About Joy Carey
I started doing Structural Integration (SI for short) because I experienced the effectiveness of the work in 2011. I had been interested in how our soft tissue, or fascia, becomes stiff or too stretchy because I noticed this happening while working with clients as a personal trainer. At the time, it seemed haphazard to me as to why soft tissue would pull joints out of place. I began studying with a teacher in SI semi-privately for about two years. I incorporated what I learned into my Personal Training and Thai Massage practice, and the seemingly haphazardness of soft tissue started to make sense for me. I became fascinated by research on fascia and it's relationship to the nervous system, and so I trained to become certified in Hellerwork Structural Integration in 2015. Hellerwork incorporates bodywork, movement, and dialogue to help clients become acquainted with their body in a more intimate way. My focus as a Hellerwork practitioner guided clients to become aware of how their bodies hold frozen gestures, or tension from old injuries and pain. Together, we explored what these frozen gestures reacted to more specifically. Now, I incorporate what I have gleaned from studying and facilitating Family Constellations and the many modalities of bodywork that I have studied, always keeping SI at the center of my work. Family Constellations drew my interest as an offering because it also frees us from old patterns that no longer serve longevity and lightness. It syncs up well with the manual manipulation of soft tissue because it creates more possibilities for clients to explore, that they can't get to on their own. Clients have more and more freedom of movement as the gestures melt away after each session. I love what I do, and I am honored to be able to explore this craft as a practitioner with the myriad clients I've worked with over the years.
More on my Approach:
Our body forms itself through movement, and this goes back all the way to when we develop in the womb. In the same light, the way we walk, sleep, and hold ourselves while still, cumulates into our current structural patterns. After a few years of working, I realized that how we hold ourselves often originates from how we relate within our family dynamics. Did we grow up tense and not feeling free? Our structure shows that. Did we have to hurry to keep up with our older siblings? Our structure shows that, too. Did we feel safe, heard, and have all our basic needs met? Our body reflects this as well, in our freedom of movement and expansion of breath.
I discovered Hellerwork through my exploration of how our internal world is reflected in the structure of our bodies, and this led me to Family Constellations. My focus in Family Constellations is helping clients build a stronger connection to their own internal resources.
I discovered Hellerwork through my exploration of how our internal world is reflected in the structure of our bodies, and this led me to Family Constellations. My focus in Family Constellations is helping clients build a stronger connection to their own internal resources.