For posture, scar tissue, & repetitive strain relief
By Pál Kokity, BS, LMT
What is the primary cause of “bad posture”?
- The CORE, or spiral, DISTORTION: In mainstream physical therapy, this is often called the “Common Compensatory Pattern”, or CCP. It is the primary underlying cause of postural imbalances throughout the whole body. This distortion is inherent in every body and can even be observed in torsion of the hips and spine of a 16 week old fetus. It creates a resistance against any bodywork that attempts to relax, restore balance, or strengthen the body.
The following factors can create, or take advantage of, weaknesses in our structure and cause further collapse of our posture:
- Habits: This is the easiest aspect of our posture that we can change through conscious effort, stretching, corrective/strengthening exercises, and other bodywork.
- Injuries: These, along with any associated emotional trauma, can compromise the flow of energy/movement within the body, and proper functioning of the joints and tissues.
- Surgeries: An unfortunate effect of surgeries and their accompanying surgical scar tissue, and emotional trauma, is that they can have the same effects to your posture as an injury
- Abnormalities: Genetic or environmental issues can add additional stress against the normal development and maturation of our body and increase the collapse of our posture.
What is Structural Energetic Therapy®?
Structural Energetic Therapy® (SET) is a posture restructuring therapy that primarily focuses on releasing structural imbalances within the skull, the pelvis, and the related compensations throughout the body that are often responsible for postural strain and its related injuries. It incorporates postural analysis, muscle testing (kinesiology), Cranial/Structural soft tissue release, acupressure, and deep tissue myofascial techniques that focus on the individual needs of the client.
What makes SET unique and so effective?
The integration of Cranial/Structural Core Distortion Release techniques with balanced deep-tissue protocols
Within the structure of every body, there exists a common pattern of misalignment. Many people liken it to a spiral that runs throughout the body that results in a left hip rotated anteriorly, a right hip rotated posteriorly, and a tilted sacrum resulting in a degree of classic scoliosis. I was taught to refer to this pattern as the spiral or core distortion, and it is evident from the top of the head down to the feet. When people are experiencing an increase in musculoskeletal pain, there is usually an increase in the degree of distortion that can be viewed as an increased collapse, or lack of support, within their structure. A vital component to relieving the painful symptoms, and restoring support, lies in releasing this exaggerated core distortion.
This core distortion pattern is also found within the tissues of the skull. This distortion restricts normal cranial motion, also known as cranial respiration, and is held within the tissues that surround and attach to its bones. SET uses Cranial/Structural Core Distortion release techniques to identify and unwind these restrictions. This unwinding begins a cascading release of restrictions that extend from the soft tissue within the skull and spine out to the related energetic and myofascial planes of the body. The pelvic ligaments and connective tissues begin to unwind, and the hips and sacrum begin to move into balance to allow for greater weight-bearing structural integrity.
The cascade of unwinding throughout the body’s structure, initiated by SET’s Cranial/Structural Core Distortion Release, is what makes this modality so extremely effective. Structural, neuromuscular (proprioceptive), energetic, and emotional holding patterns, that were needed to support the core distortion begin to release, and continue to generate changes over the following weeks or months. What remains are the corresponding myofascial holding patterns of tightened soft-tissue which can be effectively released using the specialized deep-tissue protocols of SET.
As far as I know, I am the primary therapist in the Chicago Area metro area with SET training. There was a therapist out in DeKalb but, as far as I know, she has discontinued doing the protocols.