Exercise
Reams of paper are covered these days in honor of one of our newer American Gods ’96 Physical Fitness. Unfortunately, much of this paper is wasted because the concepts advanced are misconceptions, misunderstandings of the actual physical structure of bodies. This lack of understanding exists on the levels of both professional and lay devotees. The […]
Synesthesia
While demonstrating a Rolfing® technique during an alternate modalities class, a strong distinctive odor was emitted by my model as her tissue released under my hands. Commenting on this olfactory eructation, I was asked to describe it. My spontaneous reply: “It smells yellow!” Naturally, this elicited puzzled expressions and a confused silence. I explained that […]
Post-Impressions
CYNTHIA ALLEN WRITES: “Treatment with Dr. Ida Rolf, June 23, 1969” I arrived via several helping hands and strong backs in the living roan where Dr. Rolf teaches. There were about ten students there having a coffee break. They seemed an unusually open, friendly and supportive group. Dr. Rolf looked me over and said that […]
Childbirth Reconsidered
In this age of super medical technology the human animal does not often get born or die in the simple, time-honored way. More often than not those important rituals are stripped of their dignity by an impersonal medical professionalism. The private, mystical event is transformed by the presence of strangers and a highly artificial environment […]
David´s Drawings
David B., almost seven years old, came to me for processing earlier this year. Beginning with the fifth hour, he did some drawings of himself for me. They’re so beautifully illustrative, I wanted to see them published here, together with his comments on the drawings. David began with an extreme limp, the left leg noticeably […]
A Note on Serenity
Auditing the last class (July-August, 1969), I found the exercises Dr. Rolf presented at the end intriguing both experientially and theoretically. These exercises consisted in a series of movements designed to evoke an appropriate gravity line in our bodies, a balanced use of our muscles, and an awareness of both in our minds. As I […]
To Stay Awake
… Some months ago … at the monastery in Tassajara, … a student told Suzuki Roshi with great pride that he didn’t have pain any more in his legs. (The Japanese tradition stresses the cross-legged position which encourages pain.) The student felt he had made the grade. Suzuki Roshi made a long face and said, […]
Mind and Movement
A great deal of interest in this country has recently focused on Oriental philosophies and arts, especially the martial arts. There is an important intrinsic relationship between these two areas which is not usually understood in this country. The remarkable art of Tai Chi Ch’uan, which is little known here, can serve to clarify this […]
U.C.L.A. Project
According to the thesis, the mediating mechanism through which changes in body (structure) are expressed in personality (behavior) is the body image, defined as the inner experience of self-configuration. A discussion of the physiological basis of body image leads to a motor theory of consciousness, and the proposition that conscious imagery is the result of […]
Current Research
In recent years, important developments in the field of neurophysiology have led to major discoveries regarding the sensory and motor nervous systems. Computer techniques for averaging brain wave response patterns have made possible new uses for electroencephalographic recordings in studies of sensory perceptual functioning. A number of recent studies have indicated systematic relationships between electrophysiological, […]