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Rolfing strives to align and balance the body’s components until the entire system is a smoothly functioning coordinated whole. For example, the legs are aligned to the hips, shoulders to rib cage, the body is positioned over the feet, and then all of these joints and related tissue is integrated to one another. A few of the many benefits people experience are reduced pain, increased flexibility, an enhanced sense of body awareness, and improved posture.

These wonderful transformations are possible because Rolfing addresses the body’s internal system of flexible support, otherwise known as fascia. These connective tissues surrounds ever muscle fiber, encases all joints and even has a role in the nervous system. Think of the fascial system as an intricate internal guide wire network for the body. And if one set of support wires becomes tight or out of place, the excess tension may appear as nagging joint pain, muscle soreness, or a postural shift.

To correct internal misalignments, a Rolfing practitioner uses mild, direct pressure to melt or release facial holdings and allow the body to find health through the reestablishment of balance. It is currently believed that the slow, deep strokes of Rolfing stimulate intra-fascial mechanoreceptors (sensory neurons of the muscle nerve), which in turn triggers the nervous system to reduce the tension of the related muscles and fascia. Put another way, Rolfing allows the brain and nervous system to “re-boot” areas of the body that are receiving too much electrical stimulation (chronically tight or sore muscles). And once a healthy level of muscle contraction is established, someone’s entire structure is free to express a pain free from.

The ten series is a sequence of ten sessions of Rolfing often referred to as 'the recipe'. The profound logic of this sequence is a consequence of over 50 years of frequently reconsidered theory and practical application. The first three sessions are called the 'sleeve sessions'. Mobility in the tissue must precede its re-positioning and these sessions, in part, are devoted to loosening the surface layers of connective tissue.

The next four sessions are referred to as the 'core sessions' and deal with releasing the structures from the inner leg through the cranium. The last three hours are the integrative hours. In the preceding sessions the various parts of the body have been differentiated from one another, now they need to be re-articulated into a more balanced relationship with each other and with gravity as a whole.

One of the most common misconceptions about Rolfing is that it is nothing more than a type of very deep massage. There are many varieties of massage, which are particularly effective for loosening tight tissue, reducing stress, detoxifying the body and an increased feeling of relaxation and well being. Since these benefits are also a byproduct of Rolfing, the general public experience confusion as to the precise difference between our work and the proliferation of effective touch modalities currently available.

Ray McCall, an advanced Rolfer and a former student of Dr. Rolf, once said that what Rolfers do can be summed up in three words; palpation, discrimination and integration. We palpate, or touch the tissue, feeling for imbalances in tissue texture, quality and temperature to determine where we need to work. We discriminate, or separate fascial layers that adhere to one another and muscles that have been pulled out of position by strain or injury. Finally, we integrate the body, relating its segments in an improved relationship, bringing physical balance in the gravitational field.

Other soft tissue manipulation methods, including massage, are sometimes good at the first two, but do not balance the body in gravity.

As Dr. Rolf used to say, “anyone can take a body apart, very few know how to put it back together.” The true genius of her method is the art and science of reshaping and reorganizing human structure according to clearly defined principles in a systematic, and consistent manner.

In each session, Rolfers seek to impart insights to clients to increase their awareness and understanding of themselves on a deeper level.

All bodies have some degree of disorder and compensation in their structure and virtually anyone will benefit from the Rolfing process. Athletes, dancers, students of yoga and meditation, musicians, business people, people riddled with chronic stress and injuries, people from all walks of life and of all ages from children to seniors come to rolfing not only for relief from their pain and stress, but also for improved performance in their professions and daily activities.

Rolfing can also benefit people in psychotherapy by facilitating a deeper connection to their emotional conflicts, and it can effectively deepen practices such as meditation, yoga and tai chi.

A joint (facet) restriction can show no obvious signs of pain and then suddenly rear its painful countenance at the most inopportune times. - You arise from a chair to greet a friend and suddenly there's that stabbing pain in your back again. Back pain can come and go, but the problem almost always remains.

Many make the mistake of thinking that during those periods when their pain disappears that their problem also goes away. - But the problem doesn't disappear with the pain; and the unfortunate illusion that it does often misleads people into ignoring their back problems.

If left untreated, most back problems only get worse as time and gravity take their unforgiving toll on our bodies. - For many people, before their first episode of low back pain, there were larger overall patterns of imbalance in their bodies, probably their legs were not providing adequate support, and there were dysfunctional adaptations to old injuries and to gravity. - Then the fatal day arrived when they passed their critical threshold by bending over and slightly twisting (sidebending) to pick something up. During this movement, their vertebra slipped a little too quickly and a little too far past what was normal. The nervous system registered the danger and sent the muscles and ligaments into a fearful spasm thereby locking up the vertebrae by creating a joint (facet) restriction.

A common misunderstanding about Rolfing is that its main value is in correcting long-standing structural patterns. Rolfing can also serve as a prophylactic measure to reverse potentially problematic patterns in the young. One of the things children learn from watching us is how we carry ourselves and they will naturally imitate their parent's language, movement and other modes of expression. These patterns can be seen in family photos and are as much a part of a child's makeup as his hair color, height and predisposition to certain hereditary illnesses. Rolfing can begin to correct patterns, such as hip imbalances, which may limit the child's development and mobility.

Also, when children are injured from falls or minor accidents, they may seem to be fine on the outside since the cut or bruise healed. However, as Dr. Rolf pointed out, they are not really the same. Minor changes have taken place in the connective tissue, in their joints and in the muscles that were injured. Small tears or pulls cause the tissue to thicken. Soon, muscles begin to adhere to each other and are less able to function as discrete entities. These changes may express themselves as a slight limp, lower energy, and a decrease in range of motion or strength.

Early intervention by a Rolfer aware of the unique needs of children can make a profound difference in a child's awareness, comfort level and self-esteem. The importance of receiving loving supportive touch in and of itself is of immeasurable value to a developing child. Rolfing, however, can accomplish so much more, creating palpable change in the child's connective tissue matrix. We have also found that Rolfing adolescents during and after puberty, a time of great insecurity and emotional turmoil for most of us, besides the obvious structural benefits, frequently has a profound effect on the developing child's awareness and comfort in his or her rapidly changing body and mind.

Musicians often face a number of unique physical challenges brought on by years of diligent practice and performing. Sometimes, even the best musicians develop habits, which lead to chronic pain, mostly in their hands and wrists, forearms, neck and shoulders and lower back. Rolfing and Rolfing movement can help in a number of ways. Physical adaptations to a musician's chosen instrument, including the voice, which often lead to discomfort and imbalances, are normalized in a traditional Rolfing ten series.

The Rolfing 10 series can be specifically adapted to address such patterns as carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic muscle imbalances and long-term effects of odd stances and body position caused by the exigencies of playing a given instrument. Musicians who have experienced the basic 10 series have consistently noticed profound changes in their level of physical comfort, energy levels and internal awareness. This increased freedom of movement noticeably impacts the performer's pleasure in performing and often leads to greater creative abilities. Another tool many Rolfers employ is movement work. Those trained in this modality observe you in the act of playing and call your attention to subtle ways you hold or translate force through your body which reinforce strain patterns that interfere with your performance. The movement teacher's intention is not to change how you play or to inhibit your unique approach to the instrument. Rather, they help you find creative alternatives to stressful patterns in your current mode of performance.

A dancers career is often cut short by a number of factors. Poor training, long training and rehearsal schedules, overwhelming training and performance schedules. Demands and repetitions of particular dance movements and choreography on the body. The lack of anatomical and structural knowledge from many of our teachers, rehearsal masters directors and choreographers. These are just a few of the reasons why, if not properly managed, a dancers career can be prematurely ended.

Being a professional ballet dancer myself for well over 20 years, and as a certified Rolfing and movement practitioner, I have observed and noticed that more often than not, it is the accumulation of poor training habits, accumulated minor and sometimes major injuries, and a continuous lack of understanding and neglect of the body and its warnings to us that something is out of balance and in need of attention and re-training.

When unhealthy stresses and minor injuries are not addressed and cared for properly, they can accumulate and develop into lasting chronic patterns of strain, which over time crate not only imbalances in the bodies individual segments, but also on the body as whole, one can begin to feel weighed down, heavier, less responsive when dancing, they seemed to have lost their dynamics or explosiveness of movement that they use to havethey cant jump as high, or be as relaxed in their body when dancing, they may tire more easily than before, the list goes on and on.

At the end of the day most of us end up blaming it on age, we say oh well I’m in my 30’s mow or my 40’s, so its expected, etc.… Well I can tell you from personal experience working with other dancers as well as continually working on my own body, that age plays much less of a factor than you might think.

While Rolfing primarily aims for structural improvements,any change in the physical body affects the whole person. A shift in structure alters the way you relate to the world.After a session, you might feel you’ve let go of something , a long engrained holding pattern for example, and can begin to more easily let go of or come to terms with an old issue in a new way. Rolfing helps people access structural, mental, emotional and often belief systems and patterns that have been a part of one for many years.As such, Rolfing is an excellent complement to other personal growth and development work.

After a thorough medical and accident history, the session begins with the Rolfer evaluating your structural and movement patterns while standing and walking . Clients receive the work in their underclothes, briefs for men , and aa two piece for women.While you’re lying on a therapy table, the Rolfer uses hands, fingers, arms and elbows to apply slow, specific pressure to different parts of your body. The goal: To begin easing restrictions in the connective tissue and realigning towards its most harmonious relationship to the gravitational field.You may be asked from time to time to make small s movements or to breath into the area being worked on . Sessions often close with some form of movement education, such as developing freer sitting posture, refining the walking gait and generally towards a more elastic and free flowing quality of moving.