Rolfing

Rolfing is a form of bodywork that loosens up and reorganizes the soft tissue of the body, including muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia, to bring relief from chronic pain.

Rolfing was developed by Dr. Ida B. Rolf, a biochemist who found she could achieve changes in posture and structure by manipulating the body's connective tissue. She called her work Structural Integration, but it was nicknamed "Rolfing" by clients and practitioners.

Rolfing is an original, scientifically validated system of body restructuring and movement education. It releases the body's segments-leg, torso,arms, etc.- from life-long patterns of tension and bracing, permitting gravity to realign them. By doing so, it balances the body. Rolfing® consists of a10-session series of deep connective tissue (myofascia) manipulation. Each session lasts approximately an hour. At the beginning of each session, the client's movement and posture are evaluated, and the specific gaols of the session are discussed. As the work progresses, new move- ment patterns are established while the benefits of the work start immediately.

Rolfing is based on the idea that fascia--the fibrous layers covering muscles--stiffens, shortens, and loses its elasticity after prolonged poor posture and mental and emotional stress.

Practitioners of Rolfing use their elbows, fingers, and knuckles to stretch and open fascia to correct the habitual patterns of misalignment in the head, shoulders, abdomen, pelvis, and legs. This is believed to help open up breathing, improve digestion, balance the nervous system, and improve physical and emotional health.

Conditions Treated

* Poor posture
* Muscle tension and pain, especially in the neck, upper back, and low back
* Other conditions caused by poor posture

What is a Typical Rolfing Treatment Like?
A typical course of treatment is 10 weekly, 1 hour sessions, with each session focusing on a certain area of the body. The practitioner begins by examining your posture, and take photographs so that you can see the before and after changes.

You will be asked to sit or lie on a massage table or floor mat, and the practitioner will begin the Rolfing movements. The practitioner usually asks you to breath in sync with the manipulations.Rolfers use their fingers, hands, and elbows to slowly work through deep layers of tissue to release tension

Benefits of Rolfing:

* If you consider Rolfing along with yoga will help in good health keeping and maintains harmony in your physical and emotional life.
* Rolfing treats the tightness and inflexibility of the connective tissues in the muscles so that your body can begin to live fully.
* Rolfing helps to treat the conditions of poor posture, muscle tension and pain, especially in the neck, upper back and lower back.
* It relieves the discomfort caused by carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive strain injury, trauma and aging.
* The other benefits of Rolfing are an enhanced sense of your body awareness and improved posture.
* Rolfing is more popular with athletes and entertainers such as ice skating stars, dancers, sports men, and singers.