PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A 3 DAY CLASS. THE TIMES FOR EACH DAY ARE LISTED BELOW. PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND ALL 3 DAYS. THIS CLASS IS OPEN TO MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES! 21 CE’s. Registration is through the Anatomy Trains website: Please double check you are registering for the Exton Location when you register.
Price: $550 - EARLY BIRD Pricing until Jan 22, 2027 / After Jan 22 $650
Dates: Feb 19-21, 2027
Fri: 8:30am – 5:30pm
Sat: 8:30am – 5:30pm
Sun: 1:00pm – 6:00pm
Eligible Continuing Education Credits by industry:
21 CEs NCBTMB; National Certification Board Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork
21 CECs NPCP; National Pilates Certification Program
1.9 CEUs NASM; National Academy of Sports Medicine
21 CEs IASI Cat 1; International Association of Structural Integrators
Instructor Bio: Debra Dower, BCSI, LMT, ERYT - 500
Debra ‘Debbie’ Dower is the founder of Evolution Lancaster, an Integrative Health and Well-being center, based out of Lancaster PA. She has over 20 years of experience in the alternative health and wellness field. She was the creative visionary for the Holistic Therapy program at Penn Medicine/ Lancaster General Health.
Debra is a Board-Certified Structural Integrator and completed the entire course of study of Anatomy Trains Structural Integration. Debbie is now a lead instructor for Anatomy Trains. She has over 1,000 hours of certified yoga instructor training and is a registered ERYT-500, with Yoga Alliance.
Class Description: IMPORTANT! The Pre-Requisite to this class is Anatomy Trains Structure and Function
The Structural Essential series is a set of intensive soft-tissue technique courses divided into functional regions. Combining movement and manual techniques for the most efficient and long-lasting results, and using the latest research on the interaction between skeleton, muscles, joints, and fascial proprioceptors, this series of workshops will take you to a new level in therapy.
Designed with the busy manual therapist in mind, each Structural Essentials event gives you a new understanding of the relevant area. The content will outline how the structural and functional anatomy relates to many common issues as well as to the rest of the body. Based on many new and established approaches this series will give you the skills in palpation, BodyReading and functional analysis needed for the modern multidisciplinary therapist.
Arches and the Legs – Underpinning all of our structure is the foot’s interaction with the ground, imbalances here clearly have consequences further up the body. Effective arch balance can be essential for easy and graceful walking, pelvic stability, low back efficiency and even head and neck support. The feet and legs are literally the foundation for the rest of our structure and this workshop will analyze the bones of the feet and how they conspire to help or hinder the arches. We will look at the forces coming from the leg muscles and create strategies to help maintain better mechanics by dealing with myofascial restrictions and imbalances.
The Knee and Thigh – A complicated hinge in the middle of two long levers is perhaps not the best of designs – but this “elbow designed by committee” is an excellent work of engineering. The knee joint mediates forces coming down from the hip and up from the foot and still allows a wide range of movement in all but the frontal plane.
Objectives
How to differentiate your analysis of the foot and legs from the rest of the mechanical chain, giving an accurate reading of their skeletal relationships
How to assess and then provide good foot and leg support through the three (or four) arches of the foot
How the arches act in walking and standing and their relationship to the pelvis and the AT lines
How to balance the support the arches receive from the long muscles of the calf
Effective strategies to unwind rotational compensations in the foot, the tibia-fibula complex and the knee.
Learn how the structures of the knee and thigh co-operate to achieve this and learn to recognize some of the structural dysfunctions that can occur.
BodyRead the various imbalances which can occur
Learn to balance the common rotational movements of the knee
Note: Anatomy Trains in Structure & Function course MUST be taken before taking the SE courses. Familiarity with the Anatomy Trains lines and concepts is key to getting the most from the program.
The Structural Essentials workshops are most easily absorbed in the order outlined below but you can do them in any order as time permits.
Arches and Legs – 3 days
Fans of the Hip – 2 ½ days - coming in MAY
Abdomen, Chest and Breath – 2 ½ days - Coming in Sept
Tensegrity Spine – 2 days - Coming in Dec
Shoulders & Arms – 2 days
Head, Neck & Jaw – 2 days
Disclosure Statement by The Wellness Institute of Chester County - Acknowledgment of Audio and Video Surveillance : I hereby acknowledge that by attending this class I have been informed and understand that The Wellness Institute of Chester County utilizes continuous audio and video surveillance on its premises. I understand that surveillance is conducted for the safety, security, and well-being of all students, staff, and visitors, as well as for the protection of property. I am aware that audio and video monitoring is active at all times in common areas, classrooms, hallways, and other designated spaces within the school and that I will be asked to sign a notice of disclosure upon attending any classes at the WIofCC.