move—without pain. This is where Rolfing Structural Inte- gration (Rolfing SI) works. Rolfing SI is an intelligent form of hands-on bodywork that relieves pain and discomfort caused by imbalances and compensation in the fascial system. Founded by Ida P. Rolf, PhD, more than 50 years ago,


Rolfing restores lasting balance in the body, offering relief from pain and imbalances resulting from physical injury, illness and the inescapable pull of gravity. Rolfing is not massage. Ida Rolf determined that it is not


enough to work only the part of the body that is giving us trouble, so she designed a progressive series of sessions that sets Rolfing apart from other healing modalities. Each of 10 one-hour sessions builds upon the last and balances the body in segments, focusing on the fascial structure. While massage is about detoxification and relaxation, Rolfing actually changes the body’s structure, offering long-term pain relief. Once the affected fascia is released and lengthened, the body can return to its structurally optimal position and consequently feel better. The body regains head-to-toe alignment, the pain abates, good posture becomes effortless, and flexibility and coordination return.


While massage is about


detoxification and relaxation, Rolfing actually changes the body’s structure, offering long-term pain relief.


Once stereotyped as a process too intense for those frail


of body or faint of heart (with a low pain threshold, that is), Rolfing has now advanced well beyond its former painful im- age but still produces profound results. The key is an educated touch, acquired in part from an intensive study of anatomy, physiology and kinesiology. Many people with little or no training claim they are performing deep-tissue work, per- petuating the myth that Rolfing is some kind of cathartic pain release. So do your homework. A certified Rolfer undergoes years of intensive training and should be credentialed by the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration. (This can be verified at Rolf.org.)


Amazingly, the results of structural integration last. As


Rolf said, “This is the gospel of Rolfing: When the body gets working appropriately, the force of gravity can flow through. Then, spontaneously, the body heals itself.” Fascia wants to stay aligned. Rather than regressing; it will reform itself to its optimal structure, strengthening itself and your posture. Clients who have undergone structural integration often feel even bet- ter months and years after their sessions than they did immedi- ately afterwards.


Rolf summed up our fight against physical decline this


way: “One individual may experience his losing fight with gravity as a sharp pain in the back, another as constant fatigue. Yet all these signals may be pointing to a single problem so prominent in their own structure that has been ignored: They are off-balance; they are at war with gravity.” Fortunately, Rolf left us a powerful weapon with which to


fight.


Clay Evans, certified Rolfer, is with Cornerstone Integra- tive Health Associates. For more information, call 865- 983-7800. See ad, page 40


July 2011


23


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40