ABOUT SCOTTY
Scotty Holding has devoted more than 25 years to understanding the structure of the human body through hands-on practice. With more than 29,000 hours of hands on experience, his work brings together atlas-focused work, Structural Integration (Rolfing), soft-tissue and connective-tissue release, and spinal decompression and elongation.
A central influence on Scotty’s work has been his training in atlas relocation and his understanding of the atlas as the uppermost link in the spinal chain. Rather than viewing the spine as a collection of separate parts, he approaches it as an interconnected structure in which imbalance at the top can influence patterns of compensation throughout the body.
Equally important is Scotty’s belief that lasting structural change begins with the soft tissue. Muscles, fascia and connective tissues influence how the skeleton is supported and organized. His work therefore begins by identifying areas of restriction and progressively releasing and elongating those tissues, creating greater opportunity for the body to reorganize naturally.
Scotty’s foundation in this approach comes from more than two decades of Structural Integration (Rolfing) practice. He completed his Structural Integration training with Tom Myers, author of Anatomy Trains, whose work explores the interconnected relationships of fascia and structure throughout the body.
His background also includes extensive study of neuromuscular therapy, osteopathic traditions, Thai healing practices, yoga and other approaches to structural bodywork. His spinal decompression training comes through a practitioner taught directly by the founder of the work, giving Scotty a connection to an established lineage while allowing him to integrate the technique into his own evolving method.
Over decades of practice, these influences have become the Holding Atlas Method—a highly individualized approach that begins with observation and hands-on soft-tissue work, addresses the atlas and its relationship to the larger structure, and then incorporates spinal decompression and elongation when appropriate.
Originally trained in architecture, Scotty eventually turned his attention from the structure of buildings to what he thinks of as the architecture of the human body. That structural way of seeing remains fundamental to his work: recognizing relationships, identifying imbalance, and working with the individual body rather than imposing a predetermined formula upon it.
Every session begins with the person in front of him.
