Anatomy Trains
by Tom Myers

This is a DVD Rip of a ten video series on the Myers version of Rolfing or Structural Integration (SI). This set was uploaded earlier in an MPEG format and this torrent corrects the aspect ratio and upgrades to AVI plus some other minor improvements.  The videos are about advanced bodywork techniques and does not constitute casual massage for romantic evenings.  While the work can be very beneficial, in the hands of a novice it can also do harm.  Shiatsu and Tui-na are both excellent massage modalities for general health and well-being and may be more appropriate for the less advanced.

SI is the alignment of the body in relation to gravity.  While some of the techniques involved in this form of bodywork have been incorporated into more advanced massage  work, unless those techniques are specifically used to align the person,  the techniques are not Structural Integration or Rolfing.  The Art Riggs video series, Deep Tissue Massage and Myofascial Release is primarily about Rolfing techniques that Riggs considered appropriate for the massage therapy community, whereas this Anatomy Trains series does incorporate more the element of alignment and that is the primary importance of this video set and sets it apart from others. 

Viewing the first video in the Art Riggs series on safety is very highly recommended!!!!!  Myers doesn't cover that material and assumes more knowledge on the part of his audience.

While Myers tries to pass this off as his own, most of what is discussed is relabeled Rolfing.  His techniques are not new and his views on the interconnectedness of the body are not new.  His concepts of anatomical fascial lines are in all probability his own and are an important contribution to bodywork. 

He does seem to be largely trying to push his own fledgling school of SI while not fully crediting the work of Ida Rolf and ignoring the main schools of Structural Integration in the world which are all well established - Hellerwork Structural Integration, the Rolf Institute, and the Institute for Structural Integration.   The Rolf Institute is probably the best of these.  The school of Tom Myers is basically something he runs out of his home along with a few lectures on the road, whereas the other training institutes all have state-of-the-art educational facilities.  

Still, Tom Myers is very well respected in his field, had taught anatomy at the Rolf Institute for many years, and has created here something that has not been covered well in video format for mass distribution before.  As a part of this torrent there is a file of related bodywork torrents and their descriptions.


Enjoy!
ToadOne Torrents


I'd be grateful if people would seed at least for a couple of days with most of their up stream bandwidth after downloading.  This is an expensive set and if it is worth downloading it should be worth sharing.  Thanks!


****UPDATE****

I have received some feedback from some in the professional community about my torrents and about the commentary I have included.  

At least some seem to be upset by my giving equal weight to the three major schools of SI, which is perhaps somewhat of a valid point.

The Rolf Institute was Ida Rolf's school and still is today the main instructional facility teaching the work.  Back in the 70's or so, there were a few teachers who broke away from the Institute in a big huff and started the Guild for Structural Integration.  The Guild has largely dedicated itself to preserving the originally taught version of Rolfing, while the Institute has explored other bodywork modalities and philosophies to add to the original teachings of Ida.  Both schools are good, but the more advanced work is only taught at the Institute.  The advanced work at the Institute may be taken by those who graduate from the Guild also.  

The Institute is the main school for Structural Integration.  However, there are also senior instructors at the Guild.  Any open-minded student of this work should probably explore the philosophies of both schools and do so using non-biased sources.  The Guild tries to maintain the teachings of Ida Rolf as they were originally taught.

From what I have heard, the animosity that brought about the original split between the Guild and the Institute has for the most part gone and there is more cooperation between the two schools now than there was in the past.

Hellerwork practitioners probably would be better at their profession if the school taught bodywork for the 192 hours or so that they instead teach the business end of the trade.  I don't think any other school dedicates so much effort and energy into turning out people who can make money, and which does so by sacrificing the number of hours devoted to teaching the actual work.  

The KMI training of Myers is probably decent quality instruction and the guy does have some loyal followers, but his school, like that of Hellerwork is limited by the number of practitioners that teach it.  The general views of bodywork that Myers expounds are also largely covered by other SI schools and his views are not unique to his training.  For those on the East Coast of the US, his KMI training may be an option.

Another and probably significantly cheaper alternative school is the International Professional School of Bodywork in San Diego.  The Structural Integration program there is run by Ed Maupin, who not only is a Rolfer, but taught as an assistant to Ida Rolf in her training program.  The school is reputed to be a good one.