“It’s Mystical, but it’s Physical”

admin — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:24:28 +0000

“It’s Mystical, but it’s Physical” (The way one client expressed his experience of Rolf Structural Integration)

In my practice, MedicinEvolution, I’ve heard clients say some of the most interesting things after experiencing Rolf Structural Integration. I want to share some of what I can recall with you.
•    Since the session the world has been more vivid, my senses seemed to be more acute. That goes for every sense, my hearing, sight, smell, etc. I notice things I didn’t before although they’ve always been right in front of me.
•    For some reason I have access to a wider range of vocabulary.
•    I felt a sense of spirituality. I became Muslim.
•    This work has will help develop your intuition.
•    I’m an athlete, I know my foot, but I’ve never been able to feel my foot like this before. The awareness that it has brought, amazing!
•    I’m much more aware of my body.
•    Before the work I used to live in the attic (pointing to her head). Now I feel like I’ve come down to live in the house (pointing to her body).
•    I wanted to get married, and now I’m engaged.
•    His confidence is better.
•    She’s happier!
•    That night after the 6th session all of my symptoms the night of the car accident returned i.e., vomitting, back pain, headache, etc. just like they were. By the time I woke in the morning they were gone. My back pain is gone.
•    Don’t take your hand off my back, I can feel the pain leaving through your hand. Keep it right where it is. (A very good friend during his bout with cancer, I miss you)
•    My asthma went away.
•    I totally forgot that I wore leg braces. That was 20 something years ago, and right now I am recalling the Dr. and his exact address. That’s weird. (While reestablishing balance in his lower legs)
•    Emotions could no longer anchor themselves to flesh, they’d come and go.
•    I grew an inch.
•    I feel stronger.
•    I feel younger.
•    I feel skinnier.
•    My old pants fit me again.
•    What I’ve learned from Structural Integration is that I can prevent my own future ailments.
•    I don’t get sick like I used to, I would’ve expected to get sick this winter.
•    I’ve experienced a new level of health and fitness.
•    I consider it a part of my training (as a triathlete).
•    I’ve been to a lot of reputable people but no one ( like a Structural Integration practitioner) waits for the body to move, I feel like this does something.
•    I can sleep better.
•    I didn’t feel a thing after the ten sessions. After returning from a 200 mile hike on the Pacific Coast Trail I don’t think I would’ve made it if I didn’t go through this work.
•    I was shy, the uprightness that I feel makes me feel better about myself.
•    After only a few sessions I could already feel the results not only in the way my back felt but my posture, breathing and the way I was moving. I knew that the underlying postural imbalances were beginning to correct themselves.

If you read through the literature of alternative medicine you can find interesting things like this. What I love about the Rolf work is that its focus is to release, clarify, define, communicate, support, and organize the physical body. As a result, the purity of the physical work can sometimes lead to a sort of veil being removed between different aspects of one’s being, the direct correlation, then, becomes clear. Here are some physical goals during the ten session process of Rolf Structural Integration:
•    Bringing length to the front of the body.
•    Stacking major segments more appropriately.
•    Increasing the vital capacity (breath).
•    Helping the (3) foot arches to function properly.
•    Balancing knees over ankles.
•    Lengthening the back and supporting the spine by restoring correct position of muscles and soft tissue.
•    To win back “sides” of the body
•    Coaxing length in inner legs and revitalizing the pelvic floor.
•    Awakening deep structures and relating anatomy superficial and deep.
•    Freeing the sacrum from the pelvis and restoring it as part of the spine.
•    Horizontalizing the pelvis (the “seat of the soul” as Dr. Rolf described it).
•    Enabling micro-movements to the bones of the head and unifying the spine and all its complexities.
•    Integrating movement of the limbs into the body and empowering a broader more unified range of motion.
•    Establishing optimal joint function, nervous system health, organ space, structure and function, function and structure, three-dimensional body.

Charming Growth

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 08:13:56 +0000

Julia was two months old when she first came into the office. She was fussy, cried a lot, and looked small for her age. Despite what I perceived to be a trying child, her mother Michelle was happy and positive. Michelle seemed to have an intuitive sense of hope for her young daughter. On intake, I found a child who woke up every 1 1/2 hours through the night, cried incessantly, and made sharp body movements as if she demanded some internal change. She had been on a laxative for the past three weeks. Constipation seemed to be the underlying issue, however the frequency of her stools had not changed since starting the laxatives. She would still only pass a stool once every 5 to 8 days, which had been ongoing since birth. The laxatives weren’t working.

Julia went through ten sessions of bodywork. The first four sessions seemed very uncomfortable for Julia. She would cry and squirm as if she did not like the bodywork and was trying to get away. I imagine it was painful for her. Her mother would sometimes have to hold her to calm her down. I would work with Julia in this manner, but she was still clearly uncomfortable. By the third session her stools moved consistently every three days. By session five she began to sleep through the night, and by the seventh session she seemed better rested from her daytime naps. Furthermore, throughout the sessions, Julia’s body appeared to lengthen. By the eighth session Julia actually welcomed the sessions. It was as if she knew my intention, and she knew that what I was doing was good for her. She came more into her body -it no longer looked like a cramped living space and she was no longer making sharp body movements. In fact, her body movements became smooth and free. From that session on, she looked much happier and came in with a glowing presence. I felt as if living in her body was a lot easier now.

Julia’s infrequent bowel movements were not the cause of her problems - they were a symptom of some internal disorganization. On a surface level I could see and feel deep tense holding patterns. In school we were taught that movement patterns and the tone of soft tissue are clues as to what is going on at deeper levels in the body. For instance, one thing that was quite noticeable early in the sessions was how Julia would constantly carry tension in her back. There was quite a bit of tension in and around her neck and shoulders and her mid-lower back. As the tension eased, her stools normalized. Chronic tension can affect anything and everything from organs, bones, muscles, nerves, fluids, energy, mood, and/or emotions. Bodywork during the early stages of life can have positive effects for years to come.

MedicinEvolution - Bodywork Beyond Massage » movement

“It’s Mystical, but it’s Physical”

Charming Growth