Half Full or Half Empty?
When I was asked to write for this column I had the same reaction you see in the Cathy comic strip (“ACK!”). When the editor approached Matt Hsu and me to write for Structural Integration (née Rolf Lines), I didn’t know where to begin. Past issues had really interesting historical takes on what Rolfing was […]
Plugging In: Rolfing on the Internet
Editor’s Note: In this issue we profile two of the Rolfers who assist our community so much through their technical savvy. We owe them a big round of applause for keeping the Rolf Forum up and running and for birthing RolfBB and RolfHub.com. I credit my old 4.6-megahertz computer for my career in Rolfing. […]
How to Succeed at Networking Practice Building
Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from www.thewellpractice.com. We want to hear about your experiences in practice building. Please contact Robert McWilliams at [email protected]. When the tumbleweeds start blowing through your practice and you’re wondering how best to let people know you exist, my top recommendation is to get cozy with your fellow local […]
The Feet in a Functional View of the Body
Q: I’ve noticed that many clients lack a sense of presence in their feet. Their tissue is hard and unresponsive, there is little differentiation of the bones in the midtarsal region, and they either feel pain or don’t feel anything when I work on their feet. Often when I am working, they tend to space […]
Self-Care for Rolfers
Q: I’ve been practicing Rolfing for several years now, and was wondering if you could give me some advice regarding self-care. Areas that have come up for me include: minor aches and pains in my arms and hands that seems to be progressing a bit, taking on clients’ energy during sessions, and feeling drained at […]
The Hip Axis, the Zigzag Line and the Midline of the Trunk as the Main Indicators of Normal Erect Posture
48The Hip Axis The one-joint model of the body is nearly self-explanatory (Notes on S.I. 90/1). It appears simple enough and corresponds directly to human experience. Nevertheless, it seems hard for many people to bodily sense the relevance and significance of the device. It helps sometimes to ask them to imitate the model, “to model […]
The Results of Rolfing and Their Relation to Structural Integration
0.1. Introduction. After the first five years of working as a Rolfer I sent out a questionnaire to all of my former clients. I asked them to rate their improvement of structure, symptoms, and psychological ailments on a scale of percentages starting from 100% and going down in steps of 20% to zero and then […]
Seven Elements of Touch
There are probably good arguments for the view that “touch” is altogether impossible to describe. A frequent one takes the position that the quality of touch, whatever that may be, is wholly a matter of intuition and experience. But the predominance of touch in practice and because it is the medium through which professional knowledge […]
The Influence of Gravity, Normal Force and Anatomy on the Shape of the Body Lying on a Surface
If a person lies on a surface, gravity and normal force naturally continue to act on his or her body. “To take somebody out of gravity” would demand a missile, not a bed. But gravity and normal force affect the form of the body in a different way than in standing because the blocks are […]
Technical Catalogue – V
The techniques are described outside the context of integrating the whole. They must not be used this way but only if properly indicated by that context. They can otherwise introduce disorder into the structure instead of order. Standard Torsion of the Right Lower Leg Not much is known yet about the configuration of the fascial […]