What is Rolf Structural Integration?

Structural Integration is a system of postural restructuring and movement education, which is performed through treatments of soft tissue manipulation.

Named after the renowned biochemist Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D., (sometimes called Rolfing) this technology offers a person of any age the ability to start fresh and reclaim their inherent vitality.

Practitioners believe that like all other material structures, the human body submits to the basic laws of physics. When we are out of balance, gravity drags us down, just as it drags down a building that has lost its architectural integrity.

To fully understand poor posture and why it results in chronic head, neck, back, and hip pain, healthy posture, or good posture must be clearly defined. Simply put, good posture is a condition in which body mass is evenly distributed. The geometry of tension in the joints must be perfectly balanced between compressive and tensile forces of the Fascial web (the connective tissue of the body), so that standing and walking require minimal energy expenditure.

As we move through life and are forced to compensate for injuries, physical or emotional traumas, work habits or habitual activities, the soft tissues in our bodies lose their elasticity. Over time, our bodies get molded into a set shape that prevents us from standing, moving, sitting, or even resting comfortably or efficiently.

Bradley Cornwell 
Certified Rolf Structural Integration Practitioner

During a typical Rolf session, we start by evaluating a person's structure. The Practitioner is trained to see bodies and how the dynamics of standing and movement occur and to determine how and where the body is restricted. To a practitioners eye, slouched shoulders, knock-knees or bowed legs, flat feet or high arches, sway back, spinal curvatures, a short leg, and/or hip problems all display complex patterns of strain, tightness, and thickening in the body’s soft tissues.

Structural Integration accomplishes its results through a set of ten specific goals designed to open and balance the whole body. This is known as "The Rolf Structural Integration Ten Series." Through refined and intelligent pressure applied by a Certified Practitioner, specific areas of the body are carefully manipulated to release areas where the body is restricted. The "Series" is administered progressively; each session builds upon the last until complete integration of the structure is achieved. The average spacing between sessions is one to two weeks.

Upon completion of the Rolf process, habitual and inappropriate patterns of movement are corrected. The body retains these corrections and is effortlessly upright, balanced, and at ease with itself in the field of gravity. As a result of being "Rolfed," a feeling of well being and self-confidence develops as the structure returns to its own dynamic, upright support. A person feels lighter, freer, and has a higher level of energy. Old attitudes that were held and encouraged by stuck body patterns become easier to release.

Please take a look at the rest of this website to get even more of an understanding of what Structural Integration is all about and what benefits it can bring about in your life.
 

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