Gary is a manual therapist with over 10 years experience. He is a Certified Rolfer & Rolf Movement Practitioner and a Remedial Masseur offering a service at both the remedial and wholistic levels of therapy.
SERVICES
Although I work primarily as a Rolfer for a variety of reasons not everyone can undertake or complete the 10 sessions of Rolfing. I also provide a service at the remedial level of therapy using not only Rolfing techniques and insights but also other modalities, including different forms of massage, acquired in over a decade of work as a manual therapist.
What is Rolfing?
Rolfing or Structural Integration is a sophisticated and effective system of manual therapy and movement education designed to deal with postural and movement problems that develop in the human body. Dr Ida Rolf an American biochemist (1896 - 1979) and the founder of Structural Integration emphasized the key role the connective tissue (or fascia) plays in the bodies internal relationships and the relationship of the body as a whole to its external environment. The connective tissue network is the bodies' structural element and forms a continuous three dimensional web that wraps every cell (including every muscle fibre) in the body. The tensions and strains generated throughout this web and their distribution through the body determine whether the body is maintained in a balanced or imbalanced state.
Connective tissue is malleable and responds to the various traumas and stresses (both physical and emotional) that the body experiences by shortening, thickening and lengthening. Just as a tent will twist into a new shape with the re-tensioning of a single guy-rope so the different parts of the body will tilt, shift and rotate in response to strain, warping into new and often dysfunctional relationships with each other and changing the relationship of the body as a whole to its larger environment. If an individuals leg is rotated, or they have rounded shoulders, or they are short through the back of the neck these will not simply be a consequence of contracted muscles but will be a reflection of distortions in the fascial network. Such deformations impose excessive strain and tension on the bodies' structures and joints and misalign the body with its fundamental relationship to the earth itself. Movement instead of being graceful, economical and enjoyable becomes awkward, difficult and painful.
How can Rolfing help ?
While connective tissue is deformed by stresses placed upon it, often resulting in pain and dysfunction, it is also this plastic capacity in the tissue that permits its re-configuration through the Rolfing process. The sensory input from the touch/pressure applied by the Rolfer coupled with appropriate movement provided by the client taps into the self-regulating mechanisms of the body, hydrating tissue and allowing it to soften and lengthen.
However, it is not only our tissues which become rigid and unyielding, our patterns of movement also develop fixations and these will eventually emerge as problems in the muscles and joints. Stuck tissue can be partly addressed with manual therapy but stuck patterns of movement need to be addressed in terms of perception and co-ordination.
Rolfing employs both manual and perceptual techniques to encourage the self-organizing, self-healing capacity of the human organism to begin the re-patterning of the nervous system and the re-organization of the body. Movement becomes easier and more fluid. Pain disappears entirely or is greatly reduced.
Who should be Rolfed?
All bodies exhibit some level of disorder and compensation in their structure. Consequently virtually anyone will benefit from the Rolfing process to some degree. People with a history of trauma, injury and pain can benefit greatly. Others suffer from less severe physical discomforts but can still relate to the prospect of a balanced and mobile body that Rolfing offers.
Physical transformation is often accompanied by other changes. Rolfing primarily focuses on the myo-fascial web and the dysfunctions that occur within it, however, because of its impact on the nervous system and indeed on all the systems of the body, Rolfing frequently has an equally dramatic impact on the emotional and energetic aspects of life.
What is the Rolfing 'ten series' ?
The 'ten series' is a sequence of manual therapy sessions often referred to as 'the recipe'. The profound logic of this sequence is one of Rolfing great strengths as a therapy. The series is not a collection of ad-hoc myo-fascial sessions but neither is it a formula applied indiscriminately to every body. Each session builds on the preceding session while laying the foundation for the one to follow and the adaptability inherent in the Rolfing process ensures that the uniqueness of each body can be addressed. The Rolfers' assessment of the clients' structure will lead him or her to add a little 'pepper' here and use a little less 'salt' there while remaining within the parameters of 'the recipe'.
Each session in the 'ten' has its own territory and objectives. The first three sessions are often referred to as the 'sleeve sessions'. Mobility in the tissue must proceed its re-positioning and these sessions, in part, are devoted to loosening the more superficial layers of connective tissue. The next four sessions are the 'core sessions' and deal with releasing the structures from the inner leg through to the cranium. Sessions 8, 9 and 10 are the 'integrative sessions'. In the preceding sessions the various parts of the body have been differentiated from one another, now they need to be re-articulated into a more balanced relationship with each other and with the larger environment.
Does Rolfing hurt ?
In its early years Rolfing had a reputation as being a painful form of therapy. To some extent and rather unfairly this reputation persists. The view of how Rolfing actually works - how it brings about the changes that occur within the body during the Rolfing process - has itself changed and evolved over time. Rather than being seen as primarily a manual process directed toward the breaking down of adhesions within the fascia the effects of touch/pressure on the nervous system and its effect in terms of the hydration of the fascial network are now considered to be of greater import. Consequently the strong work that characterized early Rolfing is no longer the predominant method used when working with a client.
Rolfers work at all levels of the tissue. At times they will work in the more superficial layers of fascia at others the work will need to be deeper. However, deep bodywork is not necessarily accompanied by pain. By allowing the body time to accept pressure, rather than attempting to force change upon it, the Rolfer can work deeply in the tissue without excessive discomfort. As well, a variety of factors, other than the pressure applied by the Rolfer, contribute to the level of comfort or discomfort experienced by the client. Factors such as the degree of trauma undergone by the body and the length of time that consequent distortions have been present will influence the degree of discomfort experienced. Severe trauma held within the body over a long period will create widespread and persistent distortions which may require more sustained, but not necessarily stronger, pressure to release. Another factor is the amount of emotional content associated with an area of injury or strain.
Whatever the case discomfort will never be extreme or prolonged. Most clients have an intuitive understanding of the difference between 'good' or appropriate pain and 'bad' pain. Generally any discomfort a client experiences will be brief leading on to the release of long-term holdings which can have a profound impact on both the body and the psyche.
Testimonials
"I had experienced sharp shooting pains from my back down through my arm for about a year before I started Rolfing. It had got so bad I gave up swimming and was restricting the way I moved as much as possible to avoid the shooting pains. Chiropractric could not seem to shift the problem and for the first time in my life I began to understand what depression felt like. My first Rolfing session was great! I greeted my partner that night with a big smile on my face and I was standing noticeably straighter. A lifetime first. The sessions rolled on and the pains did not come back. At this stage, some six months after completing the sessions, I have had no similar pains. I am also finding that if I flex my toes or stretch my arms through to my fingertips, I experience a lovely connectedness through my body."
M. Jewell - Cammeray
QUALIFICATION DETAILS
Gary Hehir - Certified Rolfer, Rolf Movement Practitioner, Diploma Remedial Massage, BA Philosophy
Service Categories
Connective Tissue Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Myofascial Release Therapy, Remedial Massage, Rolfing
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