I have been assisting with classes at the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute. Although most of the students we are sending out every year are not local, a fair amount of them are. Sometimes it seems like I am simply making more competition for myself if they are going to set up anywhere near my practice, as there is not the demand for Rolfing that you may experience in other disciplines like chiropractic, physical therapy, massage, etc. I do not really to think of it this way though, because Rolfing has something very special to offer that other health, medical, and alternative medical practices may not, so I can see more people discovering that they need Rolfing, and this has been the case in some places in America. For instance Alaska, for whatever reason, has a huge need for Rolfers, and historically when I have been at the Rolf Institute over the years, there is often one or two Alaskans in the classroom. I am wondering why this is not the case all over the U.S.A? Here are some features of Rolfing that make us a bit different from the rest.
Rolfing is Wholistic
Holism or Wholism are terms that are on many people's lips these days and although the terms are by dictionary definition interchangeable, the original term Holism arose in western medicine as a nursing movement with the intention that the patients being cared for should have all their needs met, mind and body. I think this is great and should be continued, but it has nothing to do with the concept of the whole that we see in eastern medicine, the idea that disease and dysfunction result from imbalance, so treating symptoms is not the ultimate answer- going to the source of the imbalance is! Rolfing views any structural and functional problem as the result of strain patterns caused by a poor relationship to gravity, and a poor relationship of any person's structure to the whole structure, and therefor an issue can not be properly addressed unless it is addressed with a view of how it relates to the whole. This is why I prefer the term wholistic, but that is merely semantics.
Rolfing Focuses on Optimization
Most other structural health related disciplines like chiropractic, physical therapy, massage, ect. aim to restore health. If you have something out, they work to put it back, or build support to keep it there, or to relax things that have become tight, or strengthen things that have become loose. Rolfing ultimately seeks a higher degree of organization in the body, of course we want to help restore the previous order where disorder has resulted, but we don't stop there. Everyone is capable of finding a better relationship with gravity, attaining more support, and a greater efficiency of moment. Whether this is to help an already high functioning athlete greater improve their performance, or simply to help a functionally compromised individual get up and around easier, it is all about achieving a higher degree of structural mind/body order, not just about fixing what is broken, from the athlete, to the ordinary, young and old, Rolfing can help.
We Work on Myofascia but Think Bones
Rolfing is known as Myofascial (muscle and connective tissue) manipulation, but as a Rolfer I address a large variety of things in each session. It is true that much of what I work with directly is soft tissue, but there is attention to joints, ligaments and bones. Tendons and ligaments determine how a bone sits and performs in its joint, and we often do direct but not forceful bone adjustment, including vertebral. If a vertebra is adjusted ( i.e. derotated), it is unlikely to stay that way unless the muscles and tendons that attach to it are addressed as well. They will keep pulling it out of place. Also, if a person is not stacked well in gravity, their entire structure will be likely to pull vertebrae out of place, along with other joints and bones. The answer is to build support for the changes that we want to make so we don't need to keep doing them over and over again.
Rolfing is Functional- Based Movement
There are many disciplines that use manual therapy (hands on techniques), chiropractic, physical therapy, massage, ect, but it is Rolfing that puts so much emphasis on how a person relates to being upright and moving about the day. You can adjust vertebrae, strengthen muscles that are weak, work out muscle and connective tissue that is tense, but the ultimate changes take place with how you use your body from day to day, and the Rolfer is always thinking about this. Simply correcting standing and seated posture is not enough, we are concerned with moving posture and the individual's relationship to their body from day to day. This means that Rolfing is just as valuable to an ordinary person in their daily life to a high functioning Olympic athlete. Young and old, nearly everyone can benefit from Rolfing.
We Always Attempt to Work at the Client's Level
This last idea -that nearly everyone can benefit from Rolfing- cannot be stressed enough. I am just as happy working with the young and strong as a am the elderly. As we always try to work at the level of availability with soft tissue manipulation, this means it will be safe for nearly anyone. To work with the level of availability we sink down into fascia and muscle tissue until we reach the level of resistance, where it does not let us go any farther. It is this level of resistance that we challenge and no more. To go farther would be to use force, and that is the level where pain and injury can occur, so if we do not force anything we are usually on safe ground. More so, if what we do is overly painful, it can alarm the nervous system and that might make the changes we are shooting for more difficult to accept, so it is then time to change approach in that area, or in general, if we really want to help a person. Working in this way allows us to help a great variety of people. Young and Old, athlete or office worker, Rolfing can help. Find a Rolfer today!
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