In the Beginning

By Lucia Merlino, Editor, Rolfing Brasil

Certified Advanced Rolfer,

Rolf Movement Practitioner, São Paulo

Twenty years ago, in 1988, a group of thirteen united to organize and facilitate the study of a new [to Brazil] and fascinating somatic approach: Rolfing. But let us return to an even earlier time… In the 1970s, a Brazilian traveler recounted to Jose Angelo Gaiarsa, an icon of somatic approaches in Brazil, his experience of going through the ten sessions of Rolfing. Gaiarsa, restive and curious, brought Rolfer Jim Hrisikos to his clinic. Pedro Prado received the ten sessions from Jim, and the experience was so transformative that Pedro went to Boulder for training in 1980. He returned as the first Rolfer in Brazil, with his sleeves rolled up to introduce the work here. Bit by bit, Pedro’s passion was contagious to his clients, some of whom started along their own paths to becoming Rolfers.

One Student’s Journey

By Miriam Pessoa Braga

Certified Advanced Rolfer, Brasília

In 1981, I was living in Recife and working as a psychologist. I had already had some exposure to Gestalt therapy, psychodrama, group dynamics, Bioenergetics and somatic therapy with Gaiarsa. I had created with other psychotherapists in Recife a therapeutic community called Libertas, which still exists today, and we put together a conference in Olinda. At this conference, I did not necessarily follow everything said in the lectures, but we would gather together with the presenters in the evenings at cafes for conversations. The discussion was about integration. Talking with presenter Pedro Prado, who had completed Rolfing training, I realized that Rolfing might be very helpful to me personally, as I had been breast-feeding my baby for about a year. I relocated temporarily to São Paulo to undergo the process, through which I came to understand that it was truly as much of a somatic, body-oriented discipline as I might find to make my own profession.

Preparing for the Rolfing training was quite a challenge! First, the Rolf Institute’s brochure was in English. Dr. Rolf’s book was in English. Everything was in English!  We needed to find someone to make the translations. The translator we found was the husband of our friend Marcia, who had just completed her training as a Feldenkrais practitioner. We also needed to deepen our understanding of anatomy. Because here in Brazil we could not take university classes outside the context of a degree program, we hired an anatomy professor from the University of Sorocaba to develop a special cadaver class for us. He furnished the laboratory equipment, books, and everything.

Having already extended by another six months my stay in São Paulo, I had to decide: return to Recife, or go to the United States to take the Rolfing training. As I had gone to a French school, my English was precarious, which would prejudice me in the Rolfing training. I resolved to embark for the U.S. to enroll in an English class for foreigners at the University of Colorado, Boulder. After three months, I was allowed to participate in the selection process for the Rolfing training.

Three others made the same choice as I did to enroll in the Boulder training of March 1983: Neuza Araujo, Nilce Broadway (Nilce Silveira) and Nelson Cotinho. All of us went to the same training because none of us wanted to be the first to go – yet each of us wanted to be the one “after Pedro.” Nelsinho, as we called him, finished with a group different from ours… However, we share a picturesque story from this era: the Americans had trouble distinguishing the sounds of the names “Nelson,” “Nilce,” and “Neuza.” One person asked whether they all had the same name! So it was at least helpful to them that there was a “Miriam.” But, when they found out that the next Brazilian candidate to go to training was called “Marion,” they went nuts!

Rolfing in Brazil: History within History

By Vera Sene, ABR

President (1993-1997 and 2001-2003), São Paulo

Twenty years of ABR! To discuss either the ABR or Rolfing in Brazil, I must revisit the historical context of the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1970s, we Brazilians lived under the repression of an abusive military dictatorship. Small and isolated anti-repressive movements arose from various groups of political idealists, intellectuals, musicians, writers, artists, professors, student leaders, journalists and others – some would have called them communists or terrorists – many of whom eventually became exiled, and others of whom managed to stay.

A new kind of anti-repressive movement arose within the practices of psychotherapists. New approaches in psychotherapy arrived in our country with a bang! Most of these approaches engaged mainly the body, instead of only the mind. They reflected a belief, that became more consistent in this milieu: the more alive the body is, the more vivid is one’s perception of the world, and the more active one’s response to it will be. As it was articulated at that time, the exaggerated emphasis on the role of our mental constructs and symbols blinds us to the life of the body and its feelings. It is the body that merges in love; the body that immobilizes us with fear or convulses us with rage; and the body that is the foundation of human longing and desire.

The work and approaches of Wilhelm Reich, Alexander Lowen (Bioenergetics), Moshe Feldenkrais (Awareness through Movement), and Fritz Perls (Gestalt therapy), among others, were gaining influence. Publications about these new approaches had a sure audience among various professionals in the area, as well as among an interested general public. Everything that happened at Esalen (in the U.S.) garnered the curiosity of most of our psychotherapists. It was at Esalen, at the end of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s, that Rolfing gained visibility and launched itself to the world. The profound respect that Fritz Perls nurtured for Ida Rolf’s work, his accolades and tributes regarding her personality and Rolfing itself, woke our psychotherapists up to the need to understand this work.

In the 1980s, Rolfing officially arrived in Brazil. Many events mark this decade, which brought many changes – some fundamental and others not so important… In 1980, the Workers’ Party was founded in Santo Andre, SP; and in 1981, the first Brazilian Rolfer completed his training at the Rolf Institute in Boulder. In 1983, when there were nine Brazilian Rolfers, Apple launched the Macintosh computer. The year 1984 brought the birth of both the first Brazilian test-tube baby and the Direct Elections Now movement in opposition to the dictatorship. The latter sought to bring about immediate direct election of the President of the republic. The military regime was losing its force… In 1985, Tancredo Neves was elected President of Brazil by indirect balllot; however, he died before taking office. Vice President Jose Sarney assumed the office, which brought an end to the military dictatorship in our country. In that same year, climatologists identified the hole in the ozone layer.

I myself experienced Rolfing in 1984 and believed it to be a powerful method. As editor of the publishing company Summus Editorial, I proposed to Pedro Prado that we publish books about Rolfing here in Brazil. It was a way both to establish understanding and to publicize the method. Summus secured the contract for the publication of Ida Rolf Talks, compiled by Rosemary Feitis, the first Brazilian edition of which appeared in 1986. As the editors of the publication, we sensed the need of an organization to bring together the Rolfers that were already here. Distribution of the book required more efficient support, and those interested in the method needed someone to turn to for information and guidance. At the same time, the Rolfers also felt the need of a more formal organization, not only to bring information to persons who sought to become Rolfers, but also to strengthen the dialogue between the Rolf Institute and its representatives here in Brazil.

The year 1988 was an historic moment for us in Brazil: it was the year in which our new constitution was established. The new constitution enlarged and strengthened the guarantees of individual rights and public liberties; established direct elections; and secured the independence of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. It comprised 245 articles and 70 provisional measures, and was a big step in the evolution of our country. Coincidentally, because 1988 was the year in which the ABR was lawfully constituted, it was a historically and developmentally important moment for Rolfing, as well.

In these first years of ABR, the entire group worked hard, with tenacity and creativity, dodging the obstacles, until the Association was settled and achieved depth and refinement. It continues to evolve through the efforts of those bringing fresh ideas within a new historical context.

Eighteen Years at the ABR

By Sybille Cavalcanti

ABR Executive Director, São Paulo

I take great pride in having been a part of the development of Rolfing in Brazil. I joined the ABR in July 1990. It was a politically turbulent time, because it was then that what became the Guild for Structural Integration split from the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration (RISI). At that time, the ABR had already conducted two Rolfing trainings – with Stacey Mills in 1987 and 1989. Previously, anyone who wanted to become a Rolfer went to Boulder. But during that time, it was RISI policy that part of one’s training had to be done in the U.S. In 1990, there were seventeen Rolfers in Brazil; but with the split, there came to be only fourteen.

The ABR office was in a small room in a house on Rua Honduras – a house that brought together the practices of several Rolfers and the office of the ABR. We had a typewriter and a telephone. (At that time, phone lines were very expensive, costing $5000 – as much money as we made on the 1989 training!)  Eventually we got a fax machine, which revolutionized our communications. Our computer was the one I had at home.

For the ABR to establish itself, it took a great deal of creativity and tenacity on the part of everyone involved, and that is what happened. We conducted extensive negotiations to get the RISI to authorize us to conduct an entire basic Rolfing training here in Brazil.

In this phase, most of our energy was directed to education on two fronts: promoting workshops here in Brazil with foreign instructors, and explaining Rolfing, which was a new thing here, to the general public. There were magazine articles, TV programs, and presentations to professional and academic gatherings. Still, we needed everything – furniture, letterhead paper and a logo. The first ABR logo was created by Pedro’s sister Ana, in black and white – later changed to yellow and grey by Mario Cafeiro. This original layout remained the same until, under the administration of Lena Orlando, we revised the image of the ABR.

The first group to complete both phases of the basic training here in Brazil began their training in 1991 in Itatiba with Pedro Prado, and completed their training in 1992 in Belo Horizonte with Bill Smythe. Itatiba was our first experience with a residential training. It took place on a beautiful rural estate, with twelve students (including four foreigners); and despite how we got it wrong and got it right, considering the complaints with the compliments, it was a very gratifying result for our efforts. Itatiba was also Pedro’s maiden voyage as an instructor for the basic training, under the supervision and with the approval of Tom Wing. The conclusion of the Itatiba training was a victory for the ABR, because at that point the Rolf Institute faculty included a native Brazilian.

We adopted the residential training model to attract foreign students and to facilitate the training of Brazilians from states distant from São Paulo. The training locations were always very pleasant and comfortable places on the outskirts of São Paulo – rural estates, beaches, etc… The classes included both auditors and practitioners, and both Brazilians and foreigners. It was always a unique experience for the foreign students and instructors, all of whom thoroughly enjoyed it. We made a video to promote our Brazil Rolfing trainings, which Pedro and I presented at an RISI annual meeting in the U.S. We were carrying the flag for the importance of exchange among cultures.

We were growing, and we changed to a larger space – a two-car garage that had been subdivided into a storage area for our big heavy Rolfing tables, a reception room, and work area. Still at Rua Honduras, we bought our first computer. Our workshops and introductory classes were conducted in Pedro’s studio, which was adjacent to the garage.

With that effort, we were maturing (in an organic way, as Pedro was fond of saying), such that each training attracted more foreign students. It was a period of lots of work, with two trainings per year. Even the instructor and assistants had to help with everything, from cleaning up and moving everything from one place to another, to the actual teaching of the class. We had to furnish the houses, and we borrowed from friends the refrigerator, the oven, beds for the students to sleep on, carpets – everything! The involvement of everyone to make things happen was incredible!  Friends joined the circle, with Maria Helena collecting instructors and students at the airport and bring them to the class sites. Friends – and friends of friends – volunteered as class models for the instructors and students. Huge caravans traveled to the class sites. If only it wouldn’t rain – because if it rained, the ground transport of everyone would get stuck in the mud.

Then came e-mail, in a totally different form than we know it today. At that time, one had to take a class to learn how to use it; but communication became much faster and more efficient.

Still at the house on Rua Honduras, other Brazilian Rolfers had started their training to join the RISI faculty. The first Brazil advanced training was in 2003, with Jan Sultan and Pedro Prado.

In 1994, we moved to the house on Rua Maria Figueiredo (escaping because the mayor of São Paulo decided to “clean up” the residential area of Jardins (the Rua Honduras neighborhood)! For the ABR, the move was progress: we had two rooms for our administrative offices and a larger room for pre-trainings, which was also the first location for NAPER (which, in the beginning, was called the Rolfing Ambulatory Clinic.) The premises also housed the clinical practices of several Rolfers.

It was a very busy time: constant meetings, structuring of the school and the membership association, and deepening of our relationship with the RISI. It was a confluence that will never come again: technological advances, along with our awareness of and preoccupation with telling “our story” to promote Rolfing, which was our top priority. This was when we created our first web site.

Our house was becoming too small for us, because we had to have space for our first Myofascial Release (“LMF”) training [the pre-training for our Rolfing trainings], and this necessitated another move to a bigger house. Fate drove us from Rua Maria Figueiredo: the neighbors were starting construction, and the vibrations literally shook the house. At that point, we separated the ABR offices from the practices of various individual Rolfers. We said goodbye to Pedro, Fernando, Lucia, Marcia, Helena, Vera, Vivian and Paulo Marcelo – and went to Alameda Casa Branca. In this first house of our own, NAPER and LMF could coexist in harmony; and we, the ABR, could continue to mature and make ourselves more efficient. And I got a bigger office!

At this same time we were developing a modular Rolfing training, and once again our house became too small, and we moved to our current location. It is this place that most Brazilian Rolfers know, that allows us to offer classes and workshops for more students. It is this house that has captured our hearts!

We continue to find our own stride, within our possibilities and limitations, and always with a great deal of guidance and collaboration from our instructors, our board of directors, and our many Rolfers and administrative staff members. Today the ABR has six employees, 131 Rolfers, six Rolfing instructors, and six LMF teachers.

Since 1995, we have managed to elect Brazilians to the RISI Board of Directors, as representatives of Countries in Development (CID). This position is coming to be known as the International Seat. The first Brazilian representative was Deanna Lanfranco, who died in office. Pedro Prado encouraged me to run for the seat: I sent my platform statement and was elected!  Subsequent representatives have been Cornelia Rossi and Lena Orlando. We, the ABR, have registered our presence and secured our position. I believe that our participation has been and continues to be essential to both the furtherance of the ABR’s interests and the development of Rolfing in countries beyond the U.S. and Europe.Rolfing in Brazil[:]