I would like to call your attention to the possibility of “MOVEMENTS THAT ROLF”. Until now, as a community, we have been involved with many issues concerning movement, and this article is in no way a comment on any of that history. Rather this is a communication of a fact that becomes more and more evident to me in my sessions. There are certain forms of movement which produce similar effects to Rolfing manipulation. I have been using these MOVEMENTS THAT ROLF increasingly in my Rolfing sessions in addition to my hands-on work.

“The Organ of Form: towards a theory of biological shape” is an article published in the Journal of Social and Biological Structures and coauthored by Rolfer Samy Frenk, (see page 33), and it has given me a theoretical model with which to approach the phenomenon. Until now my understanding of what I have been doing as a Rolfer has been based on my connective-tissue model that has been maturing over the years. Samy’s article raises the issue of “shape”. I remember lectures in Rolfing class by Michael Salveson and Peter Melchior concerned with the issues of shape. The “ah ha!!!” after reading Samy’s article has extended my understanding of connective tissue (in a living body as it responds to our manipulation) through changes of shape over a period of time.

We often talk about muscles as being “glued” together. Michael Salveson gave me a preference for the word “differentiation” over the word “separation” when we have our fingers between two muscles to un-glue them. What happens when we get our fingers “in there” is that we, in fact, change the shape of the individual myofascial units. We also change the relationship of the shapes of the separate units to each other. What happens in my experience is that it takes some time (usually 15 to 30 seconds) for the body to accept the new form and for the relaxation and settling to start to take place under my finger tips. Now, can we, with movements, produce a similar change of relationship of shapes of adjacent myofascial units in a way that will un-glue and differentiate structures when we are finished? I believe that we can.

In isometric training, we hold the body in a working position without movement. The etymology of isometric is iso the same and metric length. There is an interesting effect that starts to happen after 15 to 30 seconds: the body starts to structurally readjust to accommodate the new position. If this process is allowed to continue to completion, then I find, when we return to a normal resting position, the changes in structure are similar to the effects of Rolfing manipulation.

At the start of my experimentation, I worked with the isometric exercises first. Then I followed that by stretching. To be sure my clients didn’t miss anything, I followed that by hands-on manipulation. Generally, I still work that way; partly my clients expect the manipulation, and partly there is a lot of change to get with my hands after I have started the process with the isometric exercises.

I would not have thought so much about it, but I had an opportunity of teaching a four-day course for people with back problems. I am used to teaching courses in massage and movement and decided not to pre-plan the course in detail, but to see who showed up, what they needed, and what I felt like working with. Aside from the people in the course, at the end of the afternoon, we also had a set of models come in from the street, people who knew nothing of our theoretical basis nor our expectations for the work with them.

I very quickly became involved with teaching them simple isometric exercises. As a group, we took lots of time to look at people before and after each exercise. My own vision was very much guided by the idea of body types as developed by Jan Sultan. The isometric exercises take 30 to 60 seconds of holding the body in a static position. Seeing people before and after was like seeing models in Rolfing class: looking at them before, then standing them up after some work and looking for the changes.

We did about 30 to 60 exercises over the four days. The rest of the time was spent teaching them where the muscles are and correct positions, looking at lots of bodies before and after to see which exercises were effective in what ways for which types. The total time spent in isometric exercises was about two hours.

Some of the muscles we worked with were sternocleidomastoid; lateral, medial, and posterior scalenes; upper, middle, and lower trapezius; levator scapula; clavicular and sternal parts of the pectoral major; rhomboids; anterior serratus; quadratus lumborum; psoas; rectus abdominus; transverse and oblique stomach muscles; the spinus erecturs; gluteus maximus; biceps femoris or the semitendinosus and semimembranous (working the inner or outer rotation that was more demanding for the person); obdurator intemus; piriformis; soleus; and the gastrocnemius.

The changes held overnight. If people were more organized at the end of a day, they did not revert to their earlier state when they returned the next morning. We did review muscles from previous days’ work. The results were cumulative over the four days. Unfortunately I did not take photos before and after and I did not follow individuals from the group to see if the effects held.

The final results after the four days looked like the kinds of structural changes that we get in Rolfing; I was totally surprised by them. Almost everyone got a horizontal pelvis in terms of the line measured from the tip of the tailbone to the top of the pubic symphysis. The knee joints moved towards the horizontal. Volume of the thoracic cavity increased. Shoulders which had hung tensely from the neck, in many cases started to settle down and to ride freely on the thorax. We saw a better balance in the lumbar curves: people who had too much anterior curve tended to lengthen and people with posterior lumbars tended to get a more appropriate curve.

Until that course, I had used the isometric training with the Rolfing and followed the exercises with hands-on manipulation of the same myofascial units. I had never seen the cumulative effects on structure of selective use of an extended sequence of isometric training.

I was fascinated by the possibility that isometric exercises could integrated human structure and promised myself to continue the work on my own body and to look for opportunities to teach to verify my initial results. I also planned to write in detail about the exercises. Until I received the article by Samy Frenk, I could not relate the isometric exercises to the manipulative part of Rolfing. I am grateful to him for giving me input that sparked my understanding and appreciation of what connective tissue is in living bodies as they exist in time and especially as they change in the process of Rolfing.

Yet, we might also effect changes in myofascia by shortening rather than lengthening. In John Upledger’s first book Cranio-Sacral Therapy, there appears in the appendix an article about a technique of “Cross Strain”. Here we shorten the body shape around a tension and allow the person to hold that position. It takes time for the body to reorganize itself in the position. Cross Strain is effective in almost all cases when the position is held for at least 90 seconds, although in some cases, it takes less time. In Cross Strain, the therapist creatively finds a position to shorten the body in such a way that the person is resting passively.

After experimenting, I find that I can affect myofascial change with my hands by stretching or by pushing together (as in Cross Strain). My hands-on technique now includes both stretching and pushing together. I can find a way of understanding structural change in isometric exercises, yoga, Cross Strain and Rolfing by picturing Samy’s concept of how a myofascial unit changes shape.

In writing this article, I have put the cart in front of the horse. I think that often new ideas come from experience and then we find a theoretical model. What I am doing here is to first communicate the theoretical model without your experiencing the work in a way that will give you the experiences.

So that you can observe the changes possible with MOVEMENTS THAT ROLF, I will over the next period of time prepare a list of exercises in writing and with illustrations. But if you use your own knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology and your ability to see as a Rolfer, you can come up with the exact tools you need for the people you work with.

As a rule of thumb, look where the body is short. Have the person assume a position where they actively, with isometric exercises, shorten the body even more. Then, let them hold the position for 30 to 60 seconds. Stand them up and look at the changes.

Most of the positions that I have developed come from standard muscle testing. Instead of pushing against a therapist, I push against gravity or against an immovable wall or doorway. I want the exercises so that I can do them alone. but, of course, you can just do a muscle test with a client and have them continue their work for 30 to 60 seconds while you hold. In that case, adjust your resistance to a level that they can hold out success fully for the length of time. You can have them work by lifting parts of the body against the pull of our old friend Gravity. You can also have them push against walls, doorways, etc.

As Dr. Rolf told us, the problem with exercises for un-Rolfed bodies is that most people prefer to use the muscles which are already overdeveloped and avoid using the ones that are underdeveloped. In isometric training, you make sure they use the ones that are underdeveloped or underused because of chronic tension, shortness, or “lack of space”.

If you have four minutes and want to experiment to feel the effect of isometric exercises, here are some examples for the hip joint. As long as there is a reasonable level of organization of the body, work one leg through the following three exercises. Then stand up, move and feel the changes. Then, do the other side to re-establish balance.

HAMSTRINGS
Lie face down, life one leg a few inches from the floor. Keepthe knee straight. Keep the anterior superior iliac spine on the floor. Rotate the knee medially and then laterally – find the weak position -hold the weak position.

GLUTEUS MAXIMUS
Lie facedown, bend the knee of one leg and lift it up from the floor. Keep the anterior superior iliac spine on the floor.

PSOAS
Stand on one leg, with the knee slightly bent. Lift the other leg, letting the lower leg hang in a relaxed way from the knee. Let the foot remain relaxed. Rotate the leg so that the angle of the knee is about 30 degrees lateral in relationship to the center line. (If the knee is straight forward, we work the quadriceps. Be sure to avoid using the adductors, therefore, the lower leg should hang down with the flow of gravity and deviation is a substitution.) The position. The position looks like a freeze of tai chi walking.

Hopefully, if you have read the theory and tried the exercises, you will feel and see the effect of isometric training. Isometric exercises are often characterized as strengthening, but I believe that they can also be organizing and as such can be added to our workbox as additional tools. Also, I find that isometric exercises gives me better warm up and more specific joint flexibility than stretching does.

You can also give isometric exercises to eager clients who want to work on their own between sessions. I find them good for my own workouts. Most of us can get a good idea of where we are tight. Also, most of us get too little Rolfing ourselves, so you can develop a good maintenance program. There are some places we can reach with the exercises where we have a hard time going with our fingers: for example, the posterior scalenes.

Possible contraindications? I have heard that isometric training pushes up the blood pressure while doing the exercises. It might create problems for people suffering from high blood pressure; I do not have any information on this.

In closing, the theme that I have addressed in this article is what happens when we change the shapes of adjacent myofascial units by tensing one and holding it long enough (30 to 90 seconds) to allow changes in the connective tissue. Does it alter structure? Does it alter function?

Stanley Rosenberg is a Certified Rolfer in Silkeborg, Denmark.Movements that Rolf – Part I