What Is Rolfing? Rolfing Structural Integration (RSI) is a holistic, hands-on therapy, which is designed to help you realign and optimize your body.
It is based on the idea that there is an optimum, abstract pattern to the human body, a design if you will. Nobody is exactly that design, as life has an effect on us and changes our structure according to our experiences, but the closer our bodies are to that design, the better they function.
The design includes many characteristics that help us to function well, for example:
At every joint, bones will fit neatly together allowing for optimum movement. Every organ, artery or cavity will have sufficient space to complete it's function easily. The body itself will be aligned with gravity so that it feels as weightless as possible and doesn't waste energy by being upright.
However, all our experiences leave their mark and change our shape in a way that is unique to each person. For example, the job in which you had to sit for hours, peering at a screen, the injury that made you lean away from the pain for a few months, the state of stress you endured which made you tighten your body, the sport you love, all the positions your body went into repeatedly, begin to change your shape.
If our chest becomes tight, breathing will be compromised. If connective tissue becomes too tight, the circulation in that area will struggle. Maybe our knees turn in and the feet out, and suddenly our knees start to become painful, especially if we run.
In general, as we gradually begin to take on the shape of our stress pattern, our body veers away from it's highest potential. A Stress Pattern is the sum total of all the ways that your body has had to rearrange itself to cope with life. We start to feel an array of what we might call "pre-medical" issues: tightness, stiffness, unexplained fatigue, breathlessness, sore shoulders, back-pain, neck-ache, sore knees, headaches and anxiety. We experience difficulty and de-motivation in doing the physical activities we used to enjoy.
Who can benefit from Rolfing Structural Integration? Anyone who is looking to improve posture or be free from general aches and pains such as:
Headaches Upper/Lower Back-Pain Shoulder Tension Anxiety Knee Discomfort Sciatica
Or for anyone who is looking to:
Increase flexibility Increase strength and energy levels Improve circulation Improve their breathing Learn to use their body more efficiently, whether for daily life or other activities such as yoga, golf, running, riding etc. Become more able to relax Have a general body "reboot" Let go of the physical residue of long-held emotional tension
There are many reasons for having Rolfing. Frequently
actors find it useful to take their body back towards a neutral posture so that
they can adopt any role, as opposed to being defined by the stresses they have
been through.
A barrister once came for Rolfing because he wanted to improve his lung capacity so he could speak louder in court.
A woman came once telling me that she'd experienced huge emotional trauma. She'd had psychotherapy and let go of the trauma emotionally, but she told me that she still lay in bed tense, as if her body were holding on to the fear. She wanted help to finally allow it to release from her body.
A client came because he wanted to hit a golf ball further. He would come back each week happy, because he was indeed achieving a little more distance each time.
The central goal of RSI is to help release patterns of stress that have built up in your body over a lifetime. Each person is unique in terms of how much of this tension they can release at any one time.
The central goal in our work together is to improve your structure. As a result of this, many of the above benefits are frequently reported.
Useful Links Rolf Institute
Guild for Structural Integration
Rolfing UK
Anatomy Trains
"My neck and shoulders felt released. I felt like an owl, able to turn my head both ways without pain! It was the tallest I have felt in years. I walk away after a session feeling light, connected, and with a spring in my step."
Janine McCretton (Founder of Bristol Family Cycling Centre)
