Perception and Structure

I would like to bring up an idea that we have all heard before. The idea that the way we perceive the world can change and/or control us. I am not just talking about positive thinking, though this can sometimes cause valuable change. If simply changing our thought was all we needed to do, then every teenager would either be a rock star or a super model. No, I am talking about a perception that is our ability to sense ourselves and the world around us. Our ability to sense ourselves, and various parts of ourselves both in static posture and in movement can be quite skewed. Even if it is pretty good, it can be improved. As we bring our attention to sensation in the body, we will find that there are areas that have a lot of feeling and some in which we basically have little to none. We have gaps in the mental maps of the body.

With all the hands on work we do with people, what Rolfers are primarily doing is helping one to expand the mental map of the body, giving the nervous system input, helping the individual's system inform itself through sensation and proprioception (sensing where one is in the space around them). When this ability is compromised, the system does not feel safe and limits movement, providing muscle tension and drawing things in toward the mid-line. Likewise traumatic experience can do this as well. If this is addressed in the body, a person may be able to gain some freedom from the feeling of being unwell or unsafe. In that way the individual's structure can change perception. So there it is, perception affects structure and structure affects perception.

There are paths of spiritual development that revolve around being in contact with the sensation of the body. G.I. Gurdjieff's teaching, which did influence Ida Rolf comes immediately to mind. Certain lineages of Southeast Asian Buddhism, like Vipassina do as well. They aim to use contact with the sensation of the body to help develop the mind, rather than becoming identified with the body. One does not really need to take up meditation to work with sensation, although it could be very helpful. We have the opportunity at any moment, keeping the idea in mind that our structure is not static, it is a dynamic event, like the flowing of a river, always changing but maintaining a recognizable form.