Judith Aston, creator of Aston-Patterning®, graduated from U.C.L.A with a B.A. During the 1960s she worked at Long Beach City College developing education programs for athletes, dancers and actors. A special interest of Aston’s was the interaction between body consciousness and psychological health. In need of rehabilitation following a serious auto accident, she sought out Dr. Ida Rolf for myofas
cial treatment (Rolfing) in 1968. This experience assisted Judith in her recovery and expanded her understanding of how bodies can change through hands-on bodywork. Dr. Rolf trained Judith in Structural Integration in 1968-1969. In 1968, Dr. Rolf asked her to develop a movement education counterpart to the myofascial release bodywork, with the aim of helping clients maintain the process achieved. Judith developed and taught the movement education curriculum from 1971-1977. Student Rolfers learned how to work with minimal effort and maximum precision. Clients gained awareness of beneficial changes and were taught how to maintain their “line.” These contributions to the Structural Integration (Rolfing) movement became known as Rolf-Aston Structural Patterning and were integrated into the training requirements. Aston later became disillusioned with the Rolf school of thought. She disagreed with models that favored segmental alignment and placing constraints on posture. Drawing on her years of experience, she developed what she calls the Aston Paradigm. This is a new model of bio-mechanics and movement education. Aston continues to teach and write about Aston-Patterning today. Aston-Patterning is a physical therapy that aims to treat a person’s physical body as something that is unique to them. Rather than to enforce physical symmetry, it seeks to recognize the asymmetries that are natural to a person’s body. Aston-Patterning is a holistic approach and works to ensure that the entire body is in sync with itself. Judith Aston is the recipient of many awards some of which include the 2005 National Office of Aging, Best Practices in Health Promotion Award, the 2008 AMTA President’s Award for Distinguished Service and most recently she was inducted into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame at the World Massage Festival in North Carolina. She was also included in a recent documentary by Emilie Conrad for the Moving Legends: Individuals who have created somatic systems who began as dancers. Vibrant testimony to her theories, Aston is actively engaged in all aspects of her enterprises. She is an author of: Moving Beyond Posture - In Your Body On The Earth, the Aston Postural Assessment Workbook, and Aston's Walking the New Body DVD. She divides her time between presenting and teaching bodywork, fitness, performance, and movement courses. Her Aston® Kinetics training and certification courses have been sought after by doctors, physical therapists, massage therapists, fitness trainers, yoga and pilates teachers. She devotes a portion of her time to work on her ergonomic product designs, re-envisioning how products can work optimally within the body in various environments. Judith Aston lives in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, the headquarters for her company, and part time in Hawaii. She may be contacted at [email protected] for requests for private consultations to corporations and individuals.
