How Does It Work? The process of Rolfing is quite different to other body centred therapies. The way I personally like to work is as a collaboration with each client.
The client and I both take on three levels of work:
1-Learning about your structure The first session, and also the first few minutes of each subsequent session are spent learning about your "Stress Pattern," analysing the network of tension that sits in the connective tissue throughout the whole body.
Connective tissue includes tendons, ligaments and fascial sheaths, which are layers of strong wrappings that surround muscles, bones, organs and so on. The way in which our bodies lose their shape is by connective tissue becoming disorganised, often by becoming shortened, thickened or chronically tight, following very particular patterns that are unique to each of us.
For example, there may be neck pain, but it might be coming from leaning to one side because of a foot that won’t take weight. This is a random example to highlight the point that issues can arise anywhere in the body and cause symptoms in seemingly unrelated areas.
I draw diagrams of your physical structure and together we analyze the stress pattern to see how best we can help the whole.
This gives us an insight into what may be the underlying causes of any symptoms. This also lets us know what exercises could be beneficial and which physical activities to avoid.
2-Freeing unnecessary tension This is the hands-on part of Rolfing. Our job in Rolfing is to use pressure, with hands and elbows, to invite this connective tissue to release and regain its optimum tension. In a sense, we are unravelling an extremely complex series of knots.
The client lies on the Rolfing table, in their underwear, usually covered with a blanket and the Rolfer works using hands and elbows to free stuck connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, and fascial sheaths).
Fascial sheaths can be seen as layers of an onion. We look to free up and organise them, layer by layer, starting from the surface, and dropping deeper as the outer layers become freer. In this way we are moving towards a new and stable balance that the body can keep for years to come.
Freeing the tension can sometimes be painful when encountering areas of particular tightness and it is important to only work within parameters that are easy to relax in, i.e. we do not want to work so intensively that your body tightens in response to pain.
Most people go through what we call the "Ten Series ," which is a series of sessions that are deigned to make sure that the whole body has been released in an integrated and balanced way.
3-Rolfing Movement The third aspect of Rolfing in it’s pure form would be what is called Rolfing Movement, but for me is a core part of sessions with me. It’s all about learning to use your body slightly differently so that you don t re-accumulate the tensions that you had before.
This may mean: breathing differently, walking slightly differently, making slight positional changes in the things you do each day. This often includes activities such as yoga, golf, running, sitting, driving and so on.
"I have dealt with chronic back pain for the last 7 years, expressing itself through spasms, shooting pain and sciatica. Having spent hundreds of pounds on therapies that were temporarily relieving the pain, I was more than amazed and hopeful after my first session of Rolfing.
Every session starts with Anna observing my body posture and evaluating the points that need to be worked on. Anna takes the time to explain why my body is compensating the way it is. She figures out the places that hurt me without me having to mention them. She then proceeds to work deep into the connective tissue, which essentially holds your body together.
Every session there is an improvement. I look forward to my appointments every time. I have now seen Anna around 8 or 9 times.
I am happy to say that my body feels significantly better and stronger now. I never would have thought that my body could feel normal again after seven years of daily pain. My posture is a lot better, with minimum pain or annoyances."
Ralph Estephan (Business Man)
