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 […]
Rolfing Like a Yogi
Within the context of “wholism”, the viewpoint that work on the whole body is more effective than work done on just one part, lies the mind-body connection. And I write with the hope that my words will allow fellow practitioners the chance to strengthen this vital link in themselves and also for those within their […]
Announcing New Movement Column
Ida Rolf was well aware that recipients of Rolfing® Structural Integration needed movement education in order to fully embody the process. I remember lying on the floor of someone’s living room while she talked us through the classic arm rotation patterns that we now call “Rolf yoga.” She knew that her standard injunctions – “Top […]
The Disclosive Power of Feeling
Philosophy and science begin with the enigma we are to ourselves. One mystery that continues to fascinate us is our own perceptual prowess. Its relevance to the practice of holistic somatic therapy cannot be overestimated. Indeed, it is not much of an exaggeration to say that perception is everything. As any experienced practitioner will attest, […]
Tales from the Garrison
Unless there is a particular connection, the average Rolfing practitioner won’t get many military clients. Despite growing up in liberal hippie Austin Texas, practicing aikido (often called “the art of peace”), and leaning more left than right, I ended up marrying a Cold War veteran who works in Public Affairs for the Army. He says, […]
First-Generation Gleanings
First-generation Rolfing practitioners—those who studied directly with Dr. Rolf—are a tremendous resource. They created a strong foundation for the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration and a path for us to follow. Their memories of Dr. Rolf’s comments still impact their work today—and we can use their memories to enhance our own work. Several here share […]