R. Buckminster Fuller brought about the notion of internal structural balance through tension and integrity. He called this ‘Tensegrity‘. This notion has now been observed down to the cellular level of the human body. The old school idea that cells are floating and bumping into each other in a connective tissue matrix (that is erroneously thought of as the bodies inert filler) is no more. Small integrins and laminar filaments attach through the cell walls down into the nucleus and ultimately to the genetic code of the cell. Through these tiny guy wires every cell is structurally sound and is also attached and in communication with every other. The entire body is hard wired. How does this news affect you and I?

The entire body is hard wired. How does this news affect you and I?

Here is a great site that goes in depth about the structure of tensegrity.

It allows us to explore how Rolf Structural Integration works. Organizing connective tissue fibers and cells on the macro level necessarily translates down the microscopic level through these fibers. Cells that are stretched thin by tight areas function differently. They divide. On the other side of this coin, cells that are slackened by imbalance and have zero stress on them die. We experience this as atrophy on the larger scale. The body needs to be balanced front to back, top to bottom, left to right and inside to outside for true spatial health to exist. All sides of each joint and its internal capsule must function properly for the cartilage to glide correctly. There should be no pain when there is balance. The body should be using the absolute minimum amount of energy to exist, and this in turn allows more potential energy for other functions – hopefully immune boosting and disease fighting systems. Exciting frontiers within Spatial Medicine, as Tom Myers states, are upon us and the news is very good.

This is a great study from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Guide to Mercury in Sushi
Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should be especially careful about eating sushi. Many of the fish chosen for sushi are the apex predators of the fish food chain, which means they can bear high concentrations of mercury. The following list highlights sushi choices highest and lowest in mercury.

HIGHEST MERCURY
Avoid
Kajiki (swordfish)
Saba (mackerel)

HIGH MERCURY
Eat no more than three 6-ounce servings per month
Ahi (yellowfin tuna)1 Buri (adult yellowtail)2
Hamachi (young yellowtail)2 Inada (very young yellowtail)2
Kanpachi (very young yellowtail) Katsuo (bonito)2
Maguro (bigeye, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)1
Makjiki (blue marlin)* Masu (trout)
Meji (young bigeye, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)1
Shiro (albacore tuna) Toro (bigeye, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)1

LOWER MERCURY
Eat no more than six 6-ounce servings per month
Kani (crab)
Seigo (young sea bass)*
Suzuki (sea bass)*

LOWEST MERCURY
Enjoy these fish
Aji (horse mackerel)2 Akagai (ark shell)
Anago (conger eel) Aoyagi (round clam)
Awabi (abalone) Ayu (sweetfish)
Ebi (shrimp)* Hamaguri (clam)
Hamo (sea eel) Hatahata (sandfish)
Himo (ark shell) Hokkigai (surf clam)
Hotategai (scallop)* Ika (squid)
Ikura (salmon roe) Kaibashira (shellfish)
Kaiware (daikon-radish sprouts)
Karei (flatfish) Kohada (gizzard shad)
Masago (smelt egg) Mirugai (surf clam)
Nori-tama (egg) Sake (salmon)
Sawara (spanish mackerel)2
Sayori (halfbeak) Shako (mantis shrimp)
Tai (sea bream) Tairagai (razor-shell clam)
Tako (octopus)
Tamago (egg) Tobiko (flying fish egg)
Torigai (cockle) Tsubugai (shellfish)
Unagi (freshwater eel) Uni (sea urchin roe)

* Fish to avoid for reasons other than mercury: Fish and other types of seafood are marked with an asterisk above if any of their populations are depleted due to overfishing or if the methods used to catch them are especially damaging to other sea life or ocean habitats.

In her 1963 study, “Project Breakthrough”, Ida Rolf found that children who had received Rolfing work exhibited better muscle tone, better alignment, and improved social responsiveness.

Dr. Valerie D. Hunt and Dr. Wayne W. Massey of the UCLA Department of Kinesiology completed a five-year controlled study in 1977, entitled, “A study of structural integration from neuromuscular, energy field and emotional approaches”. They found that subjects who had received Rolfing exhibited:

1.Smoother, larger, and less constrained extraneous movements
2.Greater movement efficiency and improved neuromuscular balance
3.More dynamic and energetic body movements, with less fatigue
4.A more erect carriage with less obvious strain to maintain held positions
5.Increased emotional calmness, a greater sense of well being, and decreased anxiety.

More recent research findings include the positive effects of Rolfing on the autonomic nervous system (published in The Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association, Mar. 1988) and benefits of Rolfing for chronic back pain (The Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy, Sept.1997).

Abstracts for many of these papers may be purchased directly from the Rolf Institute (800.530.8875).

Rey Allen has sent me the final segment of factoids here at Viva-Mayr.

1. Locomotion drives the lymphatic system. But in the visceral organs its not locomotion, (unless there’s yoga or twisting but that’s not throughout the day) but rather its the diaphragm that is the main driver for moving lymph in the visceral. Another reason to exercise, to increase breathing capacity of lungs and thorax.

2. The intestines are one continuous muscle with links of neurons. Its design is to contract in a local area like a worm does when it moves. This means that when it contracts in one part to move fecal matter, the rest of the tube MUST relax. What this points to is the importance of letting there be separation between meals and not food from one end of the gut to the other. If there is a full gut then the intestines loses their peristaltic function and power. In other words, it stops moving because it can not contract everywhere at once as the whole tube would shorten together and no stool could move. Thus, don’t over eat and allow the sense of hunger determine your meals.

3. Taking probiotics (like Acidophilus) doesn’t mean that we have manually placed good bacterial back into our system. Not many people know this but what it actually does is provide a temporary support. The supplements of probiotics we just ingested will move straight through our digestive system and out the other end. This temporary support give our own flora time to rebuild itself. So, if you really need bacterial support don’t just pop a pill here and there, continue taking the whole bottle or two every day for any length of time. Its a fact that you can never overdose or take too much acidophilus.

4. We ingest parasites everyday, sometimes with every meal, but the reason why parasites don’t remain in our gut is because of our stomach acids and intestinal flora. When we have a good pH in the body and the flora is well balanced then it creates a totally unfriendly environment for any parasites to host and thrive. Thus, we only invite parasites into our gut if we offer them an environment they can survive in. When Acidophilus breaks down it releases such toxins as lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide to help drive parasites out.

Yogurt: Acidophilus or probiotic controls the overgrowth of candida which is a yeast. Acidophilus in yogurt is the sourness we taste. So, make sure the yogurt you are buying at the store is sour in taste and not sweet as the sugar will only negate the reasons we purchased it in the first place. This is also why yogurt is good for topical use with yeast infections on the skin or genitals.

Thanks Rey!