Rolfing: Reestablishing the Natural Alignment and Structural Integration of the Human Body for Vitality and Well-Being

464 Pages·1989·13.45 MB·English

by  Ida P. Rolf

Ida P. Rolf
ROLFING
Reestablishing the Natural Alignment
and Structural Integration of the Human Body
for Vitality and Well-being
Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D.
Illustrations by John Lodge, M.A.
Photographs by Ron Thompson
Healing Arts Press
Rochester, Vermont
To the many people who helped carry the load, and to Marianne
McDonald, who made the load so much easier to carry.
Contents
Foreword
Preface Literal Thorns in Literal Flesh
CHAPTERS
1 Twentieth-Century Monism
2 Roadmap to Structure
3 Fascia — Organ of Support
4 Feet: The First Challenge
5 In a Balanced Body, When Flexors Flex, Extensors Extend
6 The Seat of the Soul Is Physiological
7 Your Psoas
8 The Pelvis Has Many Facets
9 The Joint that Determines Symmetry
10 Function Is Movement
11 The Function of a Normal Erect Spine Is to Distribute Weight
12 Function as a Relationship
13 The Bipolar Unit
14 The Upper Movement System
15 The Vertical Thrust
16 The Upper Pole
17 Many People Refer to This Drama as Pain
18 Evolution Is the Expression of Internal Events
Footnotes
About the Author
About Inner Traditions
Copyright
Foreword
The writing of this book has extended over four years—four years of the odd
weekend, the in-between couple of months stolen from a heavy schedule of
teaching and lecturing, traveling and treatments. The perceptive will notice that
it changes pace and level from time to time, the influence of time and
discussions as the circle of rolfing has widened, the result of reflection on the
questions of students. The book is intended for two types of readers: the
interested but untrained layman and the professional wanting technical
information. We have attempted to marry these two levels of complexity, chiefly
through the medium of the illustrations and their captions, which often have
more technical information than the text.
Structural Integration is a statement of a point of view. Although we have
tried to retain a sense of how Structural Integration fits with traditional ways of
seeing the body, the main effort has been to unfold its ideas and implications in
the light of our experience. The technique of Structural Integration deals
primarily with the physical man; in practice, considerations of the physical are
inseparable from considerations of the psychological.
Many will read this book hoping that it will answer the question, What is
rolfing? It does, of course, answer that question, but perhaps not in the expected
form. The book is a demonstration of the principles of the body, the manner in
which it is made, and how this creature can change. The technique of Structural
Integration is a conversion of these ideas into a therapeutic tool. The technique
itself involves a ten-hour cycle of deep manual intervention in the elastic soft
tissue structure (myofascia) of the body. The goal of this treatment is balance of
the body in the gravity field; the principle of the treatment is, in brief, that if
tissue is restrained, and balanced movement demanded at a nearby joint, tissue
and joint will relocate in a more appropriate equilibrium.
This is a simplified statement; the reality is more complex both in practice and
in effect. We have made an effort to give no helpful hints to those who would
enjoy a little home experimentation. The technique of Structural Integration is
powerful, and the resultant changes are far-reaching. As practitioners, we do not
aim for change alone; we wish to induce change toward balance. Change without
balance can be destructive. Experience has taught us that recognition of balance
and understanding its many ramifications are subtle arts and long-term
disciplines. Balance in the body does not reveal itself to the dilettante; it is a
matter of intuition, experience, knowledge, and study.
Structural Integration does not “cure” symptoms. In fact, as practitioners we
refuse to consider or diagnose symptoms except to investigate possible reasons
for postponing our work (e.g., acute pain or illness of any kind, prolonged or
massive medication or addiction). In addition to the obvious change in structure
and stance, there are many other varied effects of rolfing. They are best summed
up in the phrase “I feel better” (or “lighter” or “easier”). The added ease, the
improved vitality are the result of greater balance; this does its own beneficial
work on physical and psychological ills.
We are asked if rolfing is permanent. Rolfing enters into the body’s process
and changes its course. Unless an accident intervenes, the body will continue
along its new course. The effects of rolfing are not simply permanent, they are
progressive.
We have included about a thousand photographs and drawings. The
photographs give at least a static impression of the changes resulting from
Structural Integration and illustrate definitions and comments on average
structure, it should be noted that, with two exceptions, all photographs are of
individuals processed by students during training classes. The two exceptions are
practitioners of Structural Integration who received additional processing in the
course of their training.
The anatomical drawings presented an unexpected and difficult problem.
What was needed were drawings that would make graphic the anatomical
balances discussed in the text. We soon discovered that the illustrations in
standard anatomical books show no balance. Presumably, this is because the
models used for these drawings are mostly hospital dissections, usually of bodies
that suffered from disease and privation. John Lodge’s problem was to convert
this textbook anatomy to balanced, living anatomy. A practitioner of Structural
Integration, he accomplished this in drawings that are masterpieces of clarity and
style, giving a new look at human anatomy and a new point of view for the
student.
As we have discussed the ideas of this book with friends and associates, it has
become obvious that one of its contributions will be to the concepts relating
psyche and soma. It is an accepted truism that body and mind co-act, express
each other, influence each other, yet there are few satisfying constructs defining
the relation. Does psyche determine physiology, or is the opposite true? Where
do the various schools of physical and psychological human improvement fit in?
What could be called a valid definition of human improvement? We are adding
to this discussion the evidence of experience with the ideas and the technique of
Structural Integration. We hope the reader will gain objectivity from our
experience and perhaps shift the level of his understanding.
Rosemary Feitis
New York, 1973
Structural Integration is now more popularly called rolfing, which is a
trademark of the Rolf Institute, Box 1868, Boulder, Colorado 80306.
R.F.