Reorganized
by Rolf - Fairfield County Weekly,
September 2, 2004
By
Jessica Rae Patton
In
committing to reorganize my physical body through
Rolfing, I've committed to reorganize my greater life
priorities as well.
My
grandmother scared me into standing up straight as
a child. "Scoliosis!" she'd hiss if I relaxed
into the couch cushions or bent toward my dinner plate.
I didn't know the definition of onomatopoeia yet,
but that slithery word sounded just like the condition
it described, and my spine practically curved at its
utterance. Her influence coupled with those humiliating
scoliosis screenings in the junior high nurse's office
left me with the posture of someone compelled to walk
about balancing a bucket of raw sewage on their head.
Despite
my lifelong ramrod stance and no chronic physical
discomfort to speak of--except for a couple high-heel-shoe-induced
bunions--I've long been curious about Rolfing. The
people I know who have undergone this 10-session series
of bodywork, also known as Structural Integration,
rave about it helping everything from recurring lower
back pain to a herniated disc to TMJ.
I
decided to explore Rolfing myself, though, when an
acquaintance, Richard Magee, recently returned from
Australia, where he became a certified Rolfer--and
I didn't recognize him. He appeared thinner, and he'd
traded his glasses for contact lenses, but it was
a less tangible difference I was struck by. Before,
he'd been a mildly depressed-seeming computer programmer
with the requisite slouch borne of the 10-hour stationary
workday. Now he seemed to fully occupy his body, rather
than just use it as a vehicle, a commuter car for
his intellect. He was more animated and just more
comfortable and confident-acting all around, like
he'd found his mojo in the Outback. I was feeling
burned out by my day job and had cultivated a shoulderful
of stress knots as the result, so I signed up for
a 10-session overhaul with Richard-the-Rolfer.
The
story goes that Dr. Ida Rolf, a scientist who earned
her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Columbia in the '20s,
developed the system that now bears her name as an
alternative to surgery for her son, who had scoliosis.
She viewed the human body as a structure in a continual
struggle with gravity to remain vertical. When the
various segments, or "blocks," of the body
are properly aligned one on top of the other, their
centers of gravity in a line, deep muscles operate
reflexively to properly distribute the body's weight
and maintain upright balance. If this relationship
to gravity has been upset, however, by physical trauma
or poor habits, the external muscles begin to strain
to maintain the upright posture. The connective tissue
called fascia that holds our muscles together and
to our bones adapts to these habits, webbing around
and holding muscles out of alignment.
Rolf
discovered that the fascia was pliable; it could be
stretched and repositioned with deep stroking motions
coupled with the client's movement of a particular
area. Her principle was, "Hold tissues where
they are supposed to be and induce movement."
This loosening of the fascia allowed the muscles to
lengthen and return to their natural alignment. It
also, she contended, restored greater freedom of movement
and a larger capacity for breathing.
Additionally,
Rolf proposed that this treatment could facilitate
the release of deeply blocked emotions and traumatic
memories "held" in the muscles, and encourage
emotional serenity and spiritual connectedness. The
Rolf Institute steers clear of metaphysical claims
these days, sticking with those that may be scientifically
validated, but the idea that the body holds emotional
issues that the deep work of Rolfing may release is
a prevailing theme on many Rolfers' personal websites
I viewed.
Over
time, Rolf developed a series of 10 one-hour sessions
that systematically "reorganize" the entire
body from the feet up, proceeding from the outside
muscle layers to the deeper ones. Sessions one through
three are known as the "superficial" sessions
and focus on the surface layers of the fascia (and
their corresponding muscle groups). Sessions four
through seven are the "core" sessions, addressing
the deeper fascia and muscles. Eight through 10 are
the "integrative" sessions, during which
the practitioner synthesizes all the work of the previous
sessions. The sessions are systemized to such a degree
that, theoretically, there is little variation in
the treatment from one Rolfer to the next.
In
1971, Rolf founded The Rolf Institute For Structural
Integration www.rolf.org>, based in Boulder, Colo.,
as a school to train and certify "Rolfers,"
of which there are more than 1,200 worldwide.
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Sessions
1-3: Or, The Inappropriate Undergarment Sessions
In
the first session, Richard took my medical history
and asked about any recurring or present pain or discomfort.
He asked me to let him know if any pressure was too
intense or could be deeper, and told me that unlike
a massage, Rolfing is interactive, so if I seemed
to zone out or doze off he would "bring me back."
He
then asked me to undress. Rolfing wardrobe protocol
is to dress modestly in as little as possible so the
practitioner can observe and access the client's whole
structure. For a woman this would be an opaque bra
and panties with full back coverage, neither of which
I own. I wore too much the first session--a tank top--and
forgot a bra altogether for the second. On my way
to the third I realized I had a thong on, so I stopped
to buy a modest bikini--is that an oxymoron?--which
became my Rolfing uniform.
Under
this scrutiny, I'm certain I immediately began walking
in a way I'd never walked before--hesitant, lurching,
butt clenched, not breathing. He pointed out that
my posture was hyper-erect, that from the side, my
shoulders were more in line with my back than centered
("Scoliosis!"). He observed my overall gait,
as well as how air lifted my chest or filled my belly.
Then I lay on the table, where he massaged my ribcage
to increase breathing capacity--but massage is the
wrong word. There was this thing we did as kids called,
unfortunately, an "Indian burn," where you
put both hands on someone's leg or arm and twist the
skin in opposite directions. That's what it felt like,
this Rolfing business. But I did feel an immediate
expansiveness in my chest.
Session
two was foot-focused. Honestly, I was dubious that
anything but surgery to shave down the bone spurs
that protrude from the base of each big toe could
offer lasting pain relief. Since developing bunions
a decade ago, acupuncture, massage, stretching and
insoles have helped in measures, but an aching sensation
always hovers nearby. After examining my feet, Richard
gripped my ankles and instructed me to move my feet
in opposition to his hold. He rubbed lengthwise down
the shinbone muscle, and had me point and flex my
foot while doing so. This was the most painful few
moments of the 10 weeks, but it lead to the simple
revelation that this shin muscle constriction I was
previously unaware of contributed to the discomfort
in my feet.
Session
three was more generalized, addressing the overall
side profile alignment, manipulating the fascia along
the length of the side body to most efficiently stack
shoulders, ribcage, pelvis and hips on top of one
another.
One
clear theme was present throughout all 10 sessions--the
administering of a sensation that all but the most
masochistic would classify as pain, followed by immediate
relief. I came to think of it not as painful, however,
but as the sensation of pain exiting the body. It
was certainly never excruciating or unbearable, and
never lasted longer than the actual stroke along a
calf or forearm or length of my neck. It felt like
pain with a purpose--the difference between banging
one's shin on a piece of furniture and the hurts-so-good
burn of a hard workout.
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Sessions
4-7: Or, "You're Going to Put Your Hands Where?"
Sessions
Sessions
four through seven are referred to as the "core"
sessions. In concept, the core is the deep center
of the body from inner leg, up through the groin and
pelvis, under the ribs and through the jaw. Session
four focuses on the inner leg and pelvis; five is
all about the belly, working on separating the abdominal
muscles ("I'm making a six-pack," Richard
reported as he probed my gut) and massaging the fascia
around the visceral (vital organ) system. Six was
primarily focused on the rotator connectors of the
hips and butt. I never knew how much strain sitting
on one's ass for eight hours a day caused until Richard
bore into these muscle groups.
Though
he had watched me walk around nearly naked and had
nearly gone with his hands where no one but a lover
or gynecologist had before, session seven was by far
the most intimate of the 10. Richard donned a latex
glove, brought forth a tube of KY jelly, and swiveled
his finger up my nose. Probably very few folks have
had anyone's finger but their own in this particular
orifice. I will boldly admit that it wasn't altogether
unpleasant. Afterwards, it felt like there was a breeze
behind my eyes, like my sinuses had been spring-cleaned.
He also dug into the space where jawbones and muscles
meet inside of my mouth (while wearing a different
glove), having me widen and close my mouth while doing
so, which alleviated significant tension that had
collected there from an occasional teeth-grinding
habit.
I
arrived on time to my appointments with Richard. In
fact, I'm starting to be on time more often than not.
"Um, what does that have to do with Rolfing?"
you wonder. So do I. Procrastination and running late
are lifelong themes (just ask my editor at the Weekly
), habits that I hate but haven't ever quite been
able to shake despite therapy, knowing all the theories
around the whys of procrastination, and multiple alarm
clocks. I can't say why I've been struck punctual,
or what that could possibly have to do with someone
sticking his finger up my nose, but I thought I'd
mention it.
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Sessions
8-10: Or, How to Change One's Life in 2-1/2 Months
The
last three sessions are devoted to tying together
the work of the previous seven. Session eight focused
on the lower body, nine on the upper body, and 10
was minor structural adjustments following my final
catwalk around Richard's table, topped off with movement
education reminders. Throughout the series, Richard
gave me cues to use in day-to-day life to self-correct
old habits in order to help the Rolfing work "stick."
Called Rolfing Movement Integration, as stated on
the Rolf Institute's website, "the Rolfer helps
clients become aware of inhibiting movement patterns
and gives them the means to change them ... Rolfing
is as concerned with how people experience and use
their bodies as with their structural organization
in gravity."
Two
weeks after my final session, all I can say definitively
is I haven't had foot pain since that second session.
None, even after several guilty-pleasure hours of
wearing stilettos one night. I also have less tension
in my shoulders in general.
I
cannot prove that getting Rolfed helped me quit my
job and find work with more flexible hours, organize
my home office, show up on time for appointments and
finally pursue an ambitious writing project I've put
off for two years, all things that came to pass over
that 10-week time span. Perhaps Ida Rolf would contend
that in committing to reorganize my physical body
I've committed to reorganize my greater life priorities
as well. I sit writing with a new sense of ease in
my posture and personally think she was onto something.
Even though I'm turning this article in late.
Richard
Magee can be reached at (203) 644-2984 or <www.rolfme.com>.
