Rolfing FAQ
The human body is a dynamic form consisting of fluids, membranes, fascial planes and osseous (boney) structures. Each person’s body is a plastic medium adapting to its physical environment, nutritional input, emotional content and social interaction. Disease, repetitive movements, psychological stress, and even the way a child mimics his or her parents all leave a mark in the developing structure as the body seeks to integrate these various levels of input.We basically shape ourselves every day by how we move, what we eat, where we live and how we think. Thus, when someone sprains his or her ankle, swelling occurs to immobilize the injury. Following healing, adhesions in the area may remain, leaving the joint less flexible, less efficient. The entire body can begin to adapt to favoring the ankle causing tightness in the knee, torsion in the pelvis with one shoulder being held higher than the other.
After years of embodying this pattern, the fascia can thicken or shorten to hold the tension in the system. Eventually even standing requires effort as the restricted areas leave their marks on the person’s capacity to be balanced. Psychological trauma such as poor self-esteem, feelings of anger or fear and physical or verbal abuse affect structures. People often hold their breath to block emotions, slouch in order not to take up too much space, collapse in on themselves in an effort to endure pain. All of these patterns are held in the physical form, particularly in the fascia.
How is Rolfing different than massage?
Rolfing is an integrative technique utilizing a system of creating order in the body’s structure. When a Rolfer contacts tissue in a client’s slumped shoulders, she is also feeling through the fascia and making contact with the connective tissue of the pelvis or arches of the feet so that not only does the shoulder release, but it has support underneath it from the pelvis or the feet. Rolfing does not simply release restrictions in the body’s tensional patterns, it simultaneously creates order in the structural connective tissue.
What is Rolfing® and how can it help me?
Rolfing is a holistic system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organizes the whole body in gravity. This "realignment" of posture helps the body feel and work better. Rolfing affects the body's structure and alignment by manipulating the myofascial system (connective tissue, or fascia). The movement aspects of Rolfing help to repattern how the nervous system controls our movement, coordination and posture. Research has demonstrated that Rolfing creates more efficient muscle use, allows the body to conserve energy, and creates more economical and refined patterns of movement. Rolfing has also been shown to significantly reduce chronic stress, relieve pain (both chronic & acute), and enhance neurological functioning.The goal of Rolfing is to balance your body's structure in gravity. To do that, a Rolfer looks at how your body has compensated over time, both in how you move (walking) and while you are stationary (standing, sitting, etc.) Rolfing is generally performed over a series of ten sessions. This approach allows the Rolfer to affect the client's structure in a methodical manner. This includes loosening superficial fascia before working deeper areas, improving support in feet and legs before affecting higher structures, and helping clients find ways to benefit from freer movement in their daily activities. See the Frequently Asked Questions for more in-depth description of the Rolfing Ten-Series.
Does Rolfing last?
Rolfing does last. Because the connective tissue system is realigned holistically in relation to gravity, the body’s segments relate to each other in the more cohesive whole. This means that the head can be supported by the neck, which can be supported by the shoulders and ribcage, which can be balanced by the pelvis and the arches of the feet. This intelligent re-patterning allows the neurological input to be more appropriate so that the client has an opportunity to experience increasingly better health.