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If you can imagine how it feels to live in a fluid, light, balanced
body, free of pain, stiffness and chronic stress, at ease with
itself and the gravitational field, then you will understand
the purpose of Rolfing.
"After he explained it, I was still scratching my head,"
she says.
But she gave it a try. Lucinda suffers from scoliosis. Her
spine curves from side to side like an S, which causes all sorts
of aches, pains and problems.
Rolfers use their hands, elbows and even knees to manipulate
and retrain the body's muscles and connective tissue to work
the way they should. The domino effect often balances the entire
body.
"I can already see a difference in the alignment of my
body," Lucinda says. She's finished five of 10 treatments.
"I still don't understand it, but I like the results very
much."
Greg, 41, liked the results, too. He was rolfed 13 years ago.
He broke his collarbone the summer after he earned his master's
degree in flute performance from the University of Wisconsin.
He found performance jobs in California after he healed. But
within three years, his pain was so bad - he couldn't move his
fingers much - that he went to a chiropractor. His future wife
steered him to a rolfer.
Ida Rolf created the soft-tissue manipulation system 50 years
ago. Her idea was to help the body work with gravity.
Injury, stress, poor posture and illness cause imbalances
that trigger more imbalances. Bodies adapt, but wear and tear
on the wrong places eventually takes its toll.
RECENT
RESEARCH
Research conducted at UCLA by Dr. Valerie Hunt, showed that
Rolfing:
* Creates a more efficient use of the muscles.
* Allows the body to conserve energy.
* Creates more economical and refined patterns of
movement
More recent research conducted at the University of Maryland
demonstrated that Rolfing:
* Significantly reduces chronic stress and changes
body structure for the better.
* Significantly reduces the spinal curvature of
subjects with lordosis (sway back).
* Enhances neurological functioning in general.
Surprisingly, these changes in structure and function are
long lasting and rarely require maintenance sessions.
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