On Collagen
The title of this book naturally catches a Rolfer’s attention; and it is worth some attention. The book is written for those who are neither engineers nor physicists; it’s a layman’s introduction to aspects of both. There is a lot in it about tensional and compressive structures, for those of us who are wondering about […]
Pain Terms
PAIN An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. Note: The inability to communicate in no way negates the possibility that an individual is experiencing pain and is in need of appropriate pain-relieving treatment. Notes: Pain is always subjective. Each individual learns the […]
Depth
We all value Rolfing® as depth bodywork, on many levels. But depth has been a problem for Rolfing since its inception. Part of the reason that Rolfing got such a reputation for pain is that Ida Rolf kept exhorting her students to “go deeper!” Those of us who were just starting out in this business, […]
On Core (and Sleeve)
The question of the definition of the core of the body is a much-vexed one in Rolfing° circles. Indeed, it is difficult to find complete agreement between any two writers on the subject, much less among a majority. One thing lacking within the diversity is a survey article that summarizes, assesses and reconciles, to the […]
To Protect the Institute
The stated intention of David Delaney’s article, entitled “Ethics” (published in Structural Integration, June 2003), is to “put onto the table some key areas which [the author] hope[s] might stimulate further process and discussion within the Rolfing community and perhaps assist some of us in our daily practices.” Although I doubt it was David’s intention, […]
Changing the Body and Its Image (reprint)
Proponents of Structural Integration maintain that as a result of the introduction of specific stimuli’ to neuromuscular structures certain changes can be brought about in these structures which move the total organism in the direction of better spatial relationship of bodily parts and better total adjustment to the gravity field. These proponents further hold that […]
Re: The Too-Good-To-Be-True Machine
Dear Colleagues, I admit, when I first began reading Jeff Maitland’s article on the use of the cold laser, I was momentarily overcome by the voice of Zero Mostel singing “TRADITION” in my ear. It was a fleeting rendition, before I was catapulted into possibility. Hmmm! Lasers, coherent light beams reconnecting and strengthening miniscule tissue […]
Rolfing and the Conquest of the Ground
PERSISTENT METAPHORS Despite the conceptual advances in the second half of the twentieth century that have encouraged us to re-examine old metaphors of the body as a machine, the “machine” metaphor is still deep-rooted in our daily lives and our literature. We talk of being geared tip – our joints being well lubricated, our […]
The Rolfing Experience: Integration in the Gravity Field
It happened more than once: A group of bright, creative people who were drawn to leave behind other careers to come and learn structural integration, and who were struggling to attain fluency in anatomy, physiology, biology and other complicated sciences, would fall silent, noticing that Ida Rolf was studying them, and she would firmly remind […]
Imago
One large gorilla sitting in the middle of the manual therapy room is reflexes. Not nerve reflexes, like the stretch reflex the neurologist hammers your knees for; these reflex arcs to and from the spinal cord are simple enough to understand. But there are much wider and more diffuse networks of reflex correspondences, such as […]