This journal is dedicated to sharing information about the profession of structural integration, Dr. Ida P. Rolf’s (1896-1979) life work. Rolfing® Structural Integration is the brand of structural integration most featured on our pages, as we are the journal of the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® (DIRI),
Rolf’s original school. Yet, also in our pages, past and present, you will find a broad interest in structural integration authors from beyond our school, as there are many throughout the world who share our passion for fascia, gravity, and the structural and functional well-being of people.
I dedicate this Volume 51, Issue 1 of Structure, Function, Integration to you, all the practitioners doing structural integration as your work. It is unique to offer Rolf’s brilliant system of manipulating fascia and movement integration to your community and committing yourself to making a difference one person at a time. May our articles support all of you, our Rolfers® and our colleagues beyond. I know our authors wish to inspire new ideas, educate about contemporary
information and approaches, and give you a sense of community and shared purpose.
In this first issue of 2023, our theme is ‘A Regional Study of the Pelvis’. Rolfing SI has a foundational principle of looking at the human form wholistically, yet we also need to look at body segments to deepen our understanding. For this group of articles, we start with an interview with Advanced Rolfing Instructor Tessy Brungardt by fellow faculty member Lu Mueller-Kaul about some of the pelvic relationships that we focus on during the Rolfing SI ‘Ten Series’. We also have an interview with Rolfing Instructor Kevin McCoy about his thoughts regarding fascia, pain, and the pelvis. Articles from our DIRI faculty are the backbone of this publication, and these two are quite a
complementary pair. I’m very pleased to also be featuring a friend of Rolfers and structural integrators, an article with Gil Hedley, PhD, anatomist and educator about the wonders of the human form. I gave Hedley a very specific assignment, to talk with us about the anatomy of the
pelvic floor.
You will notice that we have a few new columns in this issue. First up, we have our long-standing fascial research column, ‘Fascia Insights’, which features a conversation with the osteopath Isabelle Gilbert from Montréal, Quebec, regarding her recent peer-reviewed publication about the effects of fascial manipulation on Cesarean section scars. All of us with DIRI are pleased to be presenting the Lily Moore story, it was the parents of this Rolfing client that reached out to DIRI’s administration
to communicate the healthful effects Rolfing SI had with their daughter as she recovered from a traumatic injury. We aregrateful to this family for allowing us to share Lily’s story with our readership.
Also, we launch two ongoing columns for you, ‘Caution Column’ is about the nuance of contraindications in manual therapy. This issue, the Caution Column, is specifically about how we might think about working with pregnant women.
‘The Business of Rolfing SI’ is what all of us Rolfers and structural integrators deal with daily. Although we are healthcare providers, we exist in a marketplace where we deliver a service for a fee – we all are proprietors of our businesses.
As we are three years into the COVID19 global pandemic, this column invites a conversation about this shared experience and the adaptations we have had to make to keep our livelihood going.
Our ‘Perspectives’ section has two offerings for this issue. A chat with the authors of the new book The Rolfing Skillful Touch Handbook (2022), the new guidebook for DIRI’s Phase I training, which is used in the first course in the Rolfing SI certification program. Be sure to check out Darrell Sanchez’s, PhD, article about the living ‘Line’ that emerges when working with The Original Tuning Board™, Sanchez’s insights and suggestions come from over twenty-five years of being a Rolfer, counselor, and dance instructor. And the whole issue closes with a review of Leon Chaitow’s book, Fascial Dysfunction: Manual Therapy Approaches.
We invite you to contact us at – [email protected] – for comments, questions, and article submissions.
This is a living document of structural integration topics, a place of community for all who are dedicated to the work Rolf started. Thank you, and enjoy.
Lina Amy Hack
Editor-in-Chief of
Structure, Function, Integration

“This is the story of the living pelvis. It emphasizes not the static but the dynamic.
The pelvis is the key to the well-being of the individual. But it is a dynamic key, a process key. Technically and anatomically, the pelvis is a bony basin. Vitally and physiologically, it is a relation of energies.
Optimal performance of such a system occurs only at the narrow peak of balance.
This is, of necessity, precise.”
– Ida P. Rolf, PhD in Rolfing: Reestablishing the Natural Alignment and Structural Integration of the Human Body for Vitality and Well-Being,1989, 172.