Rolfing® was so profoundly “life-changing” for Professional Opera Singer Florian Thomas. “Rolfing® enabled me to reinvent myself”, Thomas says.  “I lost 45 kilos over three years doing intermittent fasting but that’s a whole other story!”

Author: Charlotte Fraser

What happened?  I ask.

“My father had a stroke six years ago at the age of 55.  I am 38 now but I knew back then, that with our family history of heart attacks and strokes, I would be next in line.  I decided to do something about it and, in fact, my wife Caitlin – she is a very talented opera singer – has always been very slim and health-conscious.  Caitlin is Australian and they do have a healthier approach to life I think!  In any case, my weight loss leads us to why I ended up trying Rolfing®!”

 Why did you try Rolfing®?

“I had lost all this weight but found that my posture was stuck in a certain position, as though I was still carrying the old weight.  I became suddenly more aware of my hunched back, the scoliosis and that the lower back pain hadn’t gone away.  I also felt stuck and inflexible in other aspects of life.  Around the same time, my wife who is also a professional opera singer showed me a documentary on fascia with a part about Rolfing in it: “Quarks & Co: Geheimnisvolle Faszien- Neues vom Ruecken”.

Did you try other therapies before Rolfing®?

“Yes, I saw an osteopath for 15 years but I found Rolfing® to be so much more powerful.  I have also tried the Feldenkrais Method®, Training Therapy, lifting weights in a medical gym, and so on.  However, ten sessions of Rolfing®, the complete Ten Series, did more for me than all fifteen years of Osteopathy, or indeed, any other therapy.  Nothing has had the same beneficial effect as Rolfing®.  For me it has been totally life-changing.”

How did Rolfing®help you?

“Rolfing® gave me greater balance and more ease of movement. My body feels now totally at ease.  It is incredible what happens if your brain isn’t distracted, if energy and concentration isn’t taken up in just maintaining what should be a simple posture.  If the body is stressed, one’s mind is that much more anxious and preoccupied.

I feel more creative now and the balance and alignment through Rolfing® has enabled me to bring more colours into my voice.  I sing more efficiently now, it takes up a lot less energy.  I feel happy walking on stage, it feels nice and easy.  I am calmer and more confident.  I am more aware of what’s going on in my body and am consequently more aware also of my peripheral surroundings, of my place and physical presence on the stage. I am more grounded altogether.”

Did you feel the benefits of Rolfing® immediately or did you have to wait for a few sessions to feel any effect?

“I felt the benefits after even the first session, for me it was immediate.  I could also feel the effect of Rolfing® in between my treatment sessions.”