Rolfing is a combination of body education and physical manipulation. It can increase your sense of well-being by bringing your body into an easier alignment with gravity. Following a Rolfing session, you often experience greater range of motion, improved coordination and a sense of rejuvenation.
Although it can be beneficial to receive just one session, Rolfing is traditionally and ideally performed over a series of ten sessions. This initial series never needs to be repeated. Most people continue to receive "tune-ups" or advanced work from time to time.
I see Rolfing as working with people’s stories. The stories of how we became who we are. All of these stories have been valuable parts of our journeys, but some of them have left imprints on our bodies which we no longer need; a lopsided gait due to a broken leg years ago, headaches as a result of multiple falls off a bicycle, an unconscious desire to be smaller after repeated emotional abuse, the list goes on. By working to let go of both the physical and the energetic limitations left by our past, we become able to step into our present with more confidence, and comfort.
And what about the energetic twist?
I first became interested in energy healing several years before I discovered Rolfing, but at that time wanted to work with something more tangible than energy. After practicing Rolfing for 13 years, I started to see bodies as energy with areas of stagnation correlating with their areas of physical limitation. After working for so many years to help others fully inhabit their bodies, I felt grounded enough in myself to explore this further. I chose to study Reiki as a form of energy healing and have since furthered that study through a two year mentoring program with the well respected medical intuitive Marie Manucheri. I find that Reiki energy healing adds a wonderful new tool to enhance my work as a Rolfer.
The Rolfing with an energetic twist touch ranges from very gentle and almost indiscernible to deep manipulation of the connective tissue. It can be an intense experience but should never be painful.
Development of Rolfing
Rolfing was developed over several decades, spanning to the late 1970’s, by Dr. Ida P. Rolf. Dr. Rolf recognized the vital roles that gravity and connective tissue play in the body’s organization. Connective tissue wraps and connects all of our muscles, bones and organs. It supports the soft tissues, positions the bones, determines the direction of muscle pulls and movement and gives the body its shape. A Rolfer works to free restrictions in this connective tissue matrix while focusing on increasing the internal support, adaptability, lift and groundedness of the individual. Although Ida Rolf stopped developing Rolfing many years ago, it has continued to evolve and refine since then, which Rolfer’s keep abreast of with an abundance of continuing education possibilities.
