Rolfing® Practitioners, practicing in a field with little experimental research and learning often by imitation and intuition, consistently look for links between our experience as practitioners and the established viewpoint of scientific knowledge. The following article, the keynote speech at 1997’s Annual Meeting, provides an interesting perspective on Rolfing’s relationship to the biological sciences. However, instead of “legitimizing” our experience of Rolfing by comparing it with traditional theories, it places the philosophy, science, and art of our profession in the context of recent inquiry about the nature of living organisms. Our experience of the unity of mind and body in our work with living beings finds a context in theories of cognition and the systems of life. We begin to see how Rolling can best be viewed, not by being explained by “science,” but as a vehicle for inquiry at the very edge of biological theory.

Introduction by Advanced Rolfing Instructor Jeff Maitland: I first met Professor Bruno D’Udine almost two decades ago when Jan Sultan and I were teaching an advanced Rolfing® class in Seattle. His wife, Carla van Vlaanderen, was taking the class, and he had accompanied her for the first week. During that time, Bruno engaged Jan and me in some rather exciting discussions about biology and Rolfing. He mentioned that he had written a paper on plasticity. Recognizing the value of Bruno’s explorations and research to Rolfing, we immediately asked him if he would read it to the class. We found his work relevant and exciting. Bruno has continued to be a great fan and supporter of Rolfing as well as a gracious source of information on biological research relevant to Rolfing. I have been blessed by Bruno’s generosity and intellect and am profoundly grateful for what I’ve learned from him. In “Plasticity and Flexibility in the Development of Organisms,” he favors us again with his fascinating and important research on plasticity. It should be obvious to every Certified Rolfer’ that the phenomenon of biological plasticity is at the very heart of our work. In his book, On the Nature of Human Plasticity, Richard M. Lerner says, ‘if the plasticity of humans is the hallmark of the species…then interventions aimed at enhancing plasticity are of paramount importance.’ Regardless of whether he knows about Rolfing or not, is Lerner not talking about our profession?