Sacred Space Therapeutics 

There's nothing more fun in the summer than sitting on a patio, drinking a beer, and assessing the posture of people walking by. From the man hunched over to the woman who has no core to the teenager that overextends his knees when he walks, deviations in posture can create chronic pain, lack of energy, weight gain, emotional stress, and extra wear on already taxed joints. What many people do not realize is when massage and bodywork are paired with structural analysis, many postural issues can be alleviated. So what the heck is structural analysis?

Structural analysis is a method of assessing the body. It requires no tools, no x-rays, no expensive MRIs. What it does require is a keen eye. When the client is being assessed, the therapist has the person stand as they normally would in shorts and a t-shirt or tank top. Then the therapist will have the client move the feet and legs into a certain position. Usually this position makes people feel off balance or uncomfortable because it is not their body's accustomed posture. From here, the therapist will check for a few things:

• where the bones are (i.e. if they are facing outward, inward: shifted up or down)

• where the muscles are in relation to the bones

• what certain ligaments and tendons are doing in relation to the muscles

• what sort of fascial imbalances are occuring

• from all sides, what this person's posture is in comparison to ideal posture

Sounds like it would take a long time to do this, right? Not really. A practiced eye can spot many issues the moment you walk in the door but to be thorough a therapist will have you stand for about 10 to 15 minutes. A therapist does structural analysis as a way to have a map yet this map changes on a regular basis. Once you start down the road of improving your posture, this map is one of the ways they help you quantify your progress. It is always done before and after massage or bodywork. A good therapist will explain to you what is happening(sometimes show you in a mirror) and explain after a session what has changed. Personally, I like to have my clients tell me what they feel has changed. This helps to create better body awareness which is key to maintaining good posture.

One of the other things a therapist might have you do is walk down a hallway or around their therapy room. This is so they can see what your body does while in motion which can fill in some blanks on your posture and why you might have certain aches and pains. The alignment of a body's structure affects how the body moves. This in turn can affect how much energy a person has. If the muscles are moving more efficiently because they do not have to struggle against bad posture, then there is extra energy to be put to other uses.

You might be wondering if every massage therapist does this. Nope, not everyone does. Not all therapists are trained to do it and those who have been might have chosen to not do it in their own private practice. Some do structural analysis and you don't even know it. If you are interested in improving your posture, it's important to ask your therapist if he or she does it. You may just find out some interesting information about them and your options with therapeutic massage and bodywork.