It Keeps Unfolding…
It is well-known that Ida Rolf said that with Rolfing Structural Integration we go around and around the problem, one layer at a time. In other words, we challenge the body only to the extent it can accept and adapt to the request of touch or verbal instruction. The process of becoming a Rolfer and […]
A Journey, Not a Destination
My practice is a constant source of inspiration. I was first drawn to this work in 1971, hearing about it from a therapist. Then, in 1975, I received the Ten Series from a Rolfer who was traveling to Columbia, South Carolina to work. My boyfriend at the time and I also traveled to Atlanta for […]
So You Want a Full Practice?
Do you want to increase your practice? Do you want more clients? More income to show for the time and effort you put into it – a greater return on investment? More fun? I can’t guarantee I can give you all that, but I can share my mistakes, successes, and lessons from thirty-three years of […]
Tension in the Jaw and How to Release It with Specific Movement Exercises
Question: Can you give me advice on how to educate clients about the jaw? I understand working with perception and coordination, but how can I do that with the jaw? Answer: When we talk about the jaw we must include the temperomandibular joint (TMJ) and the rest of the mouth: the teeth and tongue. […]
Working with an Over-Activated Nervous System
Answer: There are different reasons for people expressing an activation of the sympathetic nervous system: either their nature is more inclined to that, or they are going through some kind of a temporary, challenging situation, or they are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. The way you treat the over-activated nervous system in each of these […]
Radial Decompression: Its Origin and Use
Valerie Berg: What is radial decompression and how did you come to create it? Jan Sultan: Radial decompression originally came as an attempt to solve the “pre-Eight” question – is this an upper or lower session? In practice, I’d come to make the simple choice to work the girdle that looked the least organized. Dr […]
Seven Important Ideas in the Development of Rolfing
That was a great opening act, I must say! I want to acknowledge the love in the house right now; it feels really lovely in here. We are all grateful for the work Valerie Berg has done to make this annual meeting a success. Thank you Valerie. I was just in a workshop with Gail […]
Patterns that Perpetuate Themselves
In the course of defining Rolfing and elucidating the goals and benefits of structural integration, Dr. Rolf makes a number of striking and suggestive remarks about the nature of human form. She begins the preface of her book with a quote from Norbert Wiener, “We are not stuff that abides, but patterns that perpetuate themselves.”(1) […]
Dancing in the Connective-Tissue Matrix
Structural integration (SI) is an art form that draws from the underpinnings of science. It is also a scientific inquiry into the human experience that employs the artistry of “seeing,” “touching” and “communicating” to deliver the goods. Structural integration is a third-paradigm approach. First-paradigm work has to do with relaxation while second-paradigm work is a […]
Is Embryology Relevant for Rolfing?
Note on the vignettes heading the text sections: Blechschmidt identified and depicted a set of “late metabolic fields” that signify biophysical forces. The employed stick figures illustrate these forces. They are actively involved in organizing the change of position, shape and structure of (biochemical) metabolic fields. They represent specific kinetics of ontogenetic developmental movements. <img […]