What is Rolfing?
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Introduction
I have decided to give ROLFING a try.
Follow my journey!
I spend all day long listening to my body. When I’m stretching, training, doing yoga, walking, sitting, dancing, or mowing the lawn…I am always in detection and assessment mode. Part of being a movement artist is that you can’t quite turn that off. I feel like I am constantly “tuning in” to my physical state. We do this because we train all the time. Even when we’re not training. I stretch during my conversations with you. I do yoga while I wait for my plane to board. I do handstands while my dinner is cooking. It’s not necessarily intentional. It’s just my lifestyle.
I am surrounded by athletes and artists that operate this way. (Although I’ll admit, I’ve been accused of taking it to the extreme. 5-minute plank before bed anyone?) Some may think we are weird or obsessed…maybe we are, but I highly doubt that’s going to change anything–or anyone. We live through movement. We crave it. And to be quite honest, we need it. Not just for physical health, but emotional, mental and spiritual health as well.
When my body isn’t feeling right, it affects my whole day. My attitude, my energy level, and my happiness. The deeper I delve into my movement-based art form, the more barriers I seem to encounter. This is not necessarily a negative. I recognize that the reason I become aware of these barriers is because I am pushing (and extending) the current limits of my body, whether it be strength, agility, or flexibility. This is a good thing. The more limitations (ahem–I mean challenges) I encounter and overcome, the further I will be able to take myself professionally and personally.
Lately I’ve been struggling with some serious hip discomfort and limitations. I think it’s coming from my feet. I have bunions on both feet, one worse than the other. Because of this structural weakness in my feet, I have formed a tendency (over 26 years) to walk on the outside edge of my right foot. This subtle balance shift changes everything from the ground up. I do it unconsciencly, but I am becoming increasingly aware of it and how it may be affecting my posture and long term structural alignment.
I tried to address the issue with a Western Medicine approach. I went to a podiatrist to discuss my options. Since I spend most of my day training movement arts barefoot, a shoe insert was out. It simply wouldn’t be used frequently enough while I was active on my feet to make a difference. With the more passive approach eliminated, that left us with the more aggressive one…surgery. The Doctor’s answer: let them break my foot and screw it back together to fix the misalignment of the bones. I actually considered it. After all, we’re talking about long term structural alignment here! But when it came down to it, I am a dancer, an athlete, a performer, and an instructor. At this point in my life, staying off my foot for 3-6+ months of recovery would be devastating to me. And there’s no guarantee that I will come out of it with less discomfort than I already experience. Why? Because right now my foot is *not* broken. Breaking bones and rehealing them tends to create new pains. Actually, my current complaint is not pain at all–it’s discomfort, mostly felt in reflective areas like my hips and back. From a structural alignment perspective, the surgery may be helpful to me long term, but at what cost to my current lifestyle? I decided not to do the surgery.
So after years of chatting with others about my situation, in hopes that they might have some alternative therapy ideas, something surfaced that caught my attention. Rolfing!
I’ve encountered a few other circus artists that swear by it, and they say that this is the only thing they’ve found that provides them with real long-term relief from physical ailments, plus it improves their overall posture and alignment. One day I met a juggler that struggled from the same foot issues that I do. She too recommended Rolfing. That’s when I really started to look into it.
Basically, it’s a deep tissue massage for your fascia, the connective tissue that spans your whole body. It considers the fact that some muscles are being overworked and some underworked at the same time. Some of your fascia may be too tight, whereas other corresponding tissue may be too loose. A Rolfing treatment series is usually done in 10 visits. In these 10 sessions, the practitioner moves through your entire body. Rolfers don’t just treat the symptom area, they recognize that the human body is a holistic system and that everything is connected. You can’t treat one area, ignore the others, and expect that your ailment will disappear. That’s why when you receive a massage, you feel amazing for a day or two, but then the results slowly start to fade over the coming days, weeks or months. I’m not looking for short term relief anymore…I want long term improvement.
I have already begun my search for a Rolfer here in Bend, Oregon that has experience working with athletes and dancers. I am going to be thorough, because we’re talking about at least 10 sessions of treatment here. That is no small commitment, physically or financially. As someone who’s more in tuned to their body than the average person, I want to be sure that the professional I’m working with is capable of going as deep into my issues as I do everyday.
I’ve decided to blog about my experience with Rolfing for one simple reason. When I started doing research about the practice, the first thing I did was surf the Internet for others who have tried Rolfing, what their experiences were like, what type of relief they found, and whether they thought the results stuck around in the long term. I read everything I could find, which wasn’t much. So I am offering up my experience to others out there that may be setting out on a similar quest. I’m not sure yet how it will turn out, but let’s find out together!
I will be posting blog/vlog updates over the course of the entire treatment. To receive an email when I post a new segment, please sign up below. I would also recommend joining my YouTube page, as I plan to post videos after each treatment I receive to discuss what we did and how it felt.
Part 0
Choosing a Rolfer
My last post here discussed my desire and intention to give Rolfing a try. Rolfing is a method of structural integration that manipulates your connective tissue in order to realign the body. A deep tissue massage for your fascia, if you will. As a yogi, a dancer, and a human, I am exploring this treatment to increase the overall comfort level in my body. I also want to specifically address alignment challenges I’m having due to bunions, which I was lucky enough to genetically inherit from the women in my family. 😉
Finding a ROLFER
Once I decided to give Rolfing a try, I had to focus on finding a practitioner who could take me through the 10-or so sessions that a full Rolfing series requires. There were a handful of Rolfers in my local area, including several with 10-20 years of experience. I made several long phone calls to these individuals, asked them any questions I had, and had them walk me through their approach.
One of the practitioners, Matthew Williams (KMI LMT, BCSI), asked me to come in for a free consultation session. During this session, he spent a significant amount of time talking to me about what he does and how he came to be such a believer in Rolfing. (A massage therapist–turned Rolfer, after he realized that structural integration had longer lasting impacts.) He also listened while I told him every little thing I could think of that would be relevant to our shared goals in the sessions, should we continue to work together. After that, he had me do a series of exercises that taught him about my starting point in this process. Before the session ended, he even did a bit of body work on me to get things started. By the time I left, I realized I had been in there for two hours!
I decided to go with Matthew because of 4 reasons:
- He volunteered a lot of his time to help me explore the potential of treatment with him. I felt that his priority was that I find the right practitioner to help me. If that happens to mean I return to him, that’s great, but I feel confident I could bump into him on the street and not feel the slightest bit weird about not having returned to him either, as long as I had found the treatment I was seeking.
- His office is literally right across the street from my home. So close in fact, that even biking there would be ridiculous. I could crawl there.
- He’s a little crazy. Yep. I thought on this for awhile, and decided that it’s a good thing. Some of the smartest people in the world are crazy as hell. We’re all a little crazy, at least he’s upfront about his crazy. 😉 (And yes, I’m sure he’s read this, and agrees!)
- His brain works completely different then mine. I am a kinesthetic person. I must do it, feel it, or experience to truly understand. He is the complete opposite, more visual, scientific, and theoretical. He looks at and understands the human body way differently than I do. I thought about this difference for awhile. Honestly, it held me up a little bit. But in the end I realized that maybe that difference is exactly what I need. Someone who understands the things I don’t about the inner workings of my muscles and tissue. Maybe it will allow him to notice things that I wouldn’t, and also analyze my situation from a fresh and contrasting perspective.
Updates Along The Way
I haven’t scheduled my first official session yet. That’s why I’ve labeled this article “Session 0”. Once I do, I will return here to share my experience with you all.
Part 1
Superficial Frontline
I’ve officially started my Rolfing series!
This is the second of roughly twelve blog posts that will describe the experience I’ve had with a method of structural integration called Rolfing. I will post one blog/vlog per session with my Rolfer. I will attempt to keep it brief and focused on my observations of the treatment, not necessarily a scientific breakdown of the technique being applied. After all, I am the patient—not the doctor. 😉
The Superficial Frontline
This first session was focused on the body’s superficial frontline. This meant my Rolfer worked up my body, starting at my feet, to release tensions in the “superficial” muscles and fascia (connective tissue).
This includes the quads, rectus abdominis, and pectorals major, as well as initial work with balance of the arches and position of the neck and head. There is an overall focus on creating lift through the front of the body, opening the breath, and releasing the shoulders back. -www.bostonintegratedbody.com
To find out what I felt and thought about my first official session, please take a look at my video blog below. Also, if you want to follow me on this experiment, leave your email in the form above, and I will alert you when I have an update ready. You can also find the rest of my videos regarding this experience on my Youtube page LindsiKay.
Part 2
Superficial Backline
Back for Session 2 of my Rolfing Experiment…He-llo Superficial Backline!
Thank you for joining me on my Rolfing experiment. This post is a part of a special series in which I share my session-by-session Rolfing experience with all of you. The reason I’m sharing this is because when I first discovered Rolfing, I started googling it like crazy, looking for other people–perhaps, dancers or athletes, like me–that had found success with this method of structural integration. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a whole lot. Despite that, over months of research and reading every blog I could find, I decided that I was ready to give Rolfing a try. I am bringing you along with me on this experiment in hopes that it will empower you to make a more educated decision about whether Rolfing is right for you and your body’s ailments.
The Superficial Backline
Session 2 of KMI (Kinesis Myofascial Integration) is all about the superficial muscles and connective tissue (fascia) on the back of the body, the Superficial Backline. This included a lot of work in the plantar fascia of the feet, as well as the spinal muscles (erectors spinae), back of the shoulders, hamstrings, and calves. I must say…Session 2 was intense! Way more so than the first session (The Superficial Frontline) was for me. When I found out why…it made perfect sense. Watch my video blog below to find out why, and venture a guess as to which you would be!
Part 3
The Lateral Line
Rolfing Session 3: The Lateral Line
The third session of a KMI Rolfing series addresses the lateral line of your body. Your Rolfer will work to stretch the fascia that runs along both sides of your body. This treatment seeks to engage the stabilizing muscles and fascia necessary in order to support the work from sessions 1 and 2. This process begins at the feet, working up the outer leg, including the IT band and abdominal obliques. Then up through the rib cage (that was weird!), shoulders and neck.
And The Intensity Continues…
I really liked this session. Although, I must say that the work my Rolfer did on my inner shoulders was probably the most painful yet. The stretching of the connective tissue over the rib cage was also a very strange sensation. Not super painful…more like incredibly uncomfortable. Below is my video blog for session 3, in which I describe my entire experience with the Lateral Line.
Part 4
The Spiral Line
The Final Superficial Session: The Spiral Line
I have completed my fourth session! This one focused on the Spiral Line. This is the final session of the superficial section of the series. In other words, it is the final “once-around” the shallow end, before we start going deeper. The Spiral Line focuses on rotational patterns within the body. This session begins in the arches of the feet and then moves up the legs and core in a spiral fashion, seeking to intersect the lines we worked in the previous three sessions. The work done in session four connects the entire superficial body, allowing it to communicate through tension.
Taking A Step Back To Assess The Big Picture
My video review of my fourth session addresses something particularly important–something I haven’t spoken much about. After going through the session with you, I speak a bit about where I’m at with the series in general. I talk about a few things I’ve noticed, both subtle and extreme. I also share where I’m at in the relationship I’m building with my Rolfer, and I reveal a few revelations that this Rolfing experiment has uncovered for me so far.
Part 5
Lower Deep Front Line
Welcome to the Deep Core Sessions
I’ve made it through session 5! This session is called the lower deep front line, and it is the first in a 3 part subset of the series called the “Deep Core Sessions”. I officially completed my superficial lines in sessions 1-4, which basically primed my fascia for the deeper work to come. So this session was the first in which we went deeper.
KMI Rolfing Session 5: Lower Deep Front Line
Session 5 focuses on the inner leg and it’s support of the knees and pelvis. This session started in the deep arches of my feet, and worked it’s way up my inseam all the way to the pelvic floor. One of the most intense part of this session for me was the work in the adductors, which you can hear more about in the video below.
I had a huge discovery in this session. I identified some lazy muscles that are not firing the way they should be, causing additional stain and reliance on the surrounding muscles to complete my tasks. I also noticed that I have way less understanding and mental control over these more stagnant parts of my body. I cannot isolate and manipulate them as effortlessly as I can other parts of me. This was a fascinating and surprising discovery for me. Hear more about it here…
Part 6
Abdominal and Thoracic Core
Least. Favorite. Rolfing. Session. Ever.
…at least thus far.
KMI Rolfing Session 6: Abdominal and Thoracic Core
When they say deep core sessions, they mean it. This was the most uncomfortable Rolfing session yet for me. It wasn’t all bad, but certain areas were less than enjoyable. Boston Integrated Body describes the abdominal and thoracic core session (6) below.
In this central region of the Deep Front Line we continue the work of releasing restrictions between the pelvis and the base of the neck. The session addresses the psoas, iliacus, quadratus lumborum, and respiratory diaphragm to create support for the lumbars and a stable base for the torso. The session also includes deep work for the rib cage and abdominal areas through release of fascial adhesions in the visceral spaces. https://bostonintegratedbody.com
We did a lot of breath awareness exercises in this session that have really helped me focus more attention towards my breath. Below I go into a bit more detail about my experience with this session. It was a powerful session. No denying that.
Part 7
Deep Back Line
If the last session was my least favorite one so far…then this was my favorite!
KMI Rolfing Session 7: Deep Back Line
I’ve been waiting for the Deep Back Line session ever since I first met my Rolfer. I described my ailments and my goals for the series, and he looked at me and said “Then you’re going to love session 7, that’s when we’ll get deep into those hips!” What a coincidence that my favorite session so far would come directly after the most uncomfortable one.
This session is all about balancing the last two deep core sessions with support from the back. It focuses on spinal alignment in detail, addressing each and every vertebrae of the spine. Session 7 of KMI also does deep work in the hip rotators to balance the sacrum and SI joints. This was a very yummy session for me. Watch the video below to learn more about my experience with this session as well as some observations I had in the week following the treatment.
Part 8
Upper Deep Front Line
I hope you’re ready…this session gets a little weird.
* Don’t let the strangeness of this session scare you off though, it wasn’t painful, just a little shocking.
KMI Rolfing’s Session 8: The Upper Deep Front Line
This is the final session in the deep core session subset of the KMI Rolfing series. As I understand it, it’s also unique to the Structural Integration approach we’re working with. This session works in the deep myofascial structures of the neck. It addresses cranium release, jaw symmetry, fascial muscle tension, sinuses and breath.
I wasn’t sure it was possible…but I think this session got a little weirder for me than that deep rib cage session we had a few weeks ago. While I have had a lot of deep neck attention in the past, I haven’t had a lot of body work done on my face. Talk about testing the boundaries of your comfort zone…this session definitely does that. Luckily, it comes a bit later in the series, when you’ve undoubtabley formed some level of trust and comfort in your Rolfer.
The Final Session in the Deep Core Series Subset
The video below delves into the reasons I found this session to be so strange. (I bet I’m not alone!) I must say that I did notice some significant change immediately upon receiving the work. At the end of this video, I also describe a (super positive) observation I’ve had since receiving the work in Session 7! This is the type of thing I’ve been waiting for since I began this series…
Part 9
Integrating the Lower Body
We’ve Made It To The Integration Sessions!
After completing the last of the deep core sessions last week, we have moved into the final segment of the 12 part series: the integration sessions. This segment is made up of the final four Rolfing appointments before completing the series. It’s all about leveling the work we’ve been doing the past 2 months within the body, and figuring out how we can use this new-found support to correct long-term imbalances through physical integration.
Session 9: Integrating the Lower Body
I will have the Rolfers at BostonIntegratedBody.com explain what the first of the four integration sessions is focused on:
In this session we address imbalances across all Anatomy Trains lines, core and “sleeve” together, of the lower half of the body. As we move into the integration phase of the series, we begin targeted work in gait and other functional movement patterns (depending on individual needs), to ensure that the body utilizes the newly opened fascial tissues. This session especially addresses how the pelvis moves in gait as well as the balance and alignment of the joints of the legs.
This means that session 9 is very much about how YOUR body is accepting the fascial release we’ve been working on since session 1. My Rolfer had me get up off the table and pace around the room often. We talked about posture and pelvic movement when I move. We analyzed the imbalances in my walk, and addressed support of the core line.
Part 10
Integrating Torso and Breath
Integrating the Torso and Breath: The Second Integration Session
We’ve made it to session 10! I only have 2 more appointments left! This session works to stabilize and balance the torso, putting a heavy emphasis on breath and the opening of the ribcage. The purpose of this session is to address the balance of all lines through the upper body. It is intended to support natural movement and physiological functions. It was a pretty powerful session for me in some ways.
KMI Rolfing: My Experience with Session 10
Torso and breath. I had a love-hate relationship with this session. There were things I really enjoyed, and things I really didn’t. My laptop died right before I filmed my review of this session, which means I was forced to record it on my iPhone. I apologize in advance for the sketchy angle and lighting, I clearly need some practice recording with my mobile device. 😉
As I approach the end of this series, I am beginning to reflect on the bigger-picture accomplishments I’ve realized in this process. It has really heightened my curiosity about other people’s experiences and outcomes with this method of structural integration. If you have undergone this series, or are thinking about giving it a try, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to reach out to me to start a conversation.
Part 11
Integrating the Shoulders and Arms
Session 11: Integrating the Shoulders and Arms
The Rolfers over at Boston Integrated Body put it best:
“In this session we settle the shoulders over the now more balanced ribcage. Using the four lines of Superficial and Deep Front Arm Lines, and the Superficial and Deep Back Arm Lines we trace the myofascial relationships from their roots in the torso and neck to the hands. We work with freeing myofascial as well as neuro-vascular restrictions the arms and shoulders to allow the arm greater and ease and function of movement.”
Approaching the End: My wrists and shoulders have been waiting for this…
I have been waiting for this session for months now. I have been struggling for awhile with a recovering wrist injury, which has been causing all sorts of havoc in my arms and shoulders. My biggest struggle lately has been managing creeping reflective injuries. My hopes were that this session would provide me some relief and a bit of a ‘reset’ in my upper body. The video blog below goes into detail about my experience with this session.
I should probably mention…I only have 1 session left in the series! I can’t believe how fast it has flown by. Next week’s session (#12) will be my final review. I plan to focus the blog/vlog a bit more on my long-term observations with this series. I want to take a step back and analyze the more immediate effects of this process. I realize that my body could take 6 months or more to fully realize the benefit of this practice, but I have noticed some sudden improvements too, and I want to share them with you!
Part 12
Balancing the Lines and Completion
I’ve completed the series!
As some of you may have noticed, there has been a bit of a gap between me completing the final session and releasing this blog. The reason I waited was because I wanted this review to look at the treatment from a big picture perspective. I wanted to give myself time to really observe and reflect on the changes I’ve seen in my body since beginning my experiment with KMI Rolfing.
It turns out I saw a lot of changes.
When I sat down to record this video, I intended it to be the same length as the previous ones. When I completed the video, I was shocked to find that it was almost 20 minutes long. I have decided to break it down into parts, in order to make it easier for people to watch in sections if they don’t have time to get through it all in one go. 🙂
Session 12: The Big-Picture Session
This post is going to be a bit different than the others.
Session 12 (Balancing the Lines and Completion) seeks to create balance in all segments of the body. It takes into account all of the anatomy trains lines worked in prior sessions. This is a big-picture session. It takes the examination from a micro focus to a macro one. Session 12 also aims to tie up any “loose ends” to complete the series.
This means that session 12 is very different for everyone. It completely depends on your body and how you’ve been responding to the treatment. It’s for this reason, that I will approach this final blog/vlog of the series with a big picture analysis as well. I will focus more on the compounding changes I’ve seen throughout this whole series, rather than my exact experience of the 12 session.
The change is undeniable…but will it last?
When I really stopped to reflect on it, I found that I have seen numerous changes in my body and movement patterns since I began this series. Some of them are subtle…some of them are obvious. I also realize that although the series is over, my body will still continue to adjust from the work for quite some time. Perhaps I will do a follow-up post in 6 months or so, to let you know if I’m still experiencing shifts, whether they be positive or negative ones.
That’s another aspect…I am really curious to see how long this bodywork resinates in me. Will my old habits come back and slide me back towards misalignment? Or will my continued awareness and effort to maintain be enough to break habits that aren’t serving me?
The video blog below details the changes I’ve noticed in my body since beginning the 12 session KMI Rolfing Series. Please feel free to comment with any questions or thoughts you might have about my experience. 🙂