THE ROLFING® 10 SERIES

The Rolfing® “Ten series” can be viewed as a basic recipe which all Rolfers™ follow to achieve their common goal of balancing the client’s body in gravity. However, individual Rolfers™ work in different ways and also recognise that each client is unique and so adapt the recipe to suit their style and their client’s needs. The descriptions published here can be viewed as a general outline of the goals and procedure for each session.

In addition to starting work on any specific structural issues, the main goal of the first session is to free the breathing – The Rolfer™ aims to evoke a more balanced and efficient breathing pattern by freeing fascial restrictions around the torso, shoulders, neck and head. The Rolfer™ also begins the process of mobilising and horizontalising the pelvis by working around hip joints and legs. The client is shown the benefits of enhanced breathing awareness and is often given homework based on addressing specific breathing issues.

The Rolfer™ works mainly with feet, lower legs and knees to establish a more stable and adaptive base of support for changes that will take place later on in the upper body. An improved awareness of our connection with the earth will also help to establish a firm sense of ‘place’, a sense of belonging without which it may be difficult to move on mentally and emotionally.

Specifically, the Rolfer™ will invite front/back balance through work with the side surfaces of the legs, arms, torso, neck and head. Work will continue to free the breath and evoke four way movement in ribs, Energetically, the aim is to bring awareness of energy flow down the lateral sides of body from sky to ground.

In this session we begin working to establish a core of support in the legs, from the inner arches of the feet up the inside surfaces of the legs to the pelvic floor. We also need to lengthen and ease the spinal curves and evoke sense of energy flow up through the core from ground to sky.

In evolutionary terms the Human species has only just learned to stand upright on two feet instead of four. Ida Rolf observed that in terms of walking with the same efficiency and ease as some of our four legged cousins we are still only at the ‘toddler’ stage and she firmly believed that Rolfing® was here to help the Human race evolve through to the next stage in our quest to touch the stars. The theme of session five is to teach walking with ease. Connecting the legs to the spine through iliopsoas muscle and using the spinal engine greatly improves efficiency and lessens stress and strain on the lumbar spine and hip flexors (so often the cause of low back pain).

The goal of the Rolfer™ in this session is to continue the work started in session five by working with restrictions in the back, the legs and pelvis to enhance somatic awareness and bring 2-way flow of subtle movement to the spine.

If you have trouble saying “Yes” or “No” or suffer with continual back ache, eye strain, TMJ problems, headaches or vertigo then it may just be because your head is in the wrong place. Balancing the head on the shoulders is a vital piece of the jigsaw in bringing a body into line with gravity. In this session the Rolfer™ continues easing restrictions in the upper back, shoulders and neck and begins work on the muscles and fascia of the face and inside the mouth for a balanced relationship between cranium, spine and mandible. Some Rolfers™ may also work with movement to evoke awareness of the three axis of cranial movement. and will often use cranio-sacral techniques to balance the cranial pulse.

Session eight begins the closure cycle. By now the unique structural issues of each client are in the foreground. Session eight is the final opportunity in this cycle to resolve any specific structural imbalances before bringing everything back together in sessions nine and ten.

Rolfing® does not seek perfectionism, just the best that the body will allow in its present state of being. To this end the Rolfing® process puts a vast amount of new information into the body in terms of changed structural relationships and new movement possibilities. Whilst the aim is to liberate the whole person it can also be a bit confusing on both the conscious and a subconscious levels. Therefore, in the final two sessions the Rolfer™ must make sure that all of this new information is integrated to the best effect by the client and that the client has a clear idea of what might be thrown away and what might be usefully explored further.

The Rolfer™ works all planes of the body, enhancing the effectiveness of breathing as well as bridging old with new patterns. This is a time to reflect on what has been gained from the process and what has been accomplished.

UNWINDING OF A SESSION

During a session there is time dedicated to the manipulation of fascias and time spent in education in gravity (Rolfing Movement)

During a session, I am attentive to your needs and real life experience. I then look at your postural alignment as you stand and walk, and I ask you to notice various sensations. This observation combined with several manual tests allows me to approach your symptoms in their globalism and to choose a personal strategy for your session.

Then I invite you to lie down on a massage table and with my hands and forearms, I work progressively with your physical structure, that is to say, on your fascial net. These manipulations give suppleness and fluidity to the different tissues. Little by little they become balanced and their tone improves. As I am working, I invite you to welcome any new perceptions that the manipulations provide and propose simple movements to do, helping you to be present to your impressions and your organisation of movement.The enhanced circulation that implements itself in the areas being worked on allows a better relationship between different body parts. The autonomic nervous system also balances itself out, permitting a healthy alternation between states of vigilance and relaxation.

Once you are back into a vertical position – sitting, standing or walking – I propose a short period of time to pay attention to how your posture is transforming itself, giving access to a new coordination of movements. Many new perceptions can emerge: the feeling of the feet being anchored, the sensation of lightness, ease of breathing, the opening of space around you and therefore a straightening up of your posture, fluidity of movement with a feeling of overall stability.The goal of Rolfing Movement is to perpetuate these new sensations by recognising them, naming them and making them your own.