Reviewed by Christina Fenendael, Certified Rolfer®, Licensed Massage Therapist

ABSTRACT In the structural integration paradigm, a good standing posture is one that is organized in the gravitational field. Said another way, a person is free to breathe, feel, and allow continuous muscular adjustments for an unceasing interplay of movement. This fluid verticality is evoked when standing and working with The Original Tuning Board™. In this article, Darrell Sanchez describes the tuning board paradox of dynamic balance, where humans both stand with stability and motion. He explains the refined foot position, the neutral experience, and the folding exercise using the tuning board, all of which enhance the client’s experience of their own living ‘Line’.

ABSTRACT Three faculty members of the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® (DIRI) discuss their new book, The Rolfing Skillful Touch Handbook (2022), which they wrote and completed during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. They discuss the genesis of the handbook, how it supports student learning during the DIRI Phase I of the Rolfing® Structural Integration (SI) training, and the range of applications beyond that course.

ABSTRACT In this interview with Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® (DIRI) faculty member Kevin McCoy, the elements of fascia, persistent pain, and pelvic architecture are explored. Starting with a personal story about his own injury in childhood that impacted his own pelvic alignment, McCoy gives a useful analogy of people who develop chronic pain. Drawing from his studies with Dr. Carla Stecco and Dr. Antonio Stecco, McCoy discusses the fascial layers of the pelvis, and how he thinks about fascial organization and tissue relationships, while he works with people who have pelvic pain.

ABSTRACT Lina Amy Hack interviews anatomist Gil Hedley, PhD, about the pelvic floor. Hedley proposes a new and inclusive term for the intimate structures of the pelvic floor – the pars intima. They also talk about the ethics of manual therapy in the neighboring tissue of those intimate structures. Hedley discusses the shapes of the pelvic floor more as a sling and a funnel. The path of the pudendal nerve is also discussed.

ABSTRACT Rolfing Structural Integration instructor Lu Mueller-Kaul interviews colleague, Advanced Rolfing Instructor Tessy Brungardt, about how Rolfers® think about the pelvis throughout the ‘Ten Series’. From wholism to specific session considerations, Brungardt reflects on challenges that students and Rolfers experience with various structures of the pelvis. The authors discuss the refinement of pelvis palpation and getting comfortable with the territory as a means to strengthen pelvic techniques at all stages of the structural integrator’s career.

ABSTRACT In this first ‘The Business of Rolfing SI’ column, Lu Mueller-Kaul outlines the launch of a conversation about the business aspects that all structural integration (SI) practitioners face to deliver their manual therapy sessions. This article invites communication between readers and the author and the editorial team of Structure, Function, Integration, a place where we may share about the work of this modality and the marketplace where our business takes place.

ABSTRACT In the first Caution Column, pregnancy is discussed as a condition that is commonly found on contraindication lists for manual therapy. Rolfing® SI Instructor, Lu Mueller-Kaul aims to dispel the myth that fascial manipulation during pregnancy is harmful, and proposes that perpetuating the narrative of harm has itself been a detriment. Current peer-reviewed research is discussed regarding the effectiveness of manual therapy during pregnancy and a thoughtful proposal of when caution needs to be applied.

ABSTRACT Now collegiate athlete Lily Moore was twelve years old and an aspiring basketball player when she suffered a life-threatening injury that had the potential of crushing her athletic dreams. After multiple surgeries, physical therapy, and other modalities of support over the course of several years, Lily continued to suffer from severe pain. A recommendation to a Rolfer® changed the course of her life. The following is a narrative about the experience in the voices of Lily, her mother Lori, and her father Steven, where they talk about their trauma, despair, and healing.

ABSTRACT In this interview, osteopath Isabell Gilbert discusses her 2022 peerreviewed article, “Exploring the Effects of Standardized Soft Tissue Mobilization on the Viscoelastic Properties, Pressure Pain Thresholds, and Tactile Pressure Thresholds of the Cesarean Section Scar” that she also presented at the Fascia Research Congress in Montréal, Canada in September 2022. Gilbert discusses her research design, measuring tools, and results.