DO YOU SUFFER FROM POOR POSTURE, POOR FLEXIBILITY, ACHES & PAINS OR LOW VITALITY? THINK YOU'VE TRIED EVERYTHING? HAVE YOU CONSIDERED ROLFING?
SERVICES
What is Rolfing?
Rolfing is a sophisticated and scientifically validated series of ten 'hands on' bodywork and movement re-education sessions. The Rolfing process systematically and cumulatively releases and realigns all the segments of the body with respect to a central line of gravity. Once a body's structure is balanced, optimal function in movement can be experienced.
How does Rolfing work?
Rolfers predominately work with the fascial network of the body. Fascia is a type of connective tissue that wraps, supports, penetrates and connects all our muscles and organs. In fact, fascia envelops every functional unit of our body. The fascial network is responsible for determining our body's structure by adapting to and reflecting the forces applied to it. It does this by shortening, thickening and binding tissue layers in areas under strain. This results in the various segments of our body tilting, twisting and shifting in relation to each other, thus compressing and limiting mobility across joints. Effectively, our body structure is a direct result of our habitual movement and usage patterns.
For example, an office worker may habitually hold their phone between their ear and shoulder. Eventually the local connective tissue will adaptively respond by shortening and laying down additional collagen fibres which has the effect of tilting the head toward the shoulder and literally 'setting' that person in their habit.
It is this same fascial plasticity responsible for deforming body structure that the Rolfing process exploits to reorganise structure. Through intelligently applied interventions, the Rolfer is able to assist the body's own self regulating mechanisms to hydrate, free and lengthen fascial restrictions thus decompressing joints and permitting body segments to realign.
Benefits of Rolfing
Although each client's experience of Rolfing is unique, the most common outcomes are;
Enhanced Posture
When a person's structure is unbalanced and gravity is pulling them down, conscious muscular effort is required for that person to hold 'good posture'. As the various segments of the body realign with the Rolfing process, maintaining good posture becomes effortless and unconscious.
Greater Ease of Movement
Shortening and binding in the fascial planes that cross joints will result in their compression and subsequent loss of mobility. In addition, unaligned body segments will result in inappropriate articulation of the joint surfaces, further contributing to awkwardness in motion. The Rolfing process decompresses binding across joints and reinstates appropriate relationship of the articulating surfaces. The result is experienced as pleasure and grace in movement.
Improved Flexibility
"In a balanced body, when flexors flex, extensors extend" Ida Rolf
In other words, when a muscle contracts, its opposing muscle, or antagonist, should be free to lengthen. Chronic shortening and binding across the fascial wrappings will prevent this phenomenon occurring. This will manifest in the body as inflexibility, discouraging movement, leading to further shortening and binding as the cycle perpetuates. After Rolfing, clients rediscover the pleasure of living in their body free from stiffness and restriction.
Relief from Aches and Pains
"Although relief from muscular discomfort is not the primary focus of the Rolfing process, almost without exception it presents as a secondary benefit. As the Rolfing process removes strain from the fascial network and structural alignment improves, clients find long lasting relief from chronic aches and pains.
Greater Sense of Vitality
As an unbalanced body succumbs to the pull of gravity, excessive energy will be utilised by the body's owner as they struggle against this force to maintain good posture. After Rolfing, this excess energy is often experienced as greater vitality and alertness.
Who can Rolfing help?
Almost anybody can benefit from Rolfing!.
People who spend long hours at a desk or computer may find it increasingly uncomfortable to maintain good posture. After Rolfing, the body becomes effortlessly upright, balanced and at ease.
Those suffering chronic pain or discomfort frequently find that changes brought about by Rolfing bring lasting relief when other more traditional approaches have only provided a temporary reprieve.
Structural changes resulting from pregnancy and childbirth. may linger to establish lifelong patterns of discomfort and poor posture. A Rolfing series can assist a woman of any age to restore the balance and alignment of her pre pregnancy body.
Sports people, dancers, musicians and anyone wanting to improve their performance may seek Rolfing. The feelings of fluidity, ease and lightness experienced after Rolfing can enhance functioning, both physically and mentally.
Practitioners of yoga may turn to Rolfing to both complement and enhance their practice just as Rolfing clients may turn to a somatic movement modality such as yoga to explore the new horizons of their structurally integrated bodies. The Rolfing process and yoga both utilise gravity to open and release the body and both processes facilitate a deeper level of self awareness, differing only in their methods. While yoga practitioners have an extremely intimate understanding of their bodies and where any restrictions lie, it is difficult to be as specific in releasing these restrictions using the asanas as can be achieved with the assisting hands of skilled Rolfer.
In Good Hands
Marnie is an experienced manual therapist with a passion for structural bodywork that is reflected in both her clinic work as well as her commitment to ongoing education. To compliment her Rolf Institute certification in Rolfing Structural Integration, she holds a degree in Health Science (Complementary Medicine)and a Diploma of Remedial Massage.
Marnie is an active member of the Australian Rolfing Association as well as being affiliated with the International Association of Structural Integrators and the Australian Traditional Medicine Society.
Service Categories
Connective Tissue Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Myofascial Release Therapy, Remedial Massage, Rolfing
|
|
 |
