Rolfing®
What is Rolfing
Rolfing®, or Structural Integration, is a process of working on the body which involves an intense treatment of connective tissues by combining training towards movement and cultivating self-perception. It is a way of working which aims at re-establishing balance in body posture in relation to gravity, by restoring a correct alignment and a functional relationship between the various parts of the body. It is an authentic educative course aimed at restoring the faculty of self-support and adjusting those body tissue limits and bad posture and movement habits which might give rise to various kinds of discomfort, from muscles, bones and joints, with consequent suffering of internal organs, to limitations in movement, fatigue, headaches and other disturbances caused by tension and stress which might even influence moods and psychological conditions in general.
How did it originate?
Rolfing® developed in the 1940s and 50s in the United States thanks to the intuition of Dr.Ida Rolf. Dr. Rolf got her degree in Biochemistry at the Columbia University in 1920 and increased her knowledge of the human body through research and study in organic chemistry, at the same time experimenting various techniques such as yoga, osteopathy and homeopathy. From yoga she learnt the principles of the profound unity between body and mind, and consequently the belief that working on the body signifies intervening simultaneously on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. All this, together with her scientific education, her innate curiosity and her experience of the efficiency of osteopathy, led her to understand the importance of balance in body structure with respect to gravity.
Out of all this arose a system of work which she defined as Structural Integration, and which was later re-christened “Rolfing” by her students.
What does it involve?
The standard course consists of ten individual sessions of about an hour each. Sessions have specific themes and areas, for instance, facilitating breathing, foot and leg support, etc., and they are carried out using a personalised approach according to the characteristics and the structural and functional needs of the person being treated. During sessions movements are integrated which permits “reprogramming” one’s way of perceiving and coordinating, being aware of and taking into account the influence of gravity.
Objectives and benefits of Rolfing®
The main aim of Rolfing® is an increase in physical and psychological well-being and in the quality of life in general. By treating the fascia, the connective tissue that surrounds, unites and separates every single part of the body (organs, muscles, vessels, bones, ligaments, tendons etc.), the person involved is made aware of the natural resources at his disposal to integrate easily and harmoniously into the gravitational field. The fascia, also defined as the “organ of form”, is the tissue that, wrapped around the various parts of the body, unites them into a single form which defines the body structure. In fact, Rolfing® recognises the importance of this relationship and its connections, that is, how the possibility of integrating and harmonising the whole can be born out of the different body parts, by acting on the authentic body “network” constituted by the fascia. The aim is to achieve greater stability as well as functional movement expressed by the natural resources of the person involved.
Rolfing® is a technique that can be used not only to treat existing structural problems (which could express themselves, for example, through backache, cervical pain, ankle instability, “frozen shoulder”, etc.), but also as a preventive measure to help to maintain and improve personal well-being.
In other words, we can resort to Rolfing to carry out that process which, by freeing the body and restoring it to the functional form nearest the archetype, also frees the finer psychic and mental functions, bringing total well-being.