Rolfing

Rolfing is a method to balance the human body in the gravity field of the earth. This is accomplished by working on the fascia - the connective tissue wrapping of the muscles and the inner organs. The result is a body that is not dragged down by gravity but rather uplifted by it.

Ida Rolf

Ida Rolf was born in 1896 and started a scientific carreer which, as a woman, was still unusual at the time. She obtained a doctorate in biochemistry and worked for some years at the prestigious Rockefeller Institute.

In the 1930s she became interested in alternative medicine and studied among others Yoga, osteopathy, Alexander technique to create her own method. Her greatest accomplishment is the insight how important gravity is for health and well-being.

From the 1960s she started to teach her method. At the time of her death in 1979 Rolfing had become a lively method that continues to develop and has spread over the world.

Fascia

Ida Rolf realized that the wrappings of the muscles and organs - the fascia - are the structures that truely shape the body. Our habits of movement and our perception of the environment, but also traumata leave their marks behind in the fascia. In that process fascia gets glued and shortend. As a result not only body movements become more inefficient - tensions in the fascial system bring the body literally off-balance.

These white connective-tissue webs of fascia have not been taken seriously by science for a long time. This has fortunately changed in the past few years.

It turned out that fascia is an important sense organ that can detect a multitude of mechanical cues. Further, cells were found in fascia that can regulate tension in the fascia. Thus, some main assumptions of Rolfing have now been made accessible to science and are partly already confirmed.

Gravity

For our entire lifes we have to deal with the effects of gravity. A considerable part of our locomotive system, our sense organs and our nervous system is occupied with keeping us upright in the gravity field without us usually being aware of this task.

The more the body is thrown out of balance the more resources are needed for movements in the gravity field. This can then manifest in tense muscles, pain, lack of energy and even psychological problems.

If the different part of the body are properly aligned on top of each other it is easier for us to navigate in gravity. Then gravity does not pull us down anymore but further lifts us up.

The 10 Sessions

Rolfing is usually done in a series of 10 sessions. Every session has its own topic, for instance the first session is devoted to breathing and the second session to the feet. The sessions build on each other and progress from the outer layers toward the inner layers of the body.

Besides working on the fascia, every-day movements like walking, standing and sitting are a focus of the session. Using these simple movements body awareness and a sense of floor and space is developed.

As the result of the 10 series significant visual changes can occurr, especially if the body was greatly out of balance. However, the series can also conclude with a less distinct outer result and still produce large inner changes.

In the example above of a young girl clear changes in the body structure can be seen. The knees are not anymore hyperextended, the pelvis is free, the ribcage has more space for breathing and the head is properly aligned.