Structural, Function, Integration – The journal of the Ida Rolf Institute – Vol 53, Nº 02

ABSTRACT The discovery of Piezo channels, mechanosensitive proteins that transduce physical pressure into cellular signals, formally validated the relationship between touch and proprioception. It is now clear that the manual therapist’s touch directly engages the same mechanosensitive pathways that mediate spatial awareness. For structural integration, this finding holds special significance, as it establishes proprioception as equal in importance to structure and movement. This new scientific understanding reveals how proprioception in structural integration through touch, combined with body-wide spatial awareness, forms a powerful combination. Given the complexity of spatial processing in relation to balance, systematic spatial awareness training may help optimize balance. To that end, the novel concept of propriosphere is introduced as a three-dimensional visual model around a client to establish spatial reference points for sensing balance. The author also develops the concept of propriosomatics, exercises and movements specifically aimed at improving proprioception. Using balance as the fundamental organizing principle, the Rolfing® Ten Series thus becomes a progression of spatial and neurological information that transforms postural organization, movement patterns, and sensory awareness.

ABSTRACT This interview with American pole vaulter Austin Miller explores his athletic career and his experience with Rolfing Structural Integration. Miller describes how he entered pole vaulting in high school and gradually developed into a world-class athlete. He outlines his demanding weekly training schedule, including track work, weightlifting, coaching, and regular manual therapies. Rolfing sessions have been among his central maintenance routines, along with physical therapy, chiropractic, and acupuncture. Rolfer Patrick Clough explains studying an athlete’s specific movement patterns to address fascial demands and prevent structural imbalances for clients like Miller.

ABSTRACT This article by Rolfer® and sports scientist Jakob Reichardt integrates the philosophy of Rolfing® Structural Integration with athletics, biomechanics, and neurology to optimize movement and performance in gravity. Key mechanical properties explored are force and power, and the rate of force application. The myofascial system, particularly the structure and tension of the fascia, is shown to amplify muscular strength and participate in force transmission. Neurologically, fast, high-impact movements rely heavily on rapid reflex arcs and the precise monitoring provided by muscle spindles and the Golgi tendon organs. Reichardt critically assesses traditional Rolfing approaches, like releasing hamstring tension in the First Hour of a Rolfing Ten Series®. The author also urges the Rolfing community to overcome its biases against strength training, emphasizing its crucial role in injury prevention, metabolic health, and supporting a client’s ability to cope with the strenuous demands of daily work or sport. Ultimately, effective Rolfing work for clients who engage with high-impact movement requires integrating the demands of force and power with the myofascial and neuromuscular realities of movement in gravity.

ABSTRACT In this in-depth dialogue, Lina Amy Hack speaks with Aline Newton and Rebecca Carli-Mills about the expression “too much body,” which came up in the context of the 2022 Tonic Function Study Group online class exploring the approach of French Rolfer®, Hubert Godard. Together they explore how clients may have become overly focused on their bodies as objects – on shape, symmetry, and control – rather than on embodied experience, relationship with gravity, and the environment. Newton and Carli-Mills emphasize that embodiment is a quality every human has, and perception of our embodiment is not a fixed state but an ongoing process of sensing and relating to the world. Through examples from dance, athletic training, and client work, they show how overemphasis on visual correction and muscular control can interfere with natural coordination and expression.

ABSTRACT Rolfing® Structural Integration enhances the relationship between the human body, mind, and athletic performance by exploring physical and perceptual capabilities. In this article, Advanced Rolfing® Instructor Pierpaola Volpones discusses the elegance and harmony of athletic gestures, the historical and cultural significance of sports, and the determination required for training and competition while highlighting testimonies from some athletes.

ABSTRACT Certified Rolfer Brooke Thomas challenges the common belief that social media visibility is essential for attracting clients. She argues that cultivating genuine, real-world relationships is far more effective at building a Rolfing practice and is also ® ® Brooke Thomas more rewarding. Social media posts are prioritized by their respective algorithms, which not only prioritize specific content, but also treat the wellness message as a product or as entertainment, which it is not. In contrast, Thomas reminds Rolfers that they are in the business of providing a therapeutic relationship that requires trust and rapport, which are not easily cultivated through social media. She offers some community- based strategies that are known to be more effective and sustainable for developing a busy Rolfing practice.

ABSTRACT For this third installment of The Philosophical Touch column, Rolfer® Andrew Rosenstock explores the philosophical origins and deeper meaning of the term ‘somatics’. It emphasizes that somatics, coined by Thomas Hanna in 1976, refers to the body as experienced from within, rather than as an external object. The modern usage of the word somatics can at times be reduced to a buzzword, referring to slow or gentle practices, which overlooks its philosophical depth. For Rolfers, reclaiming the somatic perspective shifts their work from technical interventions to relational and perceptual offerings centered around the client’s lived experiences.

ABSTRACT At the 7 Fascia Research Congress in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Carla Stecco shared her enthusiasm about the growing global collaboration and scientific rigor in fascia research. Stecco discusses her keynote on lipedema, revealing that affected individuals have thicker, more collagen-rich superficial fascia and larger, poorly supported adipose lobules. Also, Stecco suggested that precise knowledge of which fascial layers are affected by fascial pathology can help practitioners choose the most appropriate manual techniques.