WHAT IS ROLFING?
Rolfing Structural Integration is a unique approach to help you find ease and comfort in your body. Over the years, your body accumulates tension and strain as a means of adapting to the environment and the stresses of everyday life. So how does it work?
We work together to find restricted places in your body, places that aren’t moving. Sometimes it’s adhesions in the fascia (the body’s connective tissue system) that are restricting movement. Sometimes we mobilize neural pathways (nerves) that are inflamed and entrapped in the surrounding tissue (yes, nerves like and need to be able to move). Other times it’s examining movement patterns that are holding you back from moving with more ease and grace.
HOLISTIC APPROACH: YOUR BODY & YOUR LIFE
Rolfing is an integrative and holistic approach to the body. We’re always striving for whole-body changes rather than just treating a particular area. That nagging pain or discomfort you’re trying to get rid of is most likely caused by imbalances throughout your entire structure, not just the area that hurts.
We also might uncover limiting beliefs that are keeping you from living more fully. Restrictions in the body can relate to restrictions in your life: your self-esteem, belief systems, how you see yourself in the world, what you think is possible or impossible for your life, etc.
In my experience, Rolfing covers a lot of ground. It can simply be a means for resolving chronic pain. It can also be a catalyst for profound life changes.
“Even after completing the series, I’m still noticing that I’m on a path of change.”
HOW CAN IT HELP ME?
Rolfing can address a wide variety of chronic pain issues, very often the nagging type of discomfort you may have tried to resolve with other methods.
Do you struggle with any of these?
- Low back and hip pain
- Leg discomfort or shooting pain
- Neck, shoulder and arm problems
- Knee and ankle pain
- Headaches / Migraines
DOES IT HURT?
If you’ve heard about Rolfing before, you may have heard some kind of horror story about how painful it is. I ask you to set aside your reservations about trying Rolfing based only on what someone has told you. I find that most new Rolfing clients learn that it’s not what they expected.
Rolfing feels like very slow pressure, sometimes deep but always within your level of comfort. We’re working for long-lasting changes, so a Rolfing session may sometimes be intense, but it should never be painful.
The #1 reason I believe more people haven’t benefited from what Rolfing can offer is the outdated and inaccurate reputation it has.
WHO DEVELOPED ROLFING?
So where did this word ‘Rolfing’ come from, anyway? Dr. Ida P. Rolf (1896-1979) developed her work, which she coined ‘Structural Integration’, in the 1930s and 1940s. Clients and practitioners dubbed this work “Rolfing®” and the name stuck. Dr. Rolf established the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration in 1971 in Boulder, Colorado, where it remains to this day.
Born in The Bronx, New York, she went on to get her PhD. in Biochemistry at Columbia University. Dissatisfied with existing medical care and driven to find solutions to her own health problems, she spent years studying different systems of alternative healing and manipulation, including homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic and yoga.
Bringing together such a rich variety of perspectives, Dr. Rolf discovered that she could achieve remarkable changes in posture and structure by manipulating the body’s myofascial system. She added her observations that lasting improvement in alignment and an overall sense of well-being required a closer look at the effects of gravity on our bodies. Thus, Rolfing Structural Integration was born.
WHAT ROLFING ISN’T
Rolfing often gets grouped with massage and other forms of bodywork, but there are fundamental differences that separate it from these other practices. Rolfing is aimed at improving your body’s alignment and structural integrity, not just relaxation like massage. You may have heard that Rolfing is like “deep massage”, but its goals and effects are different. The biggest distinction between Rolfing and other practices like massage and chiropractic work is that Rolfing works with areas of the body that will produce a lasting change rather than temporary relief.
ROLFING WORKS
Because of its holistic and long-term approach, Rolfing tends to work where other methods have failed. I can’t put it any simpler than that. The vast majority of my clients come to me saying they’ve tried numerous other treatments, with limited results.
Think about this:
If you don’t feel good in your body, you’re probably not going to live to your fullest potential. I invite you to call or email me to discuss how Rolfing can help you. You are worth it!