OptiComp Works!

The day was November 28, 1988, when Rolfer John Davis gave us a receipt for OptiComp system #0001. This day also marked the conclusion of Eva Jo Wu’s practitioner training in which she had ob-served the system in operation throughout the class. After spending about a day with John Davis and watching the OptiComp system in operation, Frank Wu was convinced we not only had to purchase a system, but we also had to take it with us to our home in Virginia.

For those of you who are wondering what you get, the system comes complete: computer, video camera, frame-grabber, printer, or VCR and software. There are no extras to buy; however, we decided to purchase an optional up grade in the camera and printer, there fore paying a little more than $6,500 for the system.

John explained that a Before Session video image can be digitized and then compared with an After-session video image. That sounded great. Little did we know how great. We are truly excited about the OptiComp system! If we have one complaint, John didn’t really tell us what its full capabilities are.

This is what the OptiComp system has done for our practices:

First of all, it has added excitement to sessions. Clients are enthusiastic and want to see their changes. We never hear, “Oh, not pictures again!” Dramatically, changes can be seen. We don’t have to explain the changes; clients ex-plain to us.

The second most important gain from using the system is that it has increased our ability to “see”. You know how difficult it is to have someone stand while you try to see what needs to happen in a session. The system has made our work easier, because the client now sees and understands what you are going to work on. They are actively involved in the sessions and begin to process right then and there.

The third and most important aspect of the system for us is that Rolfees embody the changes. For example, what we have found by comparing after-session-#3 with before-session-#4 is that changes are integrated more and there is less regression to old patterns. We believe this happens by the client seeing the changes right in front of their eyes and knowing their body has taken on a new image. More research is needed in this area, but these are our observations.

There are many other benefits from the system, but these are the most exciting to us. As I told John, it is like being in a Rolfing Six-Day Workshop everyday. The self-education for the Rolfer is fantastic: seeing what you have done and what you didn’t do that you need to do later; comparing any two sessions; seeing all the front-views from all your sessions, for example, so you can see how the femur de-rotates…and there is even more for us to learn in the use of this system.

When we first considered buying the OptiComp System, we had questions which other Rolfers may also have.

Is the system difficult to use if you are not “computer-smart”?
No, the system isn’t difficult to operate. We found it to be user-friendly, and John Davis continues to refine the program to make it even more friendly to computer handicapped people like us.

Will Rolfing sessions be longer if we use this system?
Yes, sessions will be about 15 minutes longer, but it’s well worth the extra time. Clients certainly don’t complain about the additional attention and information they receive!

Are psychological changes in someway neglected by using this equipment?
In our experience, the psychological and emotional changes that occur in Rolfing are not slighted by the system, which actually assists the client to see how these changes manifest themselves into physical reality.

We want to end this report requesting that the member ship see the system in operation and consider what it can do.

When funds are available, the Institute plans to purchase enough systems to make them available to all the regions. To help achieve this goal, we are submitting our check for this purpose and hope others will do likewise.

Eva Jo and Frank Wu are both Certified Rolfers in Roanoke, Virginia.OptiComp Works!