What is rolfing and how it helps to balance your body

In an upright body, everything works better. Muscular tensions are attenuated, fluids circulate more freely, internal organs can perform their function better… and optimism grows.

Indeed, we humans have gone rising through millions of years to become what we are today.

In this process the body has had to modify, not without effort, its structure and its center of gravity to maintain balance.

But What if we weren’t still upright enough? And if we only found ourselves on the way to being?

With this almost metaphysical consideration he understood Ida Rolf (1896-1979) the goal of the body technique that she created herself: rolfing.

American biochemist, spent years researching body and holistic therapies looking for solutions for relieve your own arthritis. His interest was centered above all in yoga and osteopathy.

Little by little, and also treating acquaintances and relatives, he developed a manipulation method which he called “Structural Integration” and that would later adopt the name of rolfing.

Today there are in the world thousands of rolfers or people accredited to practice rolfing, training that is given only in official centers throughout the world.

What is rolfing and what is it based on?

Rolfing is proposed align the body on its axis in order to create the optimal physical conditions so that people can fully develop at all levels.

It focuses on what the straightening is as permanent as possiblebecause they understand that a well-aligned body will be better prepared to recover and enhance their physical and mental health.

And it does so by emphasizing two key issues: on the one hand, it takes into account the relationship of the body with the force of gravity and not only the relationship that the different parts of the body have with each other; for another, works on the fasciasa soft tissue to which until then very little attention had been paid.

“Taking gravity into account was the pioneering idea of Ida Rolf: as much as we try to organize and relieve parts of the body, if you don’t have a good support on the ground, if there are segments of the torso that move away from the central axis, after time the tensions reappear. Instead, if it is achieved the body supports itself without effortthere is no longer any need to alleviate tensions because they subside by themselves and stop occurring,” explains bettina hippel, rolfer for decades.

The body adapts its posture to gravity to maintain balance.. If one knee is bent and the weight is dropped on the opposite leg, the hip and torso immediately shift to compensate for the deviation. In the same way, when the pelvis is thrown back, the belly goes forward, or when the thorax sinks and the head moves forward.

Read Also: How to take care of your ears with natural medicine

These compensations are common in everyday life, and it is fortunate that the body can make them. Otherwise, at the slightest movement we would fall to the groundbut they demand an effort and produce tension.

We can imagine the body as a tower of neatly stacked blocks. The moment one moves, even an iota, the tower loses stability.

To prevent it from collapsing, you can move another block in the opposite direction for to serve as a counterweight. The tower will hold, but the more the blocks move the greater the effort What will you have to do to stay on your feet?

The problem arises when these compensations occur intensely or repetitivelybecause they can end installing in the body structure.

The bad habits often acquired in childhood by imitating the flawed postures of adults, sedentary jobs or demanding, accidents that force the body to temporarily force or compensate the posture, own ageattitudes and deep-rooted emotions that are reflected in the body… all these factors They help to modify the body structure.

How important are the fascias?

We have all been able ever experience how good it feels rest your feet flat on the ground, open your chest, draw your shoulders back, lengthen your spine and let the body grow as if pulled by a thread from the crown of the head.

straighten free and everything seems easier. Everything… except hold the pose. Soon we get tired because it is forced on us.

Ida Rolf observed that what leads to experiencing this more upright and natural posture as a forced posture is the alteration of the body structure due to the deformation and hardening of the fascias.

Are connective tissue layers they form a three-dimensional network that connects the entire body, from head to toe, enveloping and supporting every muscle, bone, and organ.

It has been called the “organ of form” because it is the tissue that defines the internal structure of the organism.

The fascias, initially soft and flexible, over time they contract and become rigid. On the other hand they are Very sensitive to overloads.

When the body makes an effort to compensate for a deviation from the axis of gravity, the fascia deforms.

After you can go back to your place and recover its original form, or be deformeddepending on the intensity of the deviation, the time it is maintained and the state of the tissue.

“The fascias act like a very thin dance costume that sticks to the body. When deformed at one point, they immediately cause deformation at a different point” (Bettina Hippel).

Some fascias in good condition make it easier to slide of a muscle with respect to others, and between these and the organs. Also direct and limit movementprotecting the joints and allowing the correct weight distribution towards the legs and feet.

Read Also: 7 exercises to free the diaphragm and breathe better

a displaced fascia may end up joining others and limit movement of surrounding muscles, bones, or organs.

Or you can do that the body ends up molding to a way of being that allows one to stay on one’s feet but at the cost of a lot of tension and with increasingly stiff or limited movement.

However, in the same way that the fascias deform and move causing tensions, you can work on them to reverse the process and reorganize the body.

In fact, rolfing holds that without this mechanical inversion work, any changes that occur on body structure -relaxing a muscle or improving posture- is doomed to be temporarybecause deformed fascias will cause the body to go out of alignment again.

How to prepare for a rolfing session?

The first thing that is done in a rolfing session is a body reading. With the person standing, the rolfer examine where do you put more weight: whether in front or back, to the right or to the left.

Also observe if when breathing there is muscles that have restricted movementif the head, shoulders, hips are well aligned…

“It is important to discover where does each tension originate. Where does the torso begin to lean forward? Are the feet unstable? Are the knees or pelvis deviated? Does the chest have space?”, clarifies the therapist.

“Anyway, as soon as the person walks through the door I look at how he walks, how he moves in relation to me… All that gives me a lot of information”.

the rest of the work is done on a stretcheralthough for the back an adjustable-height bench is sometimes used.

palpating the rolfer can note the different stretches of fascia and see if they have adhered to bone structures, if there are superimposed fascias that cause one muscle to drag another… Through touching, stretching and other manipulationsmaking them more flexible and returning them to the good position.

Manipulations can be soft or firm, sometimes even painfulso the rolfer maintains a constant dialogue with the person to ensure that it is bearable.

Besides you can make him participate asking him to take his breath to some point or to move some part of the body.

As the fascias are released, emotions may arise. “A security space is created so that they can express themselves naturally,” explains Bettina Hippel.

How are the sessions structured?

Rolfing is made up of ten personalized sessions from 45-90 minutes. each person is unique and the rolfer it adjusts more or less to this structure according to the needs.

At the end of each session guidelines are given so that be aware of the changes and learn to move more “economically” in daily life.

Read Also: 10 foods that help you against acne

Between sessions, 1 or 2 weeks elapses. at most, to take advantage of the body’s memory. Once the cycle is finished, they are allowed to pass 6 months for the work to be integrated.

After this time, it is seen if there is any part of the body with tendency to decompensate and create tensionand if considered appropriate, additional sessions are held.

Although the overall purpose is to align the body on its axis, objectives are pursued in each session that allow them to be structured into three blocks:

Sessions 1 to 3: favor a free respiratory movement. In the first session, the inspirational capacity, mobilizing shoulders, thorax and hips. In the second, the basis for a good body structure is created. improving foot support and giving them independence with respect to the legs. In the third one, the balance between front and back of the body, so that when viewed in profile it does not lean forwards or backwards.Sessions 4 to 7: they work on control and abandonment of the pelvisso that it can better transmit the movement of the body; the intestines, creating space for the internal organs; The release of the vertebral column and the sacrum; and the head. It is the central core of work.Sessions 8 to 10: consolidate the work done and give stability to the new structure. The first two sessions seek to improve the relationship of the internal space with the exterior. The last one is dedicated to integrate the changesgiving a physical sensation of continuity throughout the body.

Rolfing step by step

1. The shaft

The perception of an inner axis allows to integrate the benefits of rolfing and feel how the force of gravity flows by the body

They are the hands of the therapist those that guide us but, above all, their presence and their own experience of that state.

2. The thorax

The objective of the first rolfing session is the release of the superficial fasciae of the thorax to improve inspiration.

He rolfer he perceives the restrictions with his hands and, through gentle movements, manipulates the tissue until the ribs move unhindered with the breath.

So rib cage expands with ease in all directions, also from behind.