Overview

Rolfing is a method of hands-on tissue manipulation and movement education. It releases stress patterns in the body and aims to balance the whole person so that they can deal more efficiently with life in gravity.

People who have been Rolfed feel a greater sense of wholeness and wellbeing, move with more freedom and vitality and often discover a new-found ability to live their lives with more expression and joy. 

History

Rolf developed a method in the early to mid 1950s with the goal of organizing the human structure in relation to gravity. This method was originally called Postural Release, and later, Structural Integration of the human body. Early consumers of Structural Integration coined the term "Rolfing".

In 1971, Rolf founded The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration.

The Rolf Institute and a number of other schools, including the Guild for Structural Integration, the Institute for Psycho-Structural Balancing, and Hellerwork Structural Integration, currently teach the method presented by Rolf. In addition, many modern modalities of "deep tissue bodywork" can trace their lineage back to Rolfing and the legacy of Ida Rolf's theories about the fascia.

Benefits

People use Rolfing for a wide variety of reasons. Many of the most common complaints are:

• Back pain
• Repetitive Strain Injury
• Lack of mobility
• Headaches and general lack of energy
• Whilst some people come to Rolfing just because they “don’t feel right.” 

Procedure

Rolf theorized that 'bound up' fascia (or connective tissue) often restricts opposing muscles from functioning independently from each other, much in the way water, having crystallized, forms hard, unyielding ice. Her practice aimed to separate bound up fascia by deeply separating the fibers manually so as to loosen them up and allow effective movement patterns. Rolf believed that an adequate knowledge of living human anatomy and hands-on training were required in order to safely negotiate the appropriate manipulations and depths necessary to free the bound-up fascia.

Rolfers often prescribe a sequence of ten sessions to gradually "unlock" the whole body, usually beginning with the muscles that regulate and facilitate breathing. During a Rolfing session, a client generally lies down and is guided through specific movements. During these, the Rolfer manipulates the fascia until they are believed to have returned to their 'original length'. This takes place over the course of ten one-hour sessions, with a specific goal for each session, and an overall goal of cumulative results. Some clients find the experience of Rolfing painful, but Rolfing has continued to evolve over the decades into a practice far more gentle than in its early origins.

In addition to the "Basic Ten" series of sessions created by Rolf, an "Advanced Series" of five sessions, and a "Tune-Up series" consisting of a variable number of sessions, are also available, typically after a period of time to allow the client to settle 

Source of information: www.rolfinguk.co.uk | www.rolf.org