Rolfing TX is Beneficial
Occasionally you hear someone speak about
Rolfing. It's quite possible that you or someone you know has experienced it.
What is Rolfing-Structural Integration?
Occasionally
you hear someone speak about Rolfing. It's quite possible that you or someone
you know has experienced it. What is Rolfing-Structural Integration? It is an
inquiry into the optimal functioning of the human being, to be nothing short of
the whole truth. It is a system of body re-education and manipulation
originally known as structural integration and the product of 50 years of study
and practice by creator, Dr. Ida P. Rolf. Originally an organic chemist with
the Rockefeller Institute, Dr. Rolf perfected the technique of Rolfing
Structural Integration over many years before establishing a training program
and a professional organization of around 1300 practitioners worldwide.
What
separates Rolfing from other somatic practices is the Rolfers' premise about a
person's relationship to themselves and to their environment: (1) most human
beings are out of alignment with gravity (2) We function better when we are
lined up with the gravitational field (3) The human body is so plastic that its
alignment can be brought into harmony at anytime in a person's life. Research
has shown that there is a more powerful sense of self, grace, ease, efficiency
of movement and often the relief of stress caused by gravity resistant movement
patterns.
The body is
inherently a continuous matrix of connective and myofascial tissue called
fascia that surrounds, supports, and permeates every muscle, bone, nerve and
organ of the body. Rolfing manipulates and re-educates set holding patterns in
the tissue and nervous system to release, realign, and balance the whole body,
thus resolving discomfort, reducing compensations, and enabling a more
authentic expression.
Fascia is
the white body stocking under the skin that envelops every part of the body
giving you the shape or form of your body. The problem begins when injury,
out-of-balance movement and asymmetries are adopted by the body manifesting as
inhibition, pain and dysfunction. The body will actually change shape to
reflect how it is being used, thus structure and function are two sides of the
same coin.
Research on
Rolfing has begun to provide qualitative and quantitative data about its
results. Dr. Valerie Hunt, Director of the Movement Behavior Laboratory at UCLA
and DR. Julian Silverman, Research specialist of the California Department of
Mental Hygiene, conducted experiments at Agnews State Hospital where subjects
were tested before and after Rolfing for changes in neurological control of the
muscles, for variations in results from stimuli and for biochemical changes.
The results indicated that after Rolfing there is more efficient use of
muscles, conserved energy, increased refinement of response, and a tendency for
motor control to shift toward the more reflexive spinal centers.
In other
words, Rolfing reveals resource and health that was always available, more
potential. other research is ongoing within & without The Rolf Institute.
Dr. Rolf's theory of body geometry led to the discovery that when an elbow,
knee, or any other joint is properly balanced, the individual experiences an
internal sense of rightness. The body senses that when its natural alignment in
a single plane is no longer compromised there is a self-organizing order that
is inherent in the nervous system and in gravity. So in a new geometry, there is
a new orientation in space, which feels much more secure than a body off it's
centerline of gravity. Each persons ideal geometry depends on navigating a set
of contributing factors like a person's history, injuries, and asymmetries, to
formulate a sequence of sessions customized for each client.
Dr. Rolf
was famous for offering free clinics for children, whom can receive benefits as
well. Sessions are around an hour and twenty minutes, and there are usually at
least 10-20 sessions with each as a continuation of the previous one and a
platform for the next, with more work at later times if needed. Sessions can
cost from $120.00 per session and can be received weekly, bi-weekly, or
monthly. Remember that your body is the most valuable possession ever so maintenance
is priceless. The proper nutrition, exercise, and bodywork are extremely
important.
Rolfing is
considered the premier bodywork offered by somatic therapists. It is not
massage therapy and it cannot accurately be described as therapy. It is a process
of re-education in which a Rolfer seeks to help a client discover the most
efficient way of using the body and disseminating impressions given the
dis-ease, asymmetries, and virtue of that body.
There is a
certain order of events and a client intake evaluation that a Rolfer considers
in each program of sessions that will be discussed in subsequent articles. We
will also discuss Rolf Movement, which has been defined as evoking an open and
responsive body given all of the tenants of the Tonic Function model in which
change in structure can be affected by change in perception, expression, and
coordination. The premise of the Tonic Function model is that all pre-movement
is unconscious movement and anyone of the four
elements(structure-coordination-expression-impression) can be effected by any
one of the others.
Therefore
Structural manipulation works on the hardware and Rolf Movement fittingly
should be equated to working on the software. The potential for more balanced
movement and breath while standing, sitting, or moving is invaluable. So who is
Rolfing for? Athletes, yogi's, martial artist, Grandmas, sisters, friends,
neighbors, weight lifters, boxers, runners, artist, cyclist, poets, sedentary
people and you.
The
Certified Rolfing Ten Series has the ability to reduce pain and release tension
in the connective and myofascial tissue of the body associated with TMJ, CTS,
RLS, Fibromyalgia, Sciatica, Fascitis, Bunions, Scoliosis, and Cerebral Palsy.
Fascial asymmetries can cause foot, leg, knee, hip, back, shoulder, neck, arm,
hand, and head pain; integration therapy is necessary. Orthopedic,
Chiropractic, Physical, and Massage Therapist recognize Rolfing and Rolf
Movement as premium pain management utilizing Structural, Functional, and
Postural Integration. Bioceuticals are an alternative ,natural and non-toxic method of
effectively addressing health and wellness through the lense of Bioceutical
nutrition.
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