About Rolfing®
Rolfing® – Your Body in Balance
Rolfing® Structural Integration is a method of deep tissue manipulation and movement education. It seeks to balance the body so that it can move more efficiently in gravity. Rolfing® is named after American biochemist Dr Ida Rolf who developed the method in the 1950s.
"A body is a web connecting everything with everything else"
Rolfing® addresses patterns and tension that can develop as a result of trauma, work demands, or postural habits, to restore a more efficient and easier alignment. Whilst a person may have pain in a particular place, Rolfing® recognises the interrelatedness of the body and so treats the entire structure through a systematic approach, the ’10 Series’.
The 10 Series
Rolfing® is usually given as a series of 10 carefully structured and connected sessions that form a total overhaul of the entire body from top to toe. In summary:
1. Freeing the breath
2. Finding support, feet
3. Front/back balance, the side line
4. Establishing the midline
5. Developing the midline
6. Freeing the spine
7. Putting the head on straight
8. Bringing it all together
9. Integration
10. Closure
Completing the Rolfing® 10 Series can…
- Improve posture, balance and freedom of movement.
- Enhance energy efficiency for more “get-up-and-go”.
- Help with recognition and release of habitual and restrictive movement and postural patterns.
- Increase whole body awareness and provide new options for how you meet the world.
- Reduce unnecessary tension in the body and bring relief from stress related illness.
- Bring about a more positive self image.
- Ease muscle and joint pain.
- Improve performance in disciplines such as sports, music, dance martial arts etc.
- Help your body to be more adaptable and resilient to future injury.
Subsequent Sessions
Rolfing® always changes the body but only at the speed it can integrate well. Sometimes there is a feeling at the end of the series that just a few more sessions would complete the process. The new body awareness that Rolfing®evokes continues to bring change long after the series is finished. It is better, therefore, to wait a few months to see where the body wants to go before receiving more work. After this rest period you may wish to add an additional 3 sessions or take some movement classes (yoga or Rolf Movement) to continue your journey.