Rolfing® is the original method of Structural Integration. It is an holistic approach that utilizes soft tissue manipulation and movement education to realign the body in the earth’s gravitational field.
Much like a sculptor works with clay, a Rolfer® applies hands-on pressure to the body’s living, malleable system of fascia (connective tissue) to lengthen, invite fluidity, and release restrictions and patterns of tension.
In combination with synchronized movements by the client, adhesions in the fascia are freed, allowing the segments of the body (head, shoulders, thorax, pelvis, and legs) to reconnect, realign, and return to a balanced relationship. In other words, the body starts working as a whole system instead of a collection of disconnected or restricted parts!
WHAT CAN ROLFING® DO?
Through Rolfing® SI, many clients experience spaciousness, lightness, and fluidity in their body – assisting in pain reduction, stress relief, increased body awareness, greater range of motion, and an overall feeling of well-being.
Rolfing® SI provides an opportunity to learn more about your body by exploring your patterns and possibilities – ultimately enhancing the body’s self-organizing capabilities so that changes can be sustained long-term. By participating actively in the process, clients often feel more empowered and equipped in ensuring their own health and wellness.
HOW DID ROLFING® GET STARTED?
Rolfing® SI was developed in the early 1940s by Dr. Ida Rolf, a biochemist at Columbia University. Driven to find solutions to her own health problems as well as those of her two sons, she spent many years studying and experimenting with different systems of healing and manipulation including osteopathy, chiropractic and yoga.
Dr. Rolf posed this fundamental question: “What conditions must be fulfilled in order for the human body-structure to be organized and integrated in gravity so that the whole person can function in the most optimal and economical way?”
With a profound understanding of physics, she was interested in the role and function of the connective tissue that surrounds all of our organs, muscles, bones, and joints lending the body shape and support. She discovered that symptoms of pain and stress are one result of the body’s response to gravity – and that guiding the body’s system to realign structure could restore balance and wholeness both physically and emotionally.
Content compiled from The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration and Anatomy Trains online library.
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