What is Rolfing® Structural Integration?

Whatever Your Profession, Passion, or Age – Rolfing Integration Offers You a Proven Pathway to Greatly Enhanced Physical Flexibility, Vitality, and Balance

Rolfing is a whole-system approach that reorganizes and gently sculpts the connective tissues, called fascia, that permeates the entire body.

Named after its founder, Dr. Ida P. Rolf, Rolfing® Structural Integration (SI) is a powerful system of deep tissue bodywork and movement education. Rolfing goes much deeper than traditional massage therapy. It is a systematic approach to improving human structure and well-being.

“This is the goal of Rolfing: When the body is working properly, the force of gravity can flow through it. Then, spontaneously, the body heals itself.” – Ida P. Rolf

The power in the Rolfing Ten Series System is that it takes a look at the whole body. In other forms of soft tissue manipulation, the focus might be on just relaxation, or just fixing an issue in your joints, spine, and tissue. Rolfing is more than massage therapy, physical therapy, osteopathy and chiropractic – it takes all of these views into account. That’s why often Rolfers work to collaborate with and refer out to these physicians.

That’s Why Millions of People Have Turned to the Rolfing Method Over the Past 40 Years

Its hands-on, whole-body approach to releasing deeply ingrained patterns of tension and strain has been highly effective in treating everything from neck and back pain to impaired mobility, repetitive motion injuries, and other chronic tension.

The Rolfing method goes well beyond conventional therapies and other forms of manual therapy such as deep tissue massage and myofascial release, to balance the body in gravity for permanent relief. What’s more, many people find the Rolfing experience to be an excellent way to keep their bodies flexible and adaptable – able to meet the daily stresses and changing demands of life. In fact, professional athletes and dancers have long used the Rolfing method to enhance their performance.

Rolfing enables the body to regain the natural integrity of its form, thus enhancing postural efficiency and freedom of movement. Rolfing has the ability to dramatically alter a person’s posture, body structure, and body contour.

“When your joints are neutral and integrated, it creates radiance, evenness, and ease in your body and contours.”

What Results Can You Expect From Rolfing?

For over four decades, Rolfing SI has brought lasting results for chronic pain and various other conditions while promoting an enhanced sense of vitality and well-being in people of all ages and walks of life. Not only does this Rolfing process help you avoid the degenerative effects that arise when you are out of balance with gravity, but it also enables you to experience new sensitivity toward your body and the physical world. Rolfing clients also frequently achieve greater psychological and emotional well-being. It has helped people in psychotherapy gain a more direct connection to their emotional life. And for many, it has deepened practices of meditation, yoga, tai chi, and other mind-body disciplines.

As years of old postural habits, injuries, and the physical manifestations of emotional traumas give way to new patterns and experiences through Rolfing structural work, your body’s structure begins to take a new form and shape. At ease with your body and balanced in gravity, you experience an enhanced sense of flexibility and freedom. And best of all, your body is better able to adapt to life’s demands and stresses in a way that doesn’t result in physical constriction, tension, and injury.

Most people come to their Rolfing session with a list of complaints – some minor and some symptomatic and indicative of deeper structural trouble. While they are aware of the discomfort associated with their troubles, they are often unaware of the more subtle body sensations that would give them the ability to consciously alter their physical coordination and relieve some of their aches and pains.

During the Rolfing series, as restricted tissues are released and new movements become possible, greater body awareness is accessed. You can expect that the combination of freedom from physical restriction and greater self-awareness will result in new patterns of coordination and reduced strain at the sites of the pain.