Welcome to Hands of Integration, based in Encinitas, CA. Elise Purcell, H.H.P, is a certified Advanced Practitioner of the Rolf Method of Structural Integration, which is a form of manual manipulation to align the physical body so that it is effortlessly supported and maintained by gravity and functions more efficiently using less energy.

“This is the gospel of Rolfing: when the body gets working appropriately, the force of gravity can flow through. Then, spontaneously, the body heals itself.”

– Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D.

Certified Practitioner / Rolf Method of Structural Integration

Telephone 619.392.2580   Email elise@handsofintegration.com

“Rolfing is an intensely therapeutic system of healing that we can all benefit from. Elise Purcell is an outstanding trained practitioner of this work. Get Rolfed by Elise and experience Longevity Now!”

– David Wolfe, author of The Sunfood Diet Success System, Eating For Beauty, Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future, davidwolfe.com, thebestdayever.com, ftpf.org

“Elise has a very sweet, welcoming, and uplifting personality. Its very easy to feel safe and comfortable with her. She has a good understanding of anatomy and pathology, good connection skills, and a natural touch that is both deep and sensitive. I found my sessions with her to be very enjoyable and beneficial. If youre looking for bodywork, I would definitely recommend her.”

– Daniel Schmachtenberger, Founder of Strategic Global Solutions, lecturer, and teacher at Body Mind College

“I can’t say enough good things about Elise.  The 10 series made great improvements in my posture, balance, flexibility and athletic performance.  Due to chondromalacia patella, I have had chronic knee pain for over 25 years and had gel injected into my knees monthly to reduce the pain.  After the 10 series, my knee pain has abated substantially, and I have reduced my injections to every other month.  My pain is no longer constantly in the forefront of my mind, which is an incredible and life changing improvement for me.

As a competitive martial artist, after working with Elise I went on to win the 2009 Chinese Martial Arts World Championship.  Certainly hard work played a part in my competitive improvement, but the increase in balance and flexibility played a big part as well.”

– Tai Seibert, 2009 Tai Chi Push Hands World Champion

“Great results, expertise, high integrity… After many years of totally neglecting the structure and alignment of my body, surfing and everything else had taken a toll on my hips and back… Elise was able to place everything back in its proper alignment and eliminate what had been chronic aches that I thought were just part of life. I would strongly recommend her to anyone who is suffering from the pains of having too much fun without the prerequisite maintenance.”

– Paul Barnes, Division President of Shea Homes San Diego

– Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D.

About Structural Integration

The Rolf Method of Structural Integration (S.I.), commonly known as “Rolfing” is a way of restructuring the body towards alignment for better organization and function. If physical structure is improved, function is improved. This includes all kinds of functions, psychological as well as motor. The goal is to create harmony for the physical body in gravity. We do this through means of manually manipulating fascia, which is a tissue that is elastic, stable, and moldable, and which accounts for a considerable proportion of the body’s outward form.

Fascia

Fascia is the “packing material” of the body; it is an ordered elastic web that starts just beneath the skin and ensheathes and positions the various elements of the body in layers-muscles, bones, nerves, organs, etc. It is what Dr. Rolf calls the “organ of structure”: its ability to retain a shape and yet be malleable is what makes physical change possible.

Healthy connective tissue has a pliable, elastic quality, which allows muscles, tendons and ligaments to move freely and with ease. Unhealthy connective tissue tends to be short, thick, twisted, prone to injury and less resilient.
Fascia absorbs the forces of gravity as well as the impact of physical injury, accidents, illnesses and emotional stress. Even the cumulative tensions of daily living (such as repetitive movements or sitting for long periods of time) can create restrictive, habitual holding patterns in the connective tissue. Over time, these experiences become embedded in the body; they are recorded in the myofascial system like memory and can contribute to unhealthy tissue, limited joint mobility and impaired muscle potential.

Balance in Gravity

The body can change the make-up of fascia throughout life. Some changes seem almost permanent, like a sprained ankle that heals but with a slight thickening and twisting, where the twist might even go up into the knee. Because we move as a unit, each restriction will soon modify the whole.

The sprain “spreads” so it becomes less acute and we can get on with doing and being. In order to achieve stability and ward off stress, fascial tissue will shorten, thicken, and attach itself to neighboring structures. The resulting movement is no longer economical; we use too much energy for the simple business of living and shortchange ourselves of creative energy. We can liken this sprained ankle predicament to many other pains, discomforts, patterns, and stresses in our body.

Structural Integration reverses this process by contacting sensitive mechanoreceptors in the fascia, which cause change in the body’s autonomic nervous system, or the self-regulating systems(which are mostly subconscious). This neurobiological explanation has surpassed the Gel-Sol ideas of the first decades of the work, which inferred that the more pressure was applied, the greater the change.

Balance is the primary goal of the work. The goal to establishing balance is within the realm of gravity. Our bodies want to be comfortable, they have a natural liking for uprightness and ease. Insofar as they experience it, bodies try to live in a place of balance…we as Structural Integrators simply help them find an appropriate and optimal place to start from. Once this place is found, the energy of gravity can flow with, and not against, the energy of the individual. We then have more energy, more resiliency, and perform better when we come from this place.