Rolfing

Rolfing is a holistic treatment modality based upon the insights gained from anatomy, biomechanics and physics. With Rolfing, we bring imbalanced structures back into alignment thanks to a very special form of manual technique. Classically, Rolfing builds on the 10 series where each session has a clearly defined goal and addresses a specific area of the body. Slow and precise strokes allow freeing up the adhesions in the myofascial tissues. Thanks to Rolfing, you can recover or improve an effortless and upright posture. You are experiencing more freedom of movement as well as a deeper and more efficient breath.

«One may experience the fruitless fight against gravity as a sharp pain in the back, another as the uneven curves of the body, or as chronic fatigue and stress, or even as an ever menacing environment. Those past forty, may call it age. Yet, all these signals can also point to a single problem. The body is out of balance. It is in a state of war with gravity.»

Ida P. Rolf

Who can profit from Rolfing?

Rolfing can support you in letting go of negative movement habits by replacing them with ecological and smooth movements.

RolfingBeware, it is possible that you profit from these positive changes for a lifetime.

One of Rolfing’s main objectives is to reduce physical restrictions. The body goes back into alignment and thus is in harmony with gravity. This allows the body to more easily tap into its natural and individual resources. According to Dr. Rolf, each human being has an individual and optimal posture that can be achieved through Rolfing.

Rolfing is ...

for people that feel out of sync or chronically stressed
for people that work a job where they use the body unilaterally
for people that want to improve their flexibility and body awareness

Structure

The individual appearance of every human being – our unconsciously adopted posture.

The individual appearance of every human being – our unconsciously adopted posture – is the result of environmental factors that influence our body. Personal experiences, family influences, the way we use or abuse our body every day, whether at work or in our free time, as well as injuries on a physical or emotional level are all imprinted in our body and can show in our posture. struktur.

When we are exposed to chronic stress, the body reacts by muscle- and connective tissue contractions, painful restrictions and lack of mobility. The body tries to compensate these uneven tissue tensions, in order to balance the static dysfunction. Once the body is out of alignment, it automatically needs a lot more energy to move and to be upright. Thus, even the simplest daily activities can make us really tired, even though we don’t consciously associate our fatigue or lack of flexibility with our postural imbalance.

Gravity

Ideally, gravity evenly distributes throughout the body.

The individual segments support each other and do not necessitate additional muscle energy to allow us to be upright.

The little illustration gives you an idea, what being in or out of balance can be like. In the aligned figure you can see that ankle, knee, hip joint, shoulder and ear are all in line and thus balance is the natural result and the body thrives upward. In the misaligned figure you can see that ear, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle are out of sync. Here the myofascial system is unable to guarantee balanced relationships and thus can create pain and disease. Since we stopped moving around on all fours, our relationship to gravity has drastically changed and become more complex.

The ten series

Classically, Rolfing builds on the 10 series where each session has a clearly defined goal and addresses a specific area of the body during each session.

Generally speaking, we seek to reach an integrated structure that lessens or even eliminates the strain on joints as well as an overuse of the tissues. Rolfing is always a holistic and individual process that takes into consideration the needs of each person. Persons of all ages and walks of life can profit from Rolfing. The ten series also strives to achieve an overall objective which is determined with the client at the beginning of the process.

Psyche

Changing our structural alignment can bring about positive psychological changes.

New body awareness can also impact the psyche. An upright posture and easy gait improves our self-awareness and self-confidence. Letting go of old postural habits can also inspire and motivate us to change other things in our lives.

Fascia

Rolfing focuses on the myofascial network of the body.

It is a three dimensional network surrounding and enveloping all muscles, bones, nerves and organs.

The myofascial system can be shaped thanks to gentle, sensitive and well-tampered pressure. Thus, it is possible to bring about lasting changes to the body’s structure and posture.

The history of Rolfing

Dr. Ida P. Rolf who lived from 1896 – 1979, developed Structural Integration what later became known as Rolfing.

She was one of the first women in the USA to get a PhD in biochemistry and physiology. During her extensive research for effective solutions for chronic diseases, she came across different modalities like yoga and osteopathy that worked with the body’s structure and functions. She developed the method of Structural Integration, which built upon the observation that posture and movement are subject to the laws of gravity.

Ida Rolf and Rolfing became more and more known, when Fritz Pearls, the founder of Gestalt Therapy, invited her to teach this unique approach at the famous Esalen Institute in California.

At the beginning of the seventies, she founded the Rolf Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Henceforth, Structural Integration spread across the globe as Rolfing.