Integratus Method

ABOUT THE INTEGRATUS METHOD

The Integratus Method is a multi-disciplinary approach involving the re-education and realignment of the posture. It addresses many problems, not least those involving muscular pain and unwelcome emotional states.

As a natural health system, it provides a path to a more balanced and aesthetic body as well as a practical approach to dealing with stress, anxiety, depression and panic attacks.

The Method integrates various practices of relaxation, postural rehabilitation, proprioception, breathing and exercise. It is a synthesis of my own twenty year study of various principles and practices and the experience of employing these with my patients over a similar period.

Working on both the physical and mental planes, the Method has an active effect on relaxation, postural realignment, cognitive proprioception and postural fitness.

RELAXATION, MEDITATION AND BREATHING

It is small wonder we hear so much about meditation and relaxation these days. The demands of modern living are such that stress and the resulting increase in mental and physical tensions have almost become the accepted price of this frantic lifestyle.

The results of excessive muscle tension are alarming. They can bring about a misaligned and decentralised body structure leading to poorly coordinated movements, tense shoulders, aching muscles and a flabby abdomen. Experienced over a long period, they can lead to more serious physical ailments. At the very least they can make us irritable and unable to enjoy the simple pleasure of being alive and functioning well.

Achieving true relaxation is easier said than done. It requires finding the right technique and somebody properly qualified to teach it. The Integratus Method provides the answer on both accounts offering a way of learning to relax that incorporates both breathing practices and a way of controlling and managing stress.

The Integratus Method brings together the classic biomechanical principles of posture with the Alexander Technique. Augmented with other practices, those using the method can expect rapid and permanent improvements.

Essentially the work enables us to understand our own body. We come to know the axis of balance. To discover the ideal ratio of its parts (muscle chains). And to experience how breathing and posture each impact on the other. It also shows us practical steps to release tensions.

Additionally, the method allows us to find the right relationship between head and neck, neck and shoulders, shoulders and arms, back and chest, and so on. It shows how all these relationships contribute to achieving a harmonious postural balance. One that can free us from unnecessary tension and bring about a return to natural muscle tone.

The Method majors on practical experiential work with particular attention given to dealing with the stresses caused by modern life. This is underpinned by academic study of anatomy and the biomechcanics of body movement.

In short, those following the Integratus Method can look forward to a more balanced, aesthetically pleasing body, free from pain and better able to deal with stress.

PHYSICAL CONDITIONING

The Integratus Method includes a fitness program of specific exercises. These are focussed on major muscle groups including those responsible for co-ordinating the automatic postural spinal erector and the mechanisms for the stabilisation of balance.

The key to this part of the program is not so much the exercises themselves but the way they are carried out. Practised with a conscious mind and an awareness of the biomechanical balance shaft, additional tension and unnecessary strain on joints are both avoided.

This physical conditioning includes weight training and is supported by traditional mind/body practices that include meditation, Ashtanga Yoga and Pilates.