What is Rolfing? The short answer…
Rolfing is a form of bodywork that strives to find balance and integrity in the body’s structure. Specifically, we are working to get the body to better relate to gravity (just as an architect or homebuilder would). The approach is holistic in that we are not chasing symptoms - we are focused on allowing the body to better relate to its environment, and welcome whatever changes may come of that.
A Rolfing session consists of hands-on bodywork, functional assessments, and subtle movement/awareness from the client. Rolfing directly manipulates the fascia (the tensional network of connective tissue that defines our shapes).
The work is often delivered in a series of ten sessions (the Ten-series) that strategically frees the entire body starting with the most superficial layer of tissue, and only then working deeper. Throughout the series, we work collaboratively to organize and integrate the changes.
Rolfing can also be effective in fewer sessions outside the scope of the Ten-series, but it tends to be a less comprehensive and well-integrated outcome. That said, I certainly recommend trying a session or two before committing to ten.
Ultimately, this work gives your body more options - your body will know what to do with them.
Longer Answer (run now)
Do you ever see an animal in the wild and notice their awkward ungraceful movement? I don’t.
Animals inherently move gracefully without effort. We humans are a peculiar species that from a young age are told we need to “act right”. By acting, we are forcing parts of ourselves to be something unnatural. This notion, traumatic incidents, moving less, and forcing our bodies to adapt to unnatural structures (desks/furniture/cars etc) compounds through time and tends to make us clunky and disorganized.
Rolfing is ultimately a process of tidying and removing structural clutter. Lengthening tissues that are too short, separating tissues that are stuck together, shifting “blocks” of the body around. This process begins to give the body new options. With more options, the body (which is always looking to be as efficient as possible) naturally begins to find its way “up” into a configuration that more harmoniously relates to gravity. Living in a body that can effectively navigate gravity is a body that has less to do. This inevitably translates to more capacity of the body and mind.
Imagine on a hike, you slightly tweak your ankle a bit and have to start walking a little differently to make it back down the mountain. Out of necessity, you seamlessly figure out how to do this with no conscious effort. In this example, your body has lost options and is forced to operate in a state of lowered order. Rolfing works through the same principle, but the opposite direction. Your body is granted more options, and begins to subconsciously(but noticeably) operate with a higher degree of order.
There are a few elements pretty unique to Rolfing that make it especially effective:
We are working to relate the body to gravity.
We work with fascia - Fascia is more-or-less a web of “memory tissue” that records our movement history, and allows us to continue moving in the same manner. It’s the stuff that’s between everything. It is the white space of a painting. The silent moment in the music. The space between the stars. It is the tensional network that holds us together in equilibrium.
We largely work from first principles and understand that the body is not a machine made of “parts”. Some of these first principle are: the body is a whole, our most common human movements are breathing and walking, we have evolved fairly recently to assume a more upright position.
With time, Rolfers develop especially keen ability to see and sense.
We are working with specific intent/goals and there is a logic to the ordering.
The Rolfing process not only releases the body’s tissues (“takes the person apart”), but it integrates them (“puts them back together”).
Ten-Series Description
Each session of the Rolfing ten-series or “recipe” as it’s commonly known, ventures to take on a specific portion of the body (varying territories and depths). The first three sessions free up the most superficial layer of the body. Sessions 4-7 begin working deeper levels of the body and attempt to establish the core (the vertical center of the body head to toe, not the abs). The last three sessions are oriented around revisiting where the individual is at, and integrating their structure to be more functional.
Sessions ideally would take place once a week or every other week until complete.
Sessions will always vary a bit between individuals. All sessions have some back and neck work. Below are very general descriptions of each session.
Session 1 - Superficial tissue. Fairly broad territory wise. Aims to allow for easier breathing.
Session 2 - Mostly superficial tissue. Aims to allow the feet and lower legs to better support the body.
Session 3 - Superficial tissue. Lengthens and deepens the sides of the body.
Session 4 - Focuses on establishing the core on the insides of the legs from feet to pelvis.
Session 5 - Continuing from session 4, establishing the core further up the body through the hip flexors and abdominals.
Session 6 - Focuses on the deeper tissues in the back of the body from head to toe, with an emphasis around the sacrum.
Session 7 - Neck and head integration.
Sessions 8-9 - Re-examining where the individual is at, and integrating/educating the body to be more functional in moving from the core.
Session 10 - Zipping things back up, putting the polish on, and preparing the individual to take their changes into the world.