MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY
Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543
April 2, 1982

Dear Friends,

A little over a year ago, at a meeting in Boulder of the Natural Sciences Subcommittee, Dean and Laurie Rolfings announced the formation of the Aspen Research Institute (ARI). I want to report to you some of the work that has been initiated by that organization.

A Board of Directors was established, consisting of Laurie Rolfings, Dean Rolfings, Alan Demmerle, Michael Salveson, Dick Price of the Esalen Institute, Julian Silverman, and Andy Quiat, an attorney from Denver. Julian Silverman, Marilynn Hall, and I were hired to begin to develop research and educational programs, including projects related to Rolfing.

Julian Silverman’s assignment was to design a protocol for a thorough research program to study the effects of Rolfing and related approaches to the human body. The result of his efforts has come to be known as the Musculo Skeletal Research Project. While the details of the project are still being worked out, the broad outline of the study can be described. The goal is to investigate the inter-relationships among musculo skeletal balance, autonomic nervous system function, and central nervous system function. The basic postulate that will be tested is that musculo skeletal procedures such as Rolfing, Alexander, Osteopathy, Feldenkrais, etc., influence autonomic and central nervous system performance and overall body structure. The measurement procedures will include electromyography, cortical evoked potentials, respiration, heart rate, vasomotor activity, blood pressure, movement efficiency, psychological attitude, and structure analysis.

To carry out the research project, Julian Silverman brought to us Dr. Stephen Porges of the Uiniversity of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Dr. Porges has made important contributions to the understanding of the interactions between various physiological and neurological systems. We are all delighted that he has taken on this project for us, as he is a highly respected scientist with the appropriate interest and resources and independence to carry out a researh program with the highest scientific standards, and to effectively communicate the results. I hope you will all get a chance to meet Dr. Porges, for I think you will be pleased and excited about his approach to the study of your work.
My efforts continue to focus on the scientific basis of Rolfing. To a large degree this has been an examination of the relationships between Dr. Rolf’s observations and discoveries and those of Drs. Albert Szent Gyorgyi and Robert Becker, as well as their many students and colleagues. For 40 years Dr. Szent Gyorgyi has been studying the flow of energy and information through macromolecular systems, of which the connective tissue and myofascia constitute important examples. His work at the molecular level is complemented by the discoveries of Dr. Becker at the tissue level, for Dr. Becker has discovered the importance of electromagnetic forces in the control of growth and form. He is responsible to a large degree for the discovery that electric fields can facilitate healing of fractures and the regeneration of tissues in organisms that do not normally have the capacity for regeneration. The work of these individuals at the molecular and tissue levels, along with the observations of Rolfers on the whole organism, have led to what is, at least for me, a new synthesis and understanding of the nature of human structure and energy, and the ways they are influenced by forces applied to the body. I have written an article and a book about these subjects, and these will be available to you soon through the Aspen Research Institute.

Another of my assignments has been to develop a research program based upon our growing understanding of the nature of biological energy. Over the past few years there has been a transformation in the scientific community, as a large number of scientists have begun to study the relationship between environmental fields and human structure and function. This interest has been stimulated by the discovery that electrical and magnetic fields can bring about healing and regeneration of tissues; by the realization that “electromagnetic pollution” from our technology may be affecting our physiology; and by a growing scientific interest in techniques, such as Rolfing, that bring about structural and energetic changes in the human organism. The insights gained over the years from your work with the myofascial system have a key role to play in the unfoldment of this branch of science. So the ARI has begun a project on bioelectromagnetism. Our initial work has concerned the effects of environmental electromagnetic forces on human physiology. Our technology produces a wide range of electromagnetic fields (radio, television, 60 cycle electricity, microwaves from ovens and radar, etc.). At the same time it has been discovered that very weak electric fields within the body seem to provide a signalling system that controls development and form of tissues, as well as the orderly response to injuries. A controversy has arisen as to whether man-made fields in the environment may influence these processes. The key to answering that question is information on the actual amount of such energy that is absorbed by us as we go about our normal activities. To find out, ARI has developed a device, known as a dosimeter, that will record the cumulative dosage of electromagnetic energy absorbed by the body, and, perhaps, sound a warning when an individual is in the presence of a large and possibly harmful field.

There is an analogy between what we are doing and the work that was done after the discovery of radioactivity. It was realized that radioactive elements and X-rays could constitute a hazard, and the radiation badge was developed to help people become aware of their exposure to energy that cannot be detected by the senses. At present the radiation badge is worn by virtually everyone who works in the vicinity of sources of ionizing radiation. We are developing a comparable device for monitoring exposure to electromagnetic fields. We expect that this device will be used extensively in epidemiological studies of the effects of environmental fields, and that it will also be used by individuals who are likely to be exposed to strong electromagnetic fields. Income from this project will be used to continue the projects of ARI, including the Musculo-Skeletal Research Project.

I am very pleased with the way the individuals of ARI have been able to work together on these projects, in spite of their geographical separation. I believe that all of us understand the importance of communication and flow of information, and wish very much for all of you to be a part of that flow. An important step in that process will be the meeting on Science and Research Methods for Rolfers and Movement Teachers that will be held in Boulder on May 24-28 of this year. This meeting will combine discussion of a number of scientific topics related to Rolfing with forums on Research and the evolution of our relationship with science. Announcements of this meeting have appeared in Rolf Lines. I hope as many of you as possible will be able to come to this meeting to share in this exciting stage of our evolution.

Blessings and happy wishes to all of you,

Jim OschmanLetter to Rolf Lines