The Ida Rolf Rolfing Technique

The Ida Rolf Rolfing Technique evolved over the span of many years. It is interesting how Dr. Rolf’s life work has continued on and evolved even after her death in 1978. Dr. Rolf graduated from Barnard College in 1916. After graduation she earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Dr. Rolf developed some back problems after being kicked by a horse on a camping trip soon after graduating from college. She was not satisfied with the medical treatment she was getting, so she sought treatment from an osteopathic doctor instead. What she learned from the osteopath would lead her on to make her own discoveries that would become the Ida Rolf Rolfing technique.

For 10 years Dr. Rolf studied Tantric Yoga and applied this knowledge to helping people with disabilities. She used the postures of Yoga in her practice, and as she learned new techniques she incorporated them into her practice which evolved into what she called Structural Integration, but later became known as the Ida Rolf Rolfing technique.

Over the course of 50 years she studied and taught that through structural integration the changes that gravity makes on the body could be corrected over time. The body would come into balance with the planet’s gravitational field. Dr. Rolf learned through her studies that gravity is a constant force that is either pulling structures down or holding them up. Gravity’s effect on the body is that the body shape changes just like the body was a piece of plastic that could be molded. The connective tissue that encases every muscle, bone, and organ of the body is affected by the force of gravity, but can also be restructured through the Ida Rolf Rolfing technique.

Dr. Rolf started teaching in California at the Esalen Institute at Big Sur. She taught that the body is changeable, and that the imbalance of poor posture can be replaced by the balance of good posture. She called her work body education, and later changed it to Structural Integration. Her work caught on so that Boulder, Colorado became the headquarters for her work and was called The Guild for Structural Integration.

As the Ida Rolf Rolfing technique caught on in the 1960’s, the term Rolfing was coined and later became a registered trade service mark. Only Ida Rolf Rolfing technique certified practitioners are allowed to display the Rolfing service mark in their company logos. Licensed practitioners are now commonly known as Rolfers.

The Ida Rolf Rolfing technique evolved from the work of Dr. Rolf. She discovered that just as gravity can change a body from a state of balance to imbalance, her techniques could use gravity to assist the practitioner to put the body back into balance. She taught that the connective tissue could be stretched over time to reshape the body and promote not only balance with gravity, but also improvement in health.

Physical Therapy Rolfing Arizona

Anyone who is looking for the best physical therapy Rolfing Arizona has to offer needs to seek out skilled professionals. There are many ways to do this. You can go online and insert the words Rolf Practitioners in the search engine and the web addresses will show up for you to click on. You can also contact the Guild for the Rolf Institute and find every practitioner in your state.

Many people think of Rolfing as a type of massage, but it really isn’t. The effects of massage, even deep tissue massage lasts for only about 24 hours, but Rolf therapy is much longer lasting and is cumulative. The more treatments you get the more beneficial it is. Just as physical therapy works to bring the body back into balance to promote mobility and wellness, so does Rolfing. Physical therapy Rolfing Arizona works to bring the body into vertical alignment and in balance with the body’s center of gravity.

If you were to talk with someone about physical therapy Rolfing Arizona, he/she might tell you that the mind and the body live in harmony to one another. The body is controlled by the mind and that with Rolfing the mind and the body are educated to become stabilized and balanced. To find the perfect physical therapy Rolfing Arizona has to offer, find some practitioners in your area and send them an email or call them for an interview. Just like you might interview a new doctor who will be a guide in your health care, you would also want to talk to the practitioner that is going to be restructuring your body through the use of his/her hands.

To find the best physical therapy Rolfing Arizona practitioner, you might want to ask some questions. You might ask how Rolfing techniques vary from deep tissue massage. If you are not familiar with Rolfing, you might ask about the Rolf philosophy. You might ask a little about the history of Rolfing. Finding the best physical therapy Rolfing Arizona practitioner for you will have to be decided by you, so making an informed choice of professional is vitally important.

Manipulation of the body’s connective tissue can be a bit painful, so if you are someone who is very sensitive to pain you may need a practitioner that has a lighter touch. Finding the best physical therapy Rolfing Arizona professional is a matter of talking to people. You can ask a practitioner if you could talk to some of his/her clients. This is anecdotal evidence, but is there anything better than talking to a client to see if he/she is being helped by the Rolf therapy? Word of mouth is the best advertisement. This is a very good way of finding the best physical therapy Rolfing Arizona has to offer.

The Benefits of Rolfing

Rolfing is both similar and dissimilar to deep massage therapy; developed about 50 years ago by Ida P. Rolf. This treatment manipulates the deep connective tissues of the body. The practice of Rolfing provides longer lasting pain relief than massage therapy. The effects of massage therapy lasts for about 24 hours; however the effects of Rolfing lasts over time to improve posture and to put the body back into balance.

Similarities

The similarities of Rolfing to deep tissue massage are that the therapist puts his/her hands on you to manipulate the connective tissue beneath the skin. The therapist uses specific techniques to achieve this. Rolfing does not diagnose or treat disease, but many people who have been treated by a Rolf practitioner do report having pain relief. As with deep tissue massage, Rolfing can be very light and pleasurable, but it can also be a bit painful or even “hurt” in a good way. If the client feels uncomfortable from the pain, he/she just needs to speak up and let the practitioner know so less pressure can be applied.

Differences

A Rolf treatment is totally different than massage, even though it is sometimes thought of as a type of deep tissue massage. In massage oil or lotion is normally used, but in Rolfing no lubricant is used at all, unless absolutely necessary for tissue manipulation. A Rolf treatment is not like a massage, in that you don’t just lie back and get relaxed, many people do feel relaxed or full of energy, though, after treatment, but the goal is to help the body to realign to its center of gravity. Treatment over time should help you to hold your posture in its correct position in relation to gravity. Massage does not permanently change the connective tissue, where Rolfing usually does change the connective fascia to some degree.

Where massage therapist may not be interested in the function of your body parts, a Rolfer examine your posture, and ask you to walk and do some kinds of exercises to evaluate how your body moves. Massage sessions may last for 30 minutes, but these sessions may last up to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Benefits

Rolf manipulation is a technique to realign the body parts to each other in gravity. This treatment is used to improve posture, to improve range of motion in body parts, which in turn also helps to relieve pain. The practitioner works on the connective fascia of the body, and as he/she manipulates this tissue, instructions may be given on how to become more aware of your posture and how you hold certain body parts in relation to the rest of your body.

Conclusion

Rolf manipulation is a continuing process. The connective tissue changes over time as you become more aware of how to position your body. The frequency of the treatments is normally in a series of 10. You can stop your treatment at any time; however, you may not quite feel as well if you stop taking the treatments. Over time you adjust to the changes in your connective fascia and feel at home in your new and improved posture. Most sessions end with specific exercises to improve posture and movement. The practitioner will have you do before and after exercises to compare the alignment and movement of the body before and after the treatment.