"Within the first three sessions I noticed a difference and an improvement. By the time I was half way through the ten series, I was almost back to normal and by the time I completed the series I was back to my normal pace." Eric R., runner
What is Rolfing Structural Integration?
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This video gives a good feel what Rolfing does and what a session is like, featuring Rolf Movement pioneer Hubert Godot. Want to see the results it can have? Check out this What two hours of Rolfing did to my body.
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Rolfing Structural Integration is a unique and effective approach to improving function and balance in the body which uses touch and movement cues to release areas of held tension and help you coordinate your movement. Fascia connects everything in the body - muscles, bones, nerves, and organs, so releasing it can have a profound impact on how we feel in the body and how the body moves. Clients generally feel more ease in their bodies, more fluid movement, and a reduction in aches and pains. Best of all, the results are usually long-lasting. How is this possible? Because the process engages your body's innate intelligence (the "body mind"). It's like learning to ride a bike. Once you learn, you never forget.
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Everything in the body as connected.
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Releasing a tight spot without addressing the underlying causes of tension - or providing the support elsewhere needed to maintain change - feels good for a while but doesn't help much in the long term. The structural approach identifies and addresses the underlying causes that lead to chronic tension, pain and lack of mobility. Pain in the low back, for example, may be caused by tension or holding in the hips; feet or ankles; knees; or upper body. It may also be due to how we respond to stress, how we use our bodies, or how we experience being in our bodies. Rolfing works to get all the parts of the body working together in harmony. The goal is not to mold you into some ideal, cookie-cutter posture or movement pattern, but to empower you to find the postures and movements that best express who you are.
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Fascia connects everything in the body - muscles, bones, nerves, and organs. Affecting it can have a profound impact.
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Can Rolfing help me?
People come to Rolfing Structural Integration for may reasons:
To see if Rolfing or another structural approach can help you, contact me to discuss your goals. A phone or email consultation is free, or you can just try a session. Whether you want a single session or a 10-series, there is never a commitment to take more sessions.
- To improve their physical potential and body awareness
- To relieve chronic tension and tightness in the body
- Because they are too young to "feel so old" when they wake up
- To address localized aches and pains - low back pain, shoulder pain, carpal tunnel, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, TMJ, migraine/headache, knee and ankle pain, shin splints, etc.
- To recover from and prevent overuse injuries
- To overcome a plateau in sports performance or yoga progress
- To increase range of motion, balance, and coordination
- To feel more connected with and alive in their body
- To prepare for or recover from trauma, surgery or pregnancy
To see if Rolfing or another structural approach can help you, contact me to discuss your goals. A phone or email consultation is free, or you can just try a session. Whether you want a single session or a 10-series, there is never a commitment to take more sessions.
Benefits of Rolfing Structural Integration
- Reduction in chronic pain and tension due to muscolo-skeletal tension (read more on Rolfing for pain issues)
- Improved mobility and balance
- Easier and more balanced breathing
- Progress in yoga or improved sports performance
- Enhanced dynamic posture, more confident presentation, and enhanced physical expressiveness
- Increased feeling of connection in the body
- Increased body awareness
- By reducing tension and holding patterns and better connection with the body, improved emotional and psychological well-being.
How many sessions do I need? The SI 10-series vs. individual sessions
Structural integration aims to create a positive transformative change in how you experience and use your body. Whether the change occurs suddenly or in steps, my goal is that what you receive from this work is not just a feeling of relaxation during or immediately after the session, but to empower you to sustain and access a feeling of ease and connection in your body long term.
The classic SI course of therapy is the 10-series, This is 10 separate, ordered sessions, each with a specific goal building on the previous sessions. The underlying idea is that sustainable change takes time, and that deeper changes cannot take place until the body and mind are ready. In the 10-series, superficial fascia is opened first. Before working on the body's core, we work to ensure that the preliminary changes needed made to support deeper work have already been done. Often deeper issues are revealed and accessible only after the superficial tension and compensations are released,
At the same time, having multiple progressive sessions over a period of time allows the body-mind the opportunity to change at its own natural pace. If a plant were to receive all the season's rain at one time, at best the excess water would drain away and serve no purpose - or it could be too much and keep the plant from growing. Like plants, our bodies can only absorb so much at one time, Spacing the sessions a week or so apart allows the body and nervous system the opportunity to make sense of input and adopt the change before the next session.
I strongly recommend the 10-series for all clients who have not had one previously. Even for those with specific localized issues, almost always either the specific complaint is the result of more general patterns in the body, or has created patterns of compensation which reflect throughout the body which have to be addressed for the issue to be resolved. If you start the 10-series, you are under no commitment to continue - you can stop at any time. If you take part of the series, you can stop and then restart later where you left off. If you are unsure, a good strategy is to either take the first session or the first three sessions and then decide if you want to continue. (Learn more about the Rolfing 10 series.)
For those who have had the 10-series or something similar , we can work to develop an individual plan depending on your goals. This could be from 3-5 sessions.
Individual structural integration sessions are also available. People often feel good results in one session. However, unless you have had prior structural integration work, one session is usually not enough to do all the work - especially if the issue is chronic or involves the whole body. Results from a single session will usually not be as long-lasting and deep as results from the 10-series or targeted set of 3-5 sessions.
The classic SI course of therapy is the 10-series, This is 10 separate, ordered sessions, each with a specific goal building on the previous sessions. The underlying idea is that sustainable change takes time, and that deeper changes cannot take place until the body and mind are ready. In the 10-series, superficial fascia is opened first. Before working on the body's core, we work to ensure that the preliminary changes needed made to support deeper work have already been done. Often deeper issues are revealed and accessible only after the superficial tension and compensations are released,
At the same time, having multiple progressive sessions over a period of time allows the body-mind the opportunity to change at its own natural pace. If a plant were to receive all the season's rain at one time, at best the excess water would drain away and serve no purpose - or it could be too much and keep the plant from growing. Like plants, our bodies can only absorb so much at one time, Spacing the sessions a week or so apart allows the body and nervous system the opportunity to make sense of input and adopt the change before the next session.
I strongly recommend the 10-series for all clients who have not had one previously. Even for those with specific localized issues, almost always either the specific complaint is the result of more general patterns in the body, or has created patterns of compensation which reflect throughout the body which have to be addressed for the issue to be resolved. If you start the 10-series, you are under no commitment to continue - you can stop at any time. If you take part of the series, you can stop and then restart later where you left off. If you are unsure, a good strategy is to either take the first session or the first three sessions and then decide if you want to continue. (Learn more about the Rolfing 10 series.)
For those who have had the 10-series or something similar , we can work to develop an individual plan depending on your goals. This could be from 3-5 sessions.
Individual structural integration sessions are also available. People often feel good results in one session. However, unless you have had prior structural integration work, one session is usually not enough to do all the work - especially if the issue is chronic or involves the whole body. Results from a single session will usually not be as long-lasting and deep as results from the 10-series or targeted set of 3-5 sessions.