Rolfing® - Structural Integration


Rolfing® - Structural Integration

What is Rolfing?
Rolfing® is a holistic comprehensive system of hands-on, connective tissue manipulation and movement education which releases stress patterns in the human organism. The term "Rolfing" is derived from its originator Dr. Ida Rolf Ph.D. Rolfing results in a feeling of fitness and wholeness. People who have been Rolfed stand with more stability and less strain, breathe deeper and more easily, move with more naturalness and grace and develop a wider range of self expression. The goal of Rolfing, both in its manipulation and movement aspects, is that the client can move and function with greater freedom, and effortlessly maintain a more upright posture. A single session is a happening, a series of sessions may be a mystery tour through your body with sudden insights.



Gravity Of all the forces affecting the human body, gravity is among the most powerful. Body misalignment in gravity results in chronic strain, lowered vitality and impaired biological and psychological functioning. Dr Rolf said : “ We want to get a person out of the place where gravity is their enemy. We want to get them into the place where gravity reinforces them and is a friend, a nourishing force." People of all ages come for Rolfing to help with neck pain, back problems, impaired mobility and other difficulties which result from chronic tension patterns. Others seek to improve their appearance, increase athletic or artistic performance, or to further personal growth towards a fuller realization of their potential.

An example
The image shows a man with specific problems relevant to the first session. His legs are hyper-extended, the pelvis tilted forward and the stomach is pushed forward. The chest is sunken, the head is attempting to balance the structure by being pushed forward. This causes the range of each breath to be limited.

before 1 after 7 before 1 after 7 The image of the man after ten sessions demonstrates the changes in an integrated structure. It is clear from the sketch how the angles in the bigger body blocks have changed after only 7 sessions. The connective tissue network, or fascial net, unites the body in a set of relationships that are characteristic of a particular individual. Rolfing practitioners work with the human structure through this fascial net, in such a way that the different parts move and fit together in an improved relationship to each other in the gravitational field.

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