What is Rolfing?

Rolfing is a system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organizes the whole body in gravity. Rolfing affects the body’s posture and structure by manipulating the myofascial system (connective tissue). Research has demonstrated that Rolfing creates more efficient muscle use, allows the body to conserve energy, and creates more economical and refined patterns of movement. Rolfing has also been shown to significantly reduce chronic stress, reduce spinal curvature in subjects with lordosis (sway back), and enhance neurological functioning.

Who Uses It?

People seek Rolfing as a way to reduce pain and chronic stress, generally resulting from physical and emotional traumas. Rolfing is used by many professional athletes, dancers and entertainers to improve performance. Some manufacturing companies have employed Rolfing to decrease workers’ compensation costs due to repetitive stress injuries. And, based on the mind/body connection, many counselors and therapists are incorporating Rolfing in the therapeutic approach. Greater physical support and flexibility ultimately influences emotions and energy levels.

How is Rolfing Different from Massage?

Through soft tissue manipulation and movement education, Rolfers affect body posture and structure over the long-term. Massage typically focuses on relaxation and relief of muscle discomfort, while Rolfing is aimed at improving body alignment and functioning. As structure becomes more organized, chronic strain patterns are alleviated, and pain and stress decreases.

Furthermore, Rolfing can speed up injury recovery by reducing pain, stiffness and muscle tension; improving movement and circulation around joints; and attending to both the injury and any secondary pain that may develop from favoring the injury.

Rolfing is generally performed over a series of ten sessions. This approach allows the Rolfer to affect the client’s structure in a methodical manner. This includes loosening superficial fascia before working deeper areas, improving support in feet and legs before affecting higher structures, and helping clients find ways to benefit from freer movement in their daily activities.

What to Expect

Rolfing is done on a massage table, but there is more client movement than during a massage. Clients shift positions several times in a session to allow better access of the area being worked. For this reason the typical draping done with sheets during a massage is not done in a Rolfing session. Clients are covered with a sheet and a blanket for temperature comfort.

The most important thing regarding what to wear during is a session is that the client is at ease in the therapeutic setting. Some clients are comfortable their underwear: briefs and bra for women and briefs or boxers for men. Other options are workout gear like shorts and exercise bra for women, bathing suits, or what would be worn to a yoga class. Again, it is most important that the client be at ease in the session and not worried about his or her state of undress.

About Michael Roberts, Certified Rolfer, C.M.T.

Michael graduated from the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration® in Boulder, Colorado and is a Certified Rolfer®. He has had the opportunity to study and mentor under some of the great first generation Rolfers including Ray McCall, Gael Rosewood, and Jim Asher. Michael sees Rolfing as a way to look at relationships and compensation patters in the body as it functions upright in gravity. He is deeply interested in functional movement and postural alignment, and how they play a role in our daily lives, and our sense of self. Chronic pain from old sports injuries led Michael to Rolfing. In the process of seeking relief from pain he discovered the multidimensional therapeutic power of bodywork. His work incorporates techniques and formal education with an intentional-touch approach that he has cultivated as a student of multiple mind-body awareness practices.

Prior to his training at the Rolf Institute, he studied therapeutic massage at the Diamond Light School of Healing Arts in Fairfax, CA where he received a great start to his bodywork education and began to understand how complex this work really is.

Throughout his education and practice he’s come to believe that it’s just as important to know human anatomy, as it is to forget about it, and treat the human being as a whole. As a Rolfer he works with all parts of the human structure including connective tissue (fascia), bone, ligaments, and joints, as well as muscles. He is also interested in working with the nervous system, especially in clients with chronic pain and a sense of un-ease in their bodies. He enjoys working with clients whose goals range from pain management, to increased functionality and performance, to a more embodied sense of self.

For more information about Michael’s practice, visit micahelrobertsrolfer.com