Education
Before and After 10 sessions
ROLFING®
Structural Balance Opens Potential
Rolfing is dedicated to the exploration of the concept that the human body has transformational potential for the total being. -Rolf Institute Standards of PracticePicture an old barn falling down. That is what time and stress do to structures, both human and otherwise. Perhaps there is another possibility for the “more human use of human beings” as Dr. Ida P. Rolf has put it; for Rolfing involves moving towards an embodiment of ideas and an inquiry into the nature of human structure.
Picture having a body and spirit that are wide and free, living in opening rather than in the painful, narrow constriction of old set patterns, closed hearts, and fear-filled attitudes. Picture a blade of grass—how delicately it responds to the slightest breeze and how it bends low before the hurricane, surviving when the mightiest trees have fallen. A structure that is rigid and poorly balanced lacks resilience. A structure that is flexible and in dynamic relationship with its surroundings only bends with stress and then springs back.
As a fish lives in the medium of water, humans live within the field of gravity. Harmony with gravity enables that medium to become a supporting and energizing factor. As the fish is supported and lifted by water, so we as humans can be supported and lifted by gravity.
Some individuals may perceive their losing fight with gravity as a sharp pain in their back, others as the unflattering contour of their body, others as a constant fatigue, yet others as an unrelentingly threatening environment. Those over 40 may call it old age. And yet all these signals may be pointing to a single problem, so prominent in their own structure, as well as others, that it has been ignored: they are off balance. They are at war with gravity. --Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D. Structure Determines Function
How does a body become off balance? The human body is a miraculous construction of fluid and dynamic interrelationships. This finely tuned instrument, the vehicle of the spirit, has a plastic quality and can change shape. Falls, illnesses, psychological stress, even the way a child copies his/her parents, all leave a mark in the structure as the body's natural adaptability works to integrate any injury or continuing attitude into the rest of the system.
Thus, when an ankle is sprained, there is swelling and pain in order at first to immobilize the injured area. Later, after healing occurs, adhesions may remain; and the joint is caught in a less flexible, less efficient position. As the entire body adapts to favoring one ankle, a rotation can develop in the pelvis with the one shoulder going higher to offset the higher hip and the head moving over to rest in line with the supporting leg. After years of this pattern, the body becomes “set” as fascia (connective tissue) thickens and hardens around points of stress. Then an attempt to stand up straight becomes filled with effort, as the constricting areas prevent the body's natural lift toward verticality.
Psychological trauma such as physical abuse, abandonment, feelings of inadequacy, attitudes of fear and anger, also affect structure. Tightening against pain, holding the breath to block emotions, slumping in order not to feel too big, become physically locked in the body and thus perpetuate the attitude.
...no situation exists in a human which a psychologist would diagnose as a feeling of insecurity or inadequacy unless it is accompanied by a physical situation which bears witness to the fact that the gravitational support is inadequate. --Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D.The Body is a Plastic Medium
Rolfing works to free these holding patterns and to move the structure back to a balance of body segments in a vertical line. This is accomplished through the plastic nature of the connective tissue. Connective tissue is made up of a protein called collagen. Collagen responds to the pressure and warmth of the Rolfer's hands by becoming more fluid; and by the fibers in its ground substance then realigning themselves along points of the newly established line of balance. With controlled pressure and direction, the Rolfer's hands loosen the fascial sheaths that surround the muscles, thus realigning the tissue around the joints.
Rolfing is mainly an educational process, and thus there is an ongoing communication between Rolfer and client. The client is often asked to make certain movements while the Rolfer is working. This helps the client to find and feel new patterns of movement.
The relationship between Rolfer and client is a special one. As trust, honesty, and openness develop, the Rolfing process becomes an arena for personal transformation on the part of both Rolfer and client.
Gravity as the Therapist
Results of Rolfing are as varied as the people undergoing the process. As the body moves back to the symmetry of its original design, gravity becomes a supporting and energizing force. The release of stress and chronic pains (especially low back pain) that often follow Rolfing is not due to having addressed any particular pathology, but rather to the body's healing power when freed to assume its proper position.
...when the body gets working appropriately, the force of gravity can flow through. Then, spontaneously, the body heals itself. --Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D.A feeling of well-being and self-confidence develops as the structure returns to its dynamic, upright support. The person feels lighter, freer, and has a higher level of energy. Old attitudes that were held and encouraged by stuck body patterns become easier to recognize and release. Daily tasks and athletic performance are often enhanced as energy locked up in maintaining support is freed.
...there is an ongoing psychological change as well toward balance, toward serenity, toward a more whole person. The whole person evidences a more apparent, more potent psychic development. --Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D. As flesh and spirit are inseparable, the whole being moves home to the perfection intended in its creation.
__________________________________________Rolfing® is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment. It does not attempt to diagnose or prescribe. Its purpose is to bring order to structure, and it is through the accomplishment of that purpose that the function of the whole person is enhanced.
® the word Rolfing is a Service Mark at THE ROLF INSTITUTE of Structural Integration.
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There is also an educational aspect to each session in which clients examine and have an option to change their functional and emotional or attitudinal patterns. How a person walks, sits, and uses his or her body at home, work and play can be a prime contributing factor to one's body pain and tension. Injuries and traumas, whether physical or emotional, imbed themselves into our body like a historical map that becomes visible as imbalances, compensations and often pain. Likewise, attitudes and feelings about oneself are also projected through the body. It can be extremely enlightening and of prime importance when someone realizes that it is not necessary to live with patterns of “dis ease” and that these patterns can be changed for the better.
The soft tissue in our bodies molds itself to the habitual use or misuse of our bodies, and is therefore changeable. However, this is also why merely making an effort to improve poor posture by reminding yourself to "stand up straight" eventually results in a return to the improper, but more habitual, poor posture. ROLFING works to release, to "unstick" if you will, the old posture so that the body can move towards its natural alignment with gravity and begin to move with the grace and ease inherent in its design.
Is this process painful? Definitely not. This is a common misconception about ROLFING. The process has been refined over many years, and early stories about pain were grossly over exaggerated. The guiding principle of ROLFING is of course to get pain out of the body. Think of how it feels to stretch a tight muscle. Yes, there is some discomfort at first, but it is a release, which feels good. And afterwards the release and relief from pain is a welcome feeling you will relish in comparison to the previous state. This is how your body will feel with ROLFING.
Pain is the body's way of telling us that something is not right. Eighty percent of low back pain is a result of an imbalance in the legs, which affects the pelvic alignment. In fact most pain is the result of a long standing imbalance or an injury that creates a system of imbalance and compensation in the body. Therefore by correcting or improving imbalances in the structure and function of the body, the source of the “dis ease” is removed and pain is alleviated.
Rather than a treatment which is performed on the client, ROLFING is a collaboration between the client and therapist. For the most part there are no special exercises on the clients' end other than to become aware of habitual body use and patterns, and to begin implementing the changes brought about in the ROLFING sessions. This is accomplished through awareness of posture and movement throughout the normal day. Some simple “releasing” exercises are available. These help the client relieve his or her own tension as it develops and before it becomes PAIN.
