Dear AGSI Family,
I hope everyone is enjoying spring weather because here in Boise, ID, where I live, it is the perfect time of year. We have the Boise River flowing through the middle of downtown running high with spring melt off and on the northern border of the city lies the Boise Foothills open space which is really green because of recent rain and cool temperatures. I was out yesterday for a bike ride and had a wildlife adventure. In the desert foothills I saw a coyote out hunting to feed it’s litter of pups and a Redtail Hawk that had just caught a snake and was messing with it. Along the river I saw countless clutches of ducklings and gosslings ranging from just days old to a few weeks old. It really made me appreciate my life.
Speaking of appreciation, it has been my life’s dream to have a working partnership like the one I have with Erin. Co-directing AGSI with Erin is inspirational. Who hasn’t fantasized about having a job where you share with your co-workers a similar vision, passion, values, work ethic, sense of humor, experience, morals, and the desire to build something Great! We live 2000 miles apart, Erin in Houston, TX and me in Boise, ID and have formed an awesome bond through talking on the phone for endless hours and working in person when we meet at workshops. So here we are 1 year into running the American Guild for Structural Integration having the time of our lives. Don’t think for a second that we are doing this by ourselves, it takes a community to build a program and we have been leaning heavily into our community.
Coming up quickly in June we have our second Basic Training class scheduled in Longmont, CO. Nilce Silveira is coming to the US from San Paulo, Brazil to be the lead instructor and Bradon Planty is traveling from Bend, OR to be our assistant instructor. Erin and I have been working hard getting the logistics in order. Students need places to live, we have been figuring out the classroom needs such as tables and teaching tools and we have been working on developing strong working relationships between the 4 of us, Nilce, Bradon, Erin and myself. Just like SI is all about relationships, we believe that the key to success in the classroom is the relationships between everyone involved in the program. While we are talking about the Basic Training, we still have a couple of opportunities open for student models in the class. Student models will receive the 10 Series from our practitioning students during the class under supervision by our instructors. We are charging $400 for the series so this is a great opportunity for someone you may know who can’t quite afford to work with a practitioner in the community.
Last week we finished our first Advanced Training in Tucson, AZ. David Davis taught the 3 week training that focused on the traditional 5 Series that was developed by Peter Melchior, Emmet Hutchens, Jan Sultan and Michael Salveson. The 5 Series presents 3 new positions, the Z, C and L, which are intended to be challenging and creative. The advanced series is designed to help clients break through plateaus in their evolutionary process as they grow and change with SI work. We had seven students in the class from all over the country and the world, representing 4 different SI programs. It is always exciting to bring these groups together, watching different backgrounds, cultures and work styles bond. The class got to expand their view of the SI work as they dove deep into the advanced series, each student exchanging the series with another student in the class and then working with 2 different models from the Tucson community. The Z session is meant to stir the pot while at the same time the practitioner works with the client in the vertical which is where the expansive and creative work comes in. Working with a client in the vertical will expand your ability to see differently and also requires a different sense of touch. The C position continues to stir things up while it allows access to deeper core structures of the spine and the L position calls for lots of movement with endless room for creativity. As the practitioners were getting their pots stirred exchanging the series in class they had the opportunity to bring their skills to new level. This combination led to an amazing transformational experience for all involved. I could hear the shift in David as we talked after the graduation, teaching the AT has set him on fire as well. It is easy to forget just how creative our work can be, even the Basic 10 Series is different every time if we let it be. Peter Melchior said “You can never step in the same river twice”.
In the beginning of May AGSI was in Boulder, CO working with long time colleague Liz Stewart as she taught a 3 1/2 day workshop called “A Creative Exploration of Post-Ten Within a 3 Series”. Again we had a full class with practiioners coming from all over the country. Liz spent the first half day of class developing the classroom environment, focusing on establishing relationships and open lines of communication. This extra work set the tone for a great weekend of learning and networking. Liz focused the workshop on doing a traditional 3 session series that was all about integration. It is easy to forget that integration is what we do when we get caught up in trying to solve chronic pain challenges and get specific with our goals. Students were blown away by the cohesiveness and communication in the classroom and how much that enhanced their learning experience. Thank you Liz for your professionalism and expertise, we can’t wait to work with you again.
We have been offering memberships to the American Guild for Structural Integration for a year now. We have done this as a way to help grow our community, help you market your practice with our practitioner search page and to give our community a way to support us financially. Our goal is to continue to offer value for your contributions and to really grow that value. Over the last year we have video recorded our workshops. This has been a real challenge and our learning curve has been steep. The video project has not been a huge success but we do have some great footage of some of our workshop lectures and demos. We made a ton of mistakes that include bad camera angles and having the wrong plug for the microphone so we don’t have sound. The plan for the future is to continue to record workshops and other content with our new skills and then place them in a library on our website for our members. We will have some posted soon. I’ll ask now, what would you like to see in the future? Ideas that we are working with are:
- a collection of videos of the Basic 10 series with senior practitioners
- a collection of videos about how to develop and run a successful practice
- a continuation of the series we have already started and call “Lobby Talks with Ritchie Mintz”
We have been posting our video content on our YouTube channel, AmeriGuild Training Program, over the past year. We have some great interviews with senior practitioners and other great clips such as the performance of the “Ida Rolf Talking Blues”.
Michael McIver from Houston, TX wrote and played this song for Dr. Rolf at her 80th birthday party. It seems appropriate to include this here since Ales, the EGSI president, just hosted a communal gathering on Zoom in honor of Dr. Rolf’s birthday a couple of weeks ago.
‼️ ALERT ‼️
Starting on June 17 we are starting a Basic Training in Longmont, CO that will be taught by Nilce Silveira. We held our first Basic Training this winter in Tucson, AZ which has set us up to graduate our first Practitioners this August. Each BT is made up of both Auditing and Practitioning students. After students complete the auditing phase where they learn to “See”, begin to develop their skill of touch and gain a basic level of understanding of the “Recipe” they move on to the Practitioning phase of the training. As Practitioners they exchange the Series with a student partner and work with outside models from the community. There is room in this training so contact Erin if you have someone that is interested. Erin Foster at 281-536-6468 or elfoster4@hotmail.com
We will be back in Boulder, CO again later this summer offering “The Magic Moment” workshop starting on August 9. Ritchie Mintz taught this class last summer in Austin, TX and it was amazing so we are doing it again. This is the workshops that will change your practice in 100 different ways. Ritchie talks about anatomy, touch and the line. At the bottom of this newsletter you will find the link to our website and some great YouTube videos of Ritchie talking about Structural Integration. There are still openings so contact Erin Foster at 281-536-6468 or elfoster4@hotmail.com .
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.
⭐️ AMAZING OPPORTUNITY ⭐️
Basic Training June 17 – August 8 Taught by Nilce Silveira and Bradon Planty
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.
Basic Training September 16 – November 7 Taught by David Davis and Leesa Gray
We will be back in Tucson, AZ for our fall Basic Training class. Tucson is a great small city and has amazing weather in the fall. We are grateful to David for bringing his vast experience to AGSI. He is the education advisor to our administration team and is the chief instructor. Leesa Gray lives and works in Augusta, GA where she has a thriving pracitce. We are lucky to have Leesa on our faculty team as she brings with her over 20 years of experience operating her private practice and a passion for sharing Structural Integration with students and new practitioners.
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.
⭐️ AMAZING OPPORTUNITY ⭐️
Advanced Training October 7 -24 taught by Ritchie Mintz
We are offering an Advanced Training this October in Dallas, TX taught by Ritchie. We are teaching the original 5 series developed by Dr. Rolf, Emmet Hutchins, Peter Melchior, Jan Sultan and Michael Salveson 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.
Workshops
The Magic Moment August 9 – August 11 Taught by Ritchie Mintz ⭐️ Don’t Miss This One‼️ ⭐️
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:
A little something extra:
I had the idea to present our AGSI reading list. We are having all of our incoming Basic Training students read these books before the beginning of class. As we have been working with the instructors for the training that begins in mid-June these titles keep coming up and I have found myself breaking them out repeatedly. It has been many years since I have read some of them and others not quite as long but in either case I am amazed at the quality of information they contain. I think they may be more valuable to me now that I have many years of experience as a practitioner. I have more knowledge and experience under my belt so now I can understand what the authors are talking about, especially Dr. Rolf. They have all earned a place on the table where I keep the current books I am reading. I am definitely the person who reads multiple books simultaniously.
REQUIRED READING:
‘ROLFING: Re-establishing the natural alignment and structural integration of the human being for vitality and well-being’
by Dr Ida P Rolf, edited by Rosemary Feitis
This is a great read! I tried to read it in school but the material was over my head. I finally got through the book with good comprehension after I was in practice for 5 years. Now I use it as a reference, just the other day I was reading the chapter on fascia to help prepare for a class, and I find the information still current, thorough and insightful. Every time I crack it open I see something new that I would swear wasn’t in the book the last time I looked.
‘Rolfing and Physical Reality’ by Dr Ida P Rolf, edited by Rosemary Feitis
“Rolfing and the Physical Reality” is a collection of quotes and writings by Dr. Rolf. Reading these helps me gain insight into how she thought as she developed, taught and practiced Structural Integration. This a great book because it doen’t need to be read straight through, I can just pick it up and read where ever it opens. There is valuable stand alone information on every pagethat can be read over and over without growing tired of it. Perhaps the most important part of this book is the biography of Dr. Rolf in the beginning. I find it very valuable to understand and think about the path that led her to the developement of Structural Integration. The history runs from her childhood to her Phd, to her professional life as a researcher, to all of the important journeys and people she met on her journey as she made her way coast to coast in the US and also to Europe in her search for understanding of the human form.
‘The Endless Web’ by a Louis Schultz and Rosemary Feitis
It is easy to forget that we work on the entire being when we work with clients. The “Endless Web” is entirely about the fasical system and its embriological developement. I admit that this is not the most captivative reading for me but I have repeatedly found myself in this book over and over. Understanding fascia and fascial patterns is the key to understanding Structural Integration.
‘The Rolfing Experience: Integration in the Gravity Field’ by Betsy Sise
Betsy’s book is a pretty easy read that covers a lot of ground while being interesting and engaging. It is both an educational book and a history book about Structural Integration. At times I have kept this book in my office to loan to clients to help them understand the series and our goals as we go through the process.
‘From Adam & Eve to Ida P Rolf’ by Ritchie Mintz
Ritchie’s “From Adam and Eve to Ida P. Rolf” is a well written text that covers the principles of Structural Integration in a very accessible and practical way. It is about fascia, structure and touch but written from his perspective of practicing for 45 years and doing 10’s of thousands of sessions. He discusses the random body and the challenges that every person has that can be improved with SI. Most important he lays out a process for touching people deeply and effectively in a manner that is not intrusive or painful. He calls this work the ‘Magic Moment” where he is able to work from the outside-in of a client’s body while simultaneously working from the inside-out. A simple way to describe this may be getting the clients whole fascial sysetem to open and to become accessible at the same time. This is a cool goal for practitioners and a very powerful way to work. It allows us to undo fascial binding in the places that we can’t physically touch and invite a deep change.
‘Foundations of Structural Integration’ by Ritchie Mintz
This is another text by Ritchie that is a great place to start the study of Structural Integration. He starts by discussing his 6 Foundations of SI:
- Fascia
- Plasticity
- Gravity
- Segmentation
- Alignment
- Balanced movement
The book culminates in the discussion of touch and tissue manipulation through the series in order to bring the client to higher place of order. He discusses the “Magic Moment” as his tool to gain understanding and to demystify the Basic 10 Series. For years I was just doing the series and seeing what happened. I was definitely able to predict change in the sessions but it really helped to have a way to understand the impact and a way to direct the impact of the work that I was introducing to my clients. This is not about imposing on the client but instead it is about being present and touching deep holding patterns that are not accessible until you relize that they are. Ritchie writes in a very clear language and progression that really makes his books accessible. They are only availble through him at his website below.
https://txschoolforsi.com/books/
RECOMMENDED READING:
‘Rolfing: Stories of Personal Empowerment’ by Briah Anson
Finding a used copy of this book is a great way to get a deep understanding of the impact of Structural Integration on the client’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual body. It is a collection of stories about personal experiences of clients as they experiecnced the Basic 10 Series and after.
‘Balancing Your Body: A Self-Help Approach to Rolfing Movement’ by Mary Bond
I have to admit that I have not read this one but it is Erin’s favorite. This book is about living on and moving on our Line, makeing the transition from table to living. Erin has had clients read this book for years.
Thank you for making it to the END! We will update you on our festivities soon.