AWARENESS

In the Rolfing process, clients improve their structural/postural alignment as restrictions and fixations are released. With this new freedom and openness, clients can now be guided to an awareness of unhealthy, dysfunctional movement and to identify areas of their physical self that are not well-integrated.

EXPLORATION

Through this process, new, healthy patterns are learned while dysfunctional habits are changed. The client and practitioner work together to improve coordination in gestures (i.e., pushing, pulling, reaching, bending, and extending) and in everyday activities such as sitting, standing, and walking.

EDUCATION

For example, certain types of lower back pain are now seen by many researchers as being a repetitive stress injury caused by faulty walking, the injury aggravated by every step taken.

By helping the client push off efficiently with their toes, landing correctly on the outer half of the foot, and allowing more side-to-side motion through the hips, one can lessen the strain on the injured area.

GUIDANCE

The client can reclaim walking as a healthy and life-affirming activity, every step building health and strength rather than destroying it.

INTEGRATION

Rolf Movement Integration can be done within the context of a Rolfing session or as a session specifically dedicated to movement. Sessions specifically dedicated to Rolf Movement Integration allow a client to focus more deeply on issues such as injury rehabilitation, improving coordination, or enhancing performance in artistic, athletic, or work-related activity.

FREEDOM

The hands-on fascial mobilization work of Rolfing often produces a dramatic sense of freedom and spaciousness in a client’s body, a feeling of being effortlessly balanced and supported in the gravitational field. Rolf Movement Integration helps clients integrate this newfound freedom, openness, and balance into daily life.

We work with movement cues, images, and metaphors to anchor and ground newly discovered perceptions. Simple coordination exercises are practiced, and clients learn injury prevention and rehabilitation techniques tailored to their specific situation. In this way, movement education makes it possible to fully embrace the awareness and insights gained from the Rolfing session.