If you would like a half price coupon for a full session of either Structural Integration, Acupuncture, an awesome Massage, a foot-detox session with massage, a private Vinyasa Yoga session, or a Personal Trainer sessions please go to my website and send your email and mailing addresses. I will mail you the gift certificates or I can email you a printable version. Don’t wait as this promotion expires at the end of May. This is part of the ongoing launch of the new Center for Structural Wellness in NYC. We also offer sessions of physical therapy, chiropractic, nutrition, colonics, pilates, and Alexander Technique. Please inquire if you have any questions about your structural wellness.

From the April 21st NY Magazine by Adam Sternbergh.

I got a shout-out in the article “You Walk Wrong”. It’s not much, but I’ll take it.

… I consider myself a very accomplished walker. I mean, sure, I have occasional back pain, and okay, when I walk long distances, I feel a grinding pain in my hip that I never used to feel before. And, yes, when I visited Michael Bulger, a structural integrationist near Washington Park with an expertise in “Rolfing,” a kind of deep-tissue massage, and he Rolfed one of my feet, then had me walk around a bit for a before-and-after comparison, I felt, thanks to my un-Rolfed foot, like a pirate walking on a peg leg.

The article goes on to praise the awesome Vivo Barefoot shoe line that I’ve been rocking on my peds for years now. If you want to experience NYC in a new way, try these shoes - you feel every crack, every temperature change, steel grating, pebbles, hypodermic needles, just everything. And with the clever kevlar protection you can stop bullets with a front kick.

Click here for entire article.

by Karden Rabin, Licensed Massage Therapist at the Center for Structural Wellness

Oi Vay, My Back!

Most of us have back pain. Because we’re all way to busy, we either learn to live with it or latch ourselves to quick fixes, like pain medication, cortisone injections or a couple of cracks at the chiropractor. None of these, of course, are cures; they just dull or block out the pain for a few hours or days.

In fact, mainstream remedies will never restore a person’s back to health when having to live a modern lifestyle. The human body is not accustomed to asphalt streets, concrete sidewalks, handbags, telephones, driving and most especially, sitting at a computer for hours on end. The demands of modern society keep the back oscillating between up-right and slouching forward. Over time, this creates a destructive pattern of ceaseless back muscle engagement and hyper-stretching. Our over-worked and over-tired back muscles become compromised from such abuse and eventually start manifesting more severe issues, including pathogenic displacement of vertebrae and shoulder blades, postural misalignments, nerve impingement, headaches, migraines and many other issues.

They key to finding lasting relief for back pain is to counter-act this daily pattern of abuse to our backs. But who can do that? Are we all supposed to levitate along sidewalks, lie down in our cars, train our pets to carry our handbags and hire someone to answer our email? Although this would be awesome, it’s highly improbable. So we’re back at square one, trying to find an effective, fast and frequent method to alleviate our back pain that we’ll actually get around to doing.

Fortunately, there are techniques that allow us to achieve this goal and they are especially suited for people who want to relax and need a lazy form of pain relief. In fact, after keeping us upright all day long, what our backs are seeking most is a comfortable position or just plain rest. Their dream therapy is effortlessly relaxing into a back bend. Therefore, the lazy person’s path to back pain relief is the supported bridge position

The Science behind the Supported Bridge: Positional Therapy

Eighty five percent of the pain we experience in our lives is muscular in origin and predominantly from excessive contracture or tightness. Often, the key to pain relief is the release of tight muscles, which is why so many of us receive massage or practice yoga. One of the most powerful therapies dedicated to muscle release is known as Positional Therapy. Discovered by osteopaths, it was determined that if a muscle is placed in a position of passive contraction for 90 seconds, it spontaneously releases its tension.

For example, the upper trapezius muscle (the one between the shoulder and the neck that everyone loves having massaged) helps to raise the shoulder towards the ear. The position of release for the trapezius is to lie down on one’s back, lift an arm over the head, and bend the elbow across the crown of the head. It is imperative that once this position of release is reached, the trapezius muscle be allowed to completely relax. The trapezius must not hold itself in this position of release, but lets gravity do the work. After 90 seconds, the trapezius muscle will release, and it will not only feel better but will have a greater range of motion.

The technique is so simple, passive and effective that people would find it unbelievable if not for their undeniable relief of pain. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m proud to announce that The Center for Structural Wellness has come into existence in the Union Square area of NYC. This is going to be an important step in understanding how human structure and its various expressions effect the health of the individual. Structural Integration will remain the main focus for work here but the Center will also encompass many other complementary, alternative, and western therapies. From acupuncture to Alexander Technique, massage to chiropractic, Biodynamic Cranial to physical therapy, Pilates to Yoga, and also including western doctors who are educated in CAM techniques, all working together to educate everyone on the importance of structural health. There will be a website release in the next month illustrating how this Center will work along with information on all of the affiliates. I will be picking the best practitioners and therapists so that everyone will be guaranteed the best treatment possible. For now please contact me through this address to set up an appointment.

Before and after photos of a client who has undergone the Basic 10 Series of Structural Integration. Notice how much his body is able to balance along the midline and gain vertical lift. What is harder to see in these two pictures taken 3 months apart is the increase of efficient movement, better poise and posture, and an increase in confidence and self-expression.

“Stand up straight, don’t slouch.” If you had a nickel for every time you’ve heard that, you’d be able to buy a platinum, diamond-encrusted spine to hold yourself up. Whether you’ve got the posture of Quasimodo or are recovering from an injury, Michael Bulger’s Structural Evolution can help. This joint venture works to lengthen and align the different segments of your body while keeping your joints healthy and creating balance through Structural Integration sessions.

I was given a great testimonial yesterday from a client. I was only able to work on her for 1 session because she was visiting her daughter in the city for a weekend, who I had taken through the 10 series. Anyway, she had had surgery on her right wrist to relieve her carpal tunnel syndrome and was scheduled to have another surgery on her left wrist. This is where I met her. I relieved the compression in her hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and neck and balanced her pelvis throughout the hour session. Surprisingly, she really enjoyed the pressure. She felt great immediately. Her testimonial went something like this, “1 carpal tunnel surgery - $6000, 20% better. 1 SI session - $125, 95% better. 1 year later, 0 SI sessions, still 95% better.” Wow. I couldn’t believe it. And for now, no need for anymore surgery. These results are atypical and hard to duplicate, but I truly believe in the power of Structural Integration.