 Thomas Myers studied directly with Drs. Ida Rolf,
Moshe Feldenkrais, and Buckminster Fuller
He has also studied with movement teachers
Judith Aston,
Emilie Conrad,
and in the martial arts. His work is also influenced by cranial, visceral, and intrinsic movement studies which he has made with European schools of osteopathy. He is a 30+ year practitioner of Structural Integration.
His book "Anatomy Trains" has had a major impact in the world of Manual Therapy and his school, Kinesis, presents a synthesis of the fascial work of Dr. Ida P. Rolf, the movement insights of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, the whole-systems geometry of Buckminster Fuller.
Anatomy Trains® Myofascial Meridians is a revolutionary idea for understanding whole-body patterning in posture and movement and presents a new map of the 'anatomy of connection'. The "Anatomy Trains" represent a significant step forward in mapping the relation between stability and movement in the unique human plantigrade posture and the KMI (Kinesis Myofascial Integration) protocol represents one application of this map to an overall systemic therapy.
Combining current knowledge of the
extra-cellular matrix
with the unique geometric configuration called
"tensegrity"
, KMI is a system of myofascial manipulation that is built on the "Anatomy Trains" insight.
As a further development of Structural Integration, the KMI protocol is a series of sessions which work systematically with the tissues to open the body's sleeve, awaken and balance the core tissues, and then bring harmony to the interaction among the lines of muscles and sinews that form a tensegrity network in which the bones move. Like traditional Structural Integration, KMI is designed to restore structural balance, ease and generosity of movement.
Tom on KMI...
Most of us have collected extra tension through the course of our lives, either from injury or surgery, imitation of our parents or heroes, from our repetitive activities, or attitudes we've acquired along the way. These injuries and tensions form a pattern in our bodies. Exercise, and our mother's nagging to 'Stand up straight!' may help, but most of this patterning happens below our conscious awareness and becomes part of "who we are". These patterns become written into our muscular tensions, or skeletal form, and into the tissues that go between: the connective tissues.
The KMI approach is to free the binding and shortening in these connective tissues, what we refer to as the "fascial network", and to re-educate the body in efficient and energy-sustaining (as opposed to energy-robbing) patterns.
The KMI session series is built around a logical, coherent approach to the myofascial system. The Anatomy Trains Myofascial Meridians provide a way to define the territory of each session, allowing the practitioner to be both confident that they are getting the proper territory, but also creative within each session to ensure that each individual client is getting the exact work that his or her unique pattern requires.
The KMI series is designed to progressively build support, sturdiness, and balance throughout the structural system, so that there is a whole new 'frame' underlying your posture and movement, which can keep old injuries from coming back and help to prevent new ones from happening.
- KMI is system-oriented, not symptom oriented
- KMI work is applied gently and sensitively, with full client participation
- The KMI series unfolds around a logical and coherent map of the myofasciae - the Anatomy Trains Myofascial Meridians
- KMI practitioners welcome and value other inputs
- KMI seeks client autonomy
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