future teaching of Structural Integration. It has always been easy for us to rely on our senior teachers to carry the SI flag and now we are all realizing it is our turn and that we are now the torch bearers. We meet again in April for our last module and I am really looking forward to it.
Barry Davison in our checker suit
What’s on the calendar?
We have exciting schedule of upcoming trainings and workshops. Check them out on our website and tell all of your friends.
Advanced Training May 6 -23 taught by David Davis ⭐️ FEATURED ⭐️
The first up is our Advanced Training this May in Tucson, AZ taught by David Davis. We are teaching the original 5 series developed by Dr. Rolf, Emmet Hutchins and Peter Melchior in a 3 week format. The training not only teaches you the Advanced series but will expand your vision of Structural Integration. It will bring a new level of confidence, sensitivity and awareness to your practice.
Here is a short video of David:
Basic Training ⭐️ AMAZING OPPORUNITY ⭐️ June 17 – August 8
Taught by Nilce Silveira
In June we are holding our second Basic Training in Boulder, CO and it will be taught by Nilce Silveira. Nilce is another one of our long time teachers, having begun her teaching career in 1990.
If you are talking to your clients about training to become a Structural Integrator please have them contact AGSI. Structural Integration is unique in that almost all new practitioners come into training through their 10 series practitioner. It is the power of our work that attracts new people, everyone comes with their own exciting story. We recognize and appreciate the trust that you place in us when you refer people and we are committed to offering everyone the best experience possible.
Workshops
A Creative Exploration of Post-Ten Within a 3 Series May 2 – May 5 taught by Liz Stewart
Please join us in Boulder, CO for a workshop devoted to the Post-Ten 3-Series, with an emphasis on tracking, movement, “seeing,” making contact, and investigating layers. Each day Liz Stewart will demonstrate a session with an outside model, after which the class participants will exchange work with one another. There will be ample time for processing, discussion, experimentation and integration.
Liz is a long time teacher. She has taught with a long list of Dr. Rolfs original teachers such as Peter Melchior and Emmet Hutchins. Liz has been in private practice in Boulder, CO since 1992 and has been providing mentoring to practitioners in her Structural Integration Mentoring practice for 15 years.
Here are two short videos of Liz
https://youtu.be/DOaAJv_vlfA?si=yzrKnDaA1hScmfIs
https://youtu.be/zOTgIpO-rCo
Reclaiming the Pelvic Floor June 21 – 23 taught by Denise Foster Scott
We are moving east for this one. AGSI Instructor Rob Martin is hosting Denise in Sterling, CT for a three day workshop. We are very excited to work with Denise. Denise studied at the SOMA Institue in 2007 and has been teaching since 2009. She has held various positions on the IASI board over the last decade plus. Currently she is the head of the IASI education committee where she is applying her expertise to guiding our profession into the future.
This is a short video of Denise:
https://youtu.be/PRst6NsyFXw
The Magic Moment August 9 – August 11 Taught by Ritchie Mintz
We are bringing this one back by popular demand! Last summer AGSI had Ritchie teach this workshop in Austin, TX and it was amazing, a real game changer. Ritchie is a very clear and concise educator making his work accessible to everyone. He has been in private practice for 45 years, written 2 books on Structural Integration and founded the Texas School for Structural Integration.
Check out this short video of Ritchie talking about the Magic Moment:
and a long one of Ritchie. Because you asked
Evolutionary Transformation Through the Line December 5 – 8
Taught by David Davis and Will Johnson
Also back by popular demand! We did this workshop in Costa Rica last December and the practitioners that participated can’t stop talking about it. This December we are moving it to the White Eagle Lodge Retreat Center in Montgomery, TX which is just 45 minutes north of the Houston airport. Will leads the morning discussions and meditation and then David takes over in the afternoon leading the hands on Structural Integration work of the class. David and Will both trained in the 70’s and have been developing the model for this workshop for over 20 years. Will is the author of 13 books on meditation and has been leading retreats for decades. David brings 34 years of teaching experience to this class. Between these two master instructors they have been practicing Structural Integration for 97 years.
Here is a video we made last year of David and Will:
Thank you for making it to the END! We will update you on our festivities soon.