In stillness like a great mountain
In movement like a mighty river
STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION
FEEL BETTER
MOVE BETTER
In alignment with her Tai Chi Chuan teaching, instructor Maya-Matthea van Staden is currently training in Structural Integration, based on the principles of Ida Rolf. While Tai Chi Chuan often involves group-based movement training that harmonizes body and mind with the surrounding environment, Structural Integration is a highly personal, hands-on approach to bodywork.
Common Physical Benefits
Improved Posture & Alignment - Freer, Deeper Breathing - More Efficient Movement - Reduced Chronic Tension and Pain - Nervous System Regulation- Better Relationship to Gravity
Touched by Nature
A key connection between Tai Chi Chuan and Structural Integration is the way both disciplines work with gravity. In Tai Chi Chuan, you learn to use gravity to develop balance, fluidity, and strength, with breath at the center of the practice. Similarly, Structural Integration focuses on restoring the body’s efficiency and breathing space in relation to gravity—by working directly with the fascial system (the connective tissue web) to support more functional, adaptable patterns of tension and alignment. Through precise manual techniques and movement awareness, the body reorganizes itself in a way that feels more supported and integrated. Both systems use gravity’s natural polarity between earth and sky to help the body find its center—bringing stillness to both body and mind.
Importantly, Structural Integration does not “fix” or force the body. Instead, it engages the nervous system’s perception—inviting it to update old patterns of holding, movement, and protection. Through touch and awareness, the nervous system begins to sense the body differently, allowing ingrained movement habits to reorganize in a way that feels safe and supported.
This process helps you recognize how structural patterns—often shaped by habit, injury, or emotional history—relate not just to posture, but also to how you feel and express yourself. As these patterns shift, a renewed sense of freedom, mobility, and presence can emerge. The mind becomes more focused, and fixed structures in the body are given space to soften and adapt—supporting a deeper connection with yourself and your environment.
The method consists of 10 sessions, each building progressively toward restoring balance and a more efficient alignment of the body in relation to gravity. By working on the nervous system, using (myo)fascial techniques focused on the connective tissue, the work also brings awareness to how you perceive and inhabit your body—supporting physical and energetic movement, both in open space and in contact.
Introduction
Currently, introductory sessions are offered exclusively to students of the school at a reduced rate of €65.00 per session (1.5 hours). Sessions take place in the studio in Delft. If you’re interested, you can contact Maya-Matthea van Staden directly by email: delft@itcca.nl
The 10 series: from structure to integration
The 10-Series is a systematic approach to reorganizing the body's structure in relation to gravity. Developed by Dr. Ida Rolf, it is a sequence of ten sessions, each building upon the last, aimed at restoring balance, flexibility, and natural alignment through hands-on manipulation of the fascia (connective tissue) and movement education.
Interoception and the nervous system
In Tai Chi or Structural Integration, the goal isn’t mechanical. We’re not trying to fix something or force ourselves to in a exercise. What we’re really working with is perception — how the nervous system receives and processes sensation, and how the brain interprets those signals to create a sense of the body. Interoception is our capacity to sense what’s happening inside — the breath, the heartbeat, the tension in our gut or shoulders, the warmth of contact, the rising of hunger, the settling of ease. It’s how we track our internal state, moment by moment. This system — this internal listening — responds directly to gentle, attuned touch. The pressure, the pacing, the quality of presence — all of it sends signals to the interoceptive system. And when those signals are safe, clear, and meaningful, they help re-shape the body’s internal experience. Pain can soften. The system can regulate. A sense of trust can begin to return. But perception doesn’t stop at the skin. As interoception deepens, so does spatial awareness. And with it, another kind of listening arises — one that’s directed outward. External awareness is a form of external listening: a full-bodied attunement to space, gravity, rhythm, and relational field. Just as we listen inward to track sensation, we listen outward to sense environment, movement, and connection. In practice, these two kinds of listening are never truly separate. Whether it’s a Tai Ch Chuani form unfolding through space or a client experiencing structural shifts on the table, interoceptive cues give felt meaning to spatial orientation. It’s not just where the body is in space — it’s how it feels to be there. When internal and external awareness align, the body moves — and rests — with more ease. To move with the wind not against it. That’s when integration happens.