Preliminary to the Making of a RolferThe training of Structural Integration practitioners has been evolved deliberately according to a careful plan designed by Dr. Ida P. Rolf, and presently carried out in training programs conducted by the Rolf Foundation for Structural Integration. Classes convene principally at the headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, but also at those locations throughout the country where needed Florida, California, Illinois, New York. Merely meeting the prerequisites for consideration insure that candidates for rolf training are an elite group. In addition, they must be unusually dedicated to hard work and capable of those leaps of imagination and intuition across the peaks of scholarship, dogged physical preparation, and professional responsibility that mark the creative person. Each candidate is at least 25 years old, has a college degree or demonstrated professional equivalent, has a license to practice as a medical, osteopathic or chiropractic doctor, or has a massage license applicable in the state of residence. The person must have the proper physical aptitude to be accepted, and will have completed a series of at least 10 sessions of Structural Integration.Before the final step (selection in an interview to determine the emotional maturity and psychological aptitude), each candidate submits an extensive paper demonstrating his understanding of the basic functions of the various systems of the human body. Candidates have been instructed that the paper should discuss the manner in which these systems work together and how they may be affected by the processing called Structural Integration. They are assured that the viewpoint held before training will be expected to change during and after training, and are encouraged to write freely and in the individual style unique to each.Samples of some papers, or portions of papers, submitted by prospective candidates in the past are being published here for their intrinsic value, to inform those who want to know more about the rolfers practicing, and to demonstrate the calibre of candidate accepted for training in Structural Integration. It should be understood that the excerpts here are only portions of candidates’ answers to complex questions. These particular selections are presented to demonstrate the unique character of each applicant, yet sparing us the repetition of facts of anatomy and physiology.
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