Many have not heard of Rolfing® but those who have the first word that might come to mind, is pain. This perception is most often based from experiences passed along from sessions that were performed during the birth of Rolfing®. At this time, it was far less subtle of a discipline, however, over time things grow and accommodate now knowledge and experience, Rolfing® is no different. At its founding in the 70’s fascia was believed to be a much more tough and inelastic material; this was due to cadavers being embalmed prior to scientific examination. Once science began using uncontaminated donations, it was realized just how elastic and pliable the bodies fascial system truly is. This knowledge enabled the practitioners to adapt their touch accordingly. As a Rolfer® we are taught to use a spectrum of touch and pressure. For example; when we work ‘deep’ it is not always with more intense pressure, but a far softer touch working along fascial lines that run deep into the structural system, some directly to the bone. There may be times and areas that a client feels more discomfort, but we work with our clients and by continuously checking in with them. We aim to address those areas with brief intensity, without reaching a level of pain. Trauma can be a factor in a client’s sense of discomfort, and there can even be areas of trauma that carry with them an emotional charge. Once released the body can respond in various ways, including but not limited to crying, shaking or feelings of nausea. We are trained to recognize the subtle changes in the body once triggered and our job is to meet you where you are and hold the space you need.

Rolfing® is not massage in any form, nor is massage a type of Rolfing®. It is its own modality all together, Structural Integration. Myofascial release borrows some of the ideas and techniques of Structural Integration and some of the touch we do as Rolfers® may feel like what you have received with massage. However, the intention behind our touch and technique is completely different. Our fundamental goal is not relaxation nor is it simple and temporary pain relief. Rather, it is to align the body along a vertical-axis using the body’s own systems and their relation to one-another. Then, taking in even further by relating and integrating the whole body into the environment, with gravity. Relaxation, pain relief and all-around increased function is often the result from a properly integrated body.

Dr. Ida Rolf, overcame the resistance of her being a woman in her time, receiving her Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1920. From the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. After which she spent a number of years at the Rockefeller Institute working and researching chemotherapy and organic chemistry, where she eventually became an Associate Professor. She later went on to study at the Swiss Technical University in Zurich, mathematics and atomic physics, and in Geneva she studied homeopathic medicine. Due to family health problems, she spent many years in different healing and manipulation systems, studying and experimenting with; homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic and yoga. Finally concluding that these practices had some very pertinent similarities at their core; alignment, anatomical structure and physiological function. Through her incredible knowledge and expertise, she developed what she coined as Structural Integration, known today as Rolfing®. A new way of looking at, and rehabilitating the body. She spent years traveling and teaching structural integration to specialists in their field, but realized quickly many were not adopting Rolfing® as a unique modality but rather taking pieces of it and adding it to their own practices, dissecting SI just as they did the body, looking at it as individual parts rather than a whole. In 1971 she opened the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute of Structural Integration in Boulder, Colorado. Where it remains today carrying on her legacy, training new practitioners, educating the public and continue research into fascia.