A few quotes from John Smith’s book

I was revisiting the book Structural Bodywork by John Smith recently. Here are a few quotes that I thought were useful to describe structural integration and fascia.

“Even though structural bodywork in its present form has been around for about 50 years, many of its key concepts are not yet ‘in circulation’, ideas such as the following:

• human beings have a structure that can be reorganized

• the connective tissue network has structural significance

• postural dynamics can very markedly between individuals.”

“Structural body work:

• is a holistic approach

• balances the structure rather than fixes somatic dysfunctions

• is a strategic, systematic process

• is an individualized approach

• proceeds through the cumulative effects of small changes

• is a lengthening process

• works within the fascial network.”

“The fascial network belongs to the family of tissues in the body called the connective tissues, of which there is an extraordinarily diverse range of forms throughout the body. As a class, these tissues form the most pervasive network within the human body: wrapping, separating, interpenetrating, connecting, supporting all anatomical structures, and forming about 60% of the weight of the body (Heller 1990).”