Rolfing Down Under
So, here I am, writing from the depths of winter in Australia, where today it will reach a sunny 19 degrees (70 something Fahrenheit). I have been based here in Sydney for most of my career of almost twenty years, and feel fortunate in still having some of those early clients on my books. Many […]
Receiving, Learning, Teaching, Becoming…
On December 21, 2007, I closed my Rolfing practice of thirty-three years. Not without grief! It has been an exceedingly rich and rewarding part of the tapestry of my life. It all began for me in January of 1970 when I accompanied my husband, Sam Keen, who was leading a month-long seminar in theology and […]
Rolfing in Brazil
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 […]
Working with an Over-Activated Nervous System
Answer: There are different reasons for people expressing an activation of the sympathetic nervous system: either their nature is more inclined to that, or they are going through some kind of a temporary, challenging situation, or they are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. The way you treat the over-activated nervous system in each of these […]
Common Peripheral Nerve Entrapments and Syndromes
Introduction In most health-care disciplines, the best idea is to not treat pain complaints without a clear and accurate assessment of the problem. The easiest way to arrive at an accurate assessment is after a complete case history has been taken and reviewed and after a thorough physical examination has been rendered. In any type […]
Through the Lens of Experience: Mentoring on Trans-structural Experiences
The following collection of articles offers insight into part of the current process of training Rolfers at the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration (RISI). The starting point was a Phase II project by then-student Vivian Gettliffe. Her instructor, Thomas Walker, suggested that she write up her class project to submit to Structural Integration: The Journal […]
Breath Made Visible (DVD)
Reviewed by Robert McWilliams, Certified Advanced Rolfer™, Rolf Movement® Practitioner San Rafael-based modern dance pioneer Anna Halprin is an important dance artist and seminal figure in movement therapy, often mentioned in the same conversation along with Emilie Conrad and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. (These three copresented the Soma Fest in Santa Monica in September of this […]
Comments on the World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain
The Seventh Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain, which was held November 9-12, 2010 in Los Angeles California, was an excellent event and experience for this Rolfer and first-time attendee. The spirit of sharing information and helping others rang through the entire event. It was a wide-open window and multidisciplinary forum into […]
On the Nose
In Rolfing® Structural Integration (SI) practice and lore, intra-nasal work has distinguished us from other practitioners. Pop culture seized this aspect of our work, prompting individuals (who likely have a limited familiarity with our work) to link intra-nasal work and Rolfing SI with questions like, “Isn’t that the one where they stick their fingers up […]
Pain Relief
What does pain have to do with structural integration (SI) – and why should an issue of Structural Integration: The Journal of the Rolf Institute® be devoted to pain? How is the pain theme relevant to SI in particular; i.e., can anything be said about pain here that would not be equally well said in […]