Rolfing®
What is Rolfing® Structural Integration?
Rolfing® Structural Integration is a manual bodywork, focusing on “Fascia” and “Gravity use”.
Fascia is web-like connective tissue all over the body. It envelops all the muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels and organs.
Fascia is constantly changing and adapting in response to demands placed on the individual’s body. It reacts to particular physical change.
” When the body gets working appropriately,
the forces of gravity can flow through.
Then, spontaneously, the body heals itself. “
– Dr. Ida Rolf Ph.D. (1896-1979)
The biochemist Dr. Ida Rolf Ph.D. (1896-1979), the founder of Rolfing®, described the fascia as an “organ of form”.
Her theory is that the state of our connective tissue and its relationship to Earth’s gravity can play an important role in the development of physical and emotional discomfort.
Injuries, the stress of repetitive movements, daily activities, and postual habits can pull the body out of aligment.
In session, Rolfing® practitioner (i.e. Rolfer™) will apply pressure to the fascia slowly. By releasing the restriction of fascia, the body can re-align its structure so that the whole person can function in the most optimal and economical way.
“The gravitational field is the therapist”
© Photo courtesy of Certified Advanced Rolfer™ David Kirk Campbell
Dr. Rolf with Client
Dr. Ida Rolf Ph.D. (1896-1979)
born in New York. She was one of the first women to receive a PhD in biochemistry and physiology from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1920.
Driven to find health solutions for herself and her two sons, one of whom had problems coordinating his movements as a child. She spent many years exploring alternative healing methods including osteopathy, chiropractic, homeopathy, yoga, the Alexander Technique and Korzybski’s work on states of consciousness.
In the early 70s Ida Rolf founded the Rolf Institute in Boulder, Colorado. She dedicated the rest of her life to teaching the technique, which was named after her later on. Structural Integration became known as “Rolfing” all over the world.