Improve posture, reduce pain & stubborn tensions, and optimize athletic performance with Rolfing.
Say hello to your new body.
Rolfing is a 10-session process which combines hands-on myofascial manipulation, somatic dialogue, and movement education to bring about lasting changes. Rolfers are interested in balancing the body in relationship to gravity; Releasing restrictions that inhibit free movement; And coordinating body, mind and breath for strength, grace, enjoyment and efficiency. This work often affects not only the physical structure, but also physiological functioning, emotions, thought patterns and relational behaviors. The empowered self-awareness and new movement patterns gained through the Ten Series serve as a foundation upon which the person can learn to undo troublesome patterns, avoid injury, and mitigate the effects of aging.
What does Rolfing help with?
Pain/Excessive Tension
Because Rolfing looks at and treats the body as a whole of interconnected parts, it can help with pain and excessive tension anywhere in the body. Some of the problems I have successfully treated include low back pain, neck/shoulder issues, stiff/imbalanced feet, hunched posture, pelvic misalignment, tension headaches, immobility, and scoliosis, to name a few.
Some clients feel no physical pain but love the positive effects that Rolfing has on their mind and emotions. Rolfing is powerful self-care that can positively impact your life and sense of well-being.
Mobility
Movers, this section is for you. Whether you are a yoga student, CrossFit athlete, professional tennis player, weekend golfer, and everything in between, Rolfing can help you with your biomechanics so you can continue doing what you love.
Strength
Ida Rolf said that real strength is the result of ease, rather than effort. She also noted that a truly strong, healthy muscle must be able to both contract and fully relax. Rolfing uncovers your compensations, your areas of tension and excessive effort, and integrates them into the whole of your body where true strength abides.
Alignment
As we age, we may notice that gravity starts to take over in ways that aren’t so ideal. It can affect our posture, spine, gait, quality of life, and even our confidence and self-esteem. It is possible to age gracefully and it is never too early in life to set ourselves up for longevity. The uncomfortable postural habits, old injuries, and imbalances can be brought back into order. Rolfing awakens the intelligence of the body and brings you back towards your healthy blueprint.
Before & After Ten Rolfing Sessions
What Can I Expect?
First, come on in and try a session to determine if this approach is a great fit for your needs. You’re not obligated to commit to anything right off the bat.
A typical Rolfing session involves a verbal check-in, walking + movement assessments, and hands-on bodywork on the massage table and/or chair. For those who are interested, we may also include movement repatterning and/or somatic dialogue. The hands-on manipulations target muscles, fascia, mechanoreceptors in the skin, and neuromuscular patterns. You may experience the bodywork as subtle, or deep/intense depending on your sensitivity levels and depending on the layer of tissue I am targeting. You should NEVER feel a bad kind of pain, or too much intensity for you to breathe through. Your safety is always most important to me.
There is an opportunity for us to include somatic dialogue during the session, which essentially means that we can explore the interconnection between your mind, emotions, and sensations/symptoms in your body. Sometimes, this aspect of the work is very helpful for clients to process what gets “stuck” in their physical body. I can include this toolkit during your Rolfing session based on your needs and interest. I am committed to using the best approach(es) for you to achieve your goals, and welcome you to provide feedback to help me tailor our treatments.
At the end of the session you will be invited to walk and move around again to reassess any changes in movement, awareness, pain levels, and structure. Integrative Homework may be given to deepen the effects of the work.
Integrative Homework
One aspect that makes my approach uniquely effective is the inclusion of homework that helps you integrate the changes, exploration and/or lessons of each session. I will include this in most of your sessions, especially if you express a keen interest in taking on this kind of agency in your process. Homework may range from corrective exercises to simple awareness and adjustment of how you move through life. Your awareness and proactivity is what makes the work “stick.”
The Benefits of a Rolfing Ten Series
Ten sessions to align, reset and balance the entire body
If you are new to Rolfing, this is the place to begin. The Ten Series is like a recipe, but each client’s Series is unique and tailored.
INTRODUCTORY SESSIONS
Session 1: First and foremost, the client and practitioner establish mutual trust and communication. Session 1 usually focuses on freeing restrictions in the shoulders, hips, and rib basket and spine. The breath is one of our most important physiological functions. Suboptimal breathing patterns are extremely common and the effects are far-reaching throughout the body and mind. Session 1 begins to offer the client fuller, easier, omni-directional breathing.
Session 2: Modern living has stolen functionality from our feet. This session primarily works from the knees down to tune up the arches, restore function to the ankles and knees, and mobilize the bones of the feet. Tissue restrictions in the muscular compartments of the calves will also be addressed. Session 2 finishes with seated work on the back to connect the support of the feet to the length of the spine.
Session 3: This “lateral line” session looks at the client’s plumb-line - from ear to ankle bone - and sees where there are deviations from the vertical line. This session is excellent for addressing overhead mobility, tight hips and lower back pain. Expansion, freedom and lightness are feelings often reported from session 3.
CORE SESSIONS
Session 4: Here we begin building the midline from the ground up. We’ll work from the inner arches of the feet up the inner leg to the bottom bones of the pelvis and spine(ramus/ischial tuberosities/tailbone).We’ll also focus on pelvic floor education - the ability to feel, contract and relax these muscles, and how they relate to the breath. This session often helps with balance and alignment in the lower limb/pelvis. We’ll then work on the back to connect the support of the legs to the spine.
Session 5: The Psoas Session! Work is usually on the front of the legs and pelvis up to the front side of the lower spine where the iliopsoas muscles live. This will be integrated with mobility in the thoracic spine. Old patterning around poor posture and inefficient walking can be addressed and replaced with something new and uplifted. Because of its placement deep within the core of the body, the psoas is sometimes linked to stored trauma/emotions and we’ll safely work through whatever comes up for you.
Session 6: The Deep Back Line. Here is where we address the fascial relationships of the soles of the feet, calves, hamstrings, sacrum, and spine. Getting the back line long, free and awake may make this one a fan favorite.
Session 7: “Putting the head on top” We have worked up the midline from the ground, up the front and back of the spine, and now we need to balance that heavy noggin on top. The body is now ready to integrate a fully aligned posture from head to toe. This session is particularly excellent for jaw and neck issues and “head forward” posture.
INTEGRATION SESSIONS
Sessions 8 & 9: These sessions focus on larger, more complex relationships across multiple joints. Highly individualized, these are the “jazz improv” of the Series which seek to establish integration of the new pattern as graceful movement that creates length throughout the entire body.
Session 10: Traditionally, this is a whole body, energetic session that looks to leave the client feeling light and balanced. At this point, the mind may be comfortable inhabiting those previously shadowed parts of our physical body. Ida Rolf used the term “Uniform Brilliance” to describe the energetic field that a body exudes after its Tenth session. This is also a time to decide if we’ll be wrapping up our work together or if more sessions are needed/desired.
