What is Rolfing?

Rolfing is a holistic method of working with the muscles & connective tissues to help you achieve optimal health and vitality. The Rolfing framework understands that everything in the body is intimately related...

Rolfing looks at how injuries, surgeries, and more repetitive movement patterns lead to compensations in the body, and how optimal movement can be restored after its been lost.

Rolfing understands that there is often more than what meets the eye when working with physical symptoms. Emotions often play a role in aggravating pain (at times, even causing pain) and exploring this intimate relationship between mind and body is invaluable to healing.

Rolfing knows how essential healthy muscles and connective tissues are to having a vital and robust body you can move throughout your daily life with freedom, and that sometimes due to injuries, lack of movement, etc., they become hardened and stiffened and need help to get moving again.

Central to Rolfing is understanding the role of fascia in the human body. Fascia supports not only our muscles, but also our bones, visceral organs, and skin, down to the individual cellular level. It provides form, connection, and support throughout the body, and research has increasingly shown that a healthy and malleable fascial system is essential for the health of all our body’s systems.

Fascia and it's many functions play essential roles in the vitality of our muscular system, nervous system, lymphatic system, digestive system, and more.

When working with fascia, we are always affecting all our bodily systems. The entry point is the fascia, but its far-reaching roles throughout the body allow us to create global change.

Clients of Rolfing have reported increased energy levels, relief from insomnia, improved posture, enhanced athletic performance, increased somatic awareness, and much more. In my own practice, I’ve seen clients experience powerful cathartic releases, open new ranges of motion in previously injured and over-protective areas, and significant improvement in chronic pain conditions. 

Each session in the Rolfing 10 Series holds a specific goal and anatomical region in focus, and over the course of the Series the whole body is addressed in detail to help it find more efficient movement, relieve tension, and support structural changes. Sessions differ for each individual depending on the specific goal, but the general “recipe” is described below:

In session 1, our main goal is to enhance the breath, and to begin exploring restrictions in the superficial fascia. We work into the arms, shoulder girdle, diaphragm, neck, upper back, hips, and hamstrings.

In session 2, we address the lower leg to enhance support of the foot up into the spine during walking and standing. We explore restrictions of the plantar fascia, arches of the foot, ankle, calves, and the anterior compartment of the lower leg.

In session 3, we approach the sideline of the body to further differentiate the shoulder and pelvic girdles. We also begin approaching deeper structures of the body, including the 12^th rib and quadratus lumborum. Working up from the knee, the territory includes the IT band, the hips and glutes, the ribs, axillary (armpit) region, side-lines of the arm, traps, and side-line of the neck and head.

In session 4, we explore the midline of the legs to create a better line of support from the lower leg up into the pelvis and lower back. We work with the foot, ankles, midline of the lower leg, adductors, hamstrings, pubic ramus, and sacrum

In session 5, we dive into deeper structures of the body primarily around the abdominal region. We are looking to “wake up” the abdominal region and core structures as a supportive structure between the thorax and pelvis, and to enhance proper hip extension during walking. The anatomical regions involved include the psoas muscle, abdominal muscles, thorax, sternum and clavicle, diaphragm, hip flexors, and quadriceps.

In session 6, we look to further increase support from the legs up into the pelvis and back through the backline of the body, and focus on the sacrum. We seek to improve restrictions in the plantar fascia, calves, hamstrings, gluteal muscles, in connective tissue around the sacrum, the pelvic crest, and spinal muscles.

In session 7, we begin exploring the relationship of the head to the neck and thorax. Some guiding goals of the session are to “wake up” the sense organs of the head and face, to differentiate the layers of the neck, and to address palpable restrictions around where the neck meets the body. The territory includes the upper ribs, traps, clavicle, sternum, all sides of the neck, in and/or around the mouth and nose, facial structures, and scalp.

In sessions 8 and 9, we begin looking for integration of the work of the previous seven sessions that will extend beyond the 10 series. In these integrative sessions, we combine and adjust interventions used in prior sessions, while calling for more engaged movement and participation from the client.

In session 10, we come to our final closure with the work of the 10 Series. We call for more movement throughout the session while approaching the horizontal structures of the body, and explore ideas for the client’s future integration of the work.