Pelvic Organization and Psoas Function as Influenced by Inflammation and Pregnancy
In this article I want to facilitate an enhanced awareness of major physiological conditions the body goes through that highly influence the internal and external organisation of pelvic structure and psoas function. Some of the bony and functional dysfunctions are protective patterns associated with organs ranging from kidneys to the ovaries and the prostate. These […]
Healing the Trauma Body
We have all been traumatized, some more than others. Trauma is not special . . . it’s part of the lived experience. During my thirty-two years of clinical experience, I have witnessed that traumatic wounding is at the heart of most human suffering and that everyone in the field of structural integration (SI) needs to […]
Integration Versus Fixing Parts
Anne Hoff: I initially contacted you when there was a discussion on the Rolf Forum LISTSERV about pain issues and solving pain. A lot of the comments were about modalities and techniques, things like releasing nerves. Then you wrote a very articulate post reminding us of the holistic paradigm of our work, and discussing how […]
The Mystery of the Ten-Series Symbols
Author’s note: I am most grateful to Emmett Hutchins, Carol Agneesens, Don Bruce, Jeff Linn, Michael Vilain, and (particularly) Allan Kaplan for all of their efforts and communications to help with this article. When I was studying Rolfing® Structural Integration (SI) in the mid-1990s, students had class t-shirts made with the stick-figure images shown in […]
Expansional Balance and the ‘Line’
I was quite inspired when I finished my classes with Dr. Rolf in 1968. As a psychologist I felt I had acquired a way to communicate with the core consciousness of a person through the body. Nine years earlier, in graduate school, I had had a ‘beginner’s enlightenment’ using a Zen Buddhist meditation. I discovered […]
Somatic Mapping
Some clients, despite having received Rolfing and exhausted standard medical treatments, have found little sustained relief from their physical problems. Absent an underlying pathology, practitioners sometimes postulate an emotional, psychological or energetic component based on one or more systems of correlation among experiences in the physical and other realms – i.e., on “somatic maps”. This […]
Bodyworkers, Comparative Anatomy and Paleontology?
INTRODUCTION Structural Integration practitioners aim t( affect the human body’s visible contours balance and motion dynamics. At firs glance, one of us studying Comparative Anatomy and Paleontology may seem more than a little strange. After all, we work with humans, not other large critters; and Vertebrate Paleontology, as the study of dead and extinct creatures’ […]
The Cylinder Model – Part I
PERSPECTIVE In the study of anatomy and physiology, the significance of segmental relationships can easily be overlooked. This is an attempt to visualize some of the underlying functional patterns of biological systems. The drawings in this work are not meant to be immediately representational or literal records of specific anatomical structures, although they should suggest […]
An Ancient Method of Rowing
[Fonte: Structural Integration – February 2003] At this point, two questions are of interest to us. Firstly, did the Egyptians have certain typical postural and movement patterns? Secondly, were these patterns identical with those found in their art? A Master’s Thesis that was written in 1978 deals with ancient Egyptian rowing style. This piece, written […]
The Role of Connective Tissue as the Physical Medium for the Conduction of Healing Energy in Acupuncture and Rolfing
ABSTRACT This paper is an exploration of the new understanding of the primary role that connective tissue (the body’s myofascial system) plays in the distribution of Qi throughout the body and the acupuncture meridians. Connective tissue is reviewed. Acupuncture’s relationship to connective tissue is discussed, first as shown in ancient acupuncture texts; then modern scientific […]