Just as Buddhism states that happiness and clear mindedness is the natural state of a human being, eastern medicine states that health and balance are also our natural state. When this natural balance is disturbed, disease sets in. In the west we are regularly striving to improve health, "to get healthier", to gain health so to speak. This idea seams odd from an eastern perspective, as health can not be accumulated, it can only be restored. In the west we are under the influence of the idea that we must always be striving for something or we are lazy. The saying we have all heard many times before rings out "don't just sit there, do something!" But in eastern traditions that have spent much time and effort in cultivating stillness, silence and clarity of mind, this is something that any untrained animal can do. Even a dog, motivated buy hunger, fear, or even curiosity may run around, motivated by instinct to keep moving, hunting, running from danger. The difference is that a dog will feel no guilt about resting, sitting, and taking in the scenery around it, sleeping, or just sitting still when there is no pressing motivation to do anything.
Most motivation toward external goals are ego driven. This is not to say that the ego is bad, without it we might not ever get out of bed, but we must not let the goals of the ego completely control us or will have no room to grow. People come in to see me with all sorts of goals. They want to heal from injuries and chronic pain, they want better posture and more graceful movement. They want to start working out again, or better sports performance. These are all great reasons to come in, but non of these goals should be more important than developing a greater since of balance and ease in life, or more importantly, a great sense of self.
When we bring our attention to the sensation of the body, weather sitting or moving about, we develop a fuller experience of ourselves, and a presence that can more fully experience life. To do so I must cultivate an attention that can contain both the impression of the sense of my body here in the moment and the outside world at the same time. With the cultivation of this attention, my sense can become more fine tuned over time and I can experience myself, my body to a more subtle degree. This attention over time can have a transformation effect.
As I have said many times before, Rolfing is not about self help, it is about transformation. For some it can be life changing, for other it will at least be helpful. At the end of the day all of the interventions we do in a Rolfing session are primarily to bring new awareness to the body. Separating and lengthening muscle/connective tissue is really just input, and changes we make are really just suggestions to the body. If the individual's nervous system does not think those changes are good, it will revert back to the way it was before, but the important thing we are striving for is an experience of something new. Moments of silence, stillness, and being present to sensation can facilitate that. If you can see the value in this, try to incorporate more of these moments into your daily life. What feeds the being is more important that what feeds the goal of the ego.
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