"Go around the problem; get the system sufficiently resilient so that it is able to change, and it will change, It doesn't have to be forced. It's that forcing that you have to avoid at all costs." Ida P. Rolf
It is important to recognize that most physical complaints are not simply local to where the pain, restriction, or discomfort is being experienced. Often the site where the pain is experienced is the end of a sometimes long strain pattern, and that is why it is important not to fixate on the problem area. Rolfing is about working with relationships, and every part of a person exists in relation to another, and the all parts exist in relation to a greater whole. This is why it is generally not wise to get stuck focusing on just one or two areas.
Rolfing, also known as structural integration, is about relating and integrating structure into one greater and better functioning whole. Work done in one area can affect other areas, and it can even affect the whole. This can be through the vast webbing of connective tissue the envelopes nearly everything in the body, or through the system of nerves that run through nearly all the tissue in the body. Either way, challenging a problem head on is the overt approach, but does not take into account the interrelatedness of all aspects of the physical form. So rather than getting stuck in a problem, we go around it until we discover the relationships that are holding it in its state. This is the holistic perspective of a Rolfer, and what make our approach unique.