What is Rolfing?
How does Rolfing work?

In a survey by the Financial Times (3rd Jan 1999) Rolfing was described as "quite simply brilliant therapy since it works at a very deep level and brings noticeable results."

Originally called Structural Integration, Rolfing is the name that now refers to the form of bodywork created by Ida Rolf (1896-1979), PhD in Biochemistry.

Rolfing consists of body restructuring and movement education. In a survey by the Financial Times (3rd Jan 1999) Rolfing was selected as one of the best therapies that “industry insiders swear by."

We have all suffered injury, illness or emotional distress and many of us have poor postural habits.

Over time our bodies become mis-aligned so that outside forces like gravity start to wear us down (time wounds all heels).

We experience this conflict as pain, chronic tension, stress and depleted energy. As the aim of Rolfing is to create better body balance and alignment, clients often report the disappearance of such symptoms.

Who can benefit from Rolfing ?

My clients fall into four broad categories:

1) 40% are people who have a chronic pain condition, most commonly neck, shoulder, back, hips or knee pain. Some people have more specific conditions such as scoliosis, TMJ dysfunction or chronic headaches. Low back and neck pain are the most common conditions, particularly amongst mothers (owing to complications arising around pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood), sports people and computer operators. I am seeing more and more people with RSI.

2) 30% are people who have no specific pain condition but are aware that they have improvable posture and aim to prevent problems that may arise from this.

3) 20% are people who are involved in movement-related activities, such as yoga, dance or sport, and are primarily concerned with improving their performance.

4) 10% are people who are mainly interested in Rolfing as a process and its associated holistic benefits on psychological and emotional levels. Some are interested in the concept of releasing trapped emotions and trauma through Rolfing.

All categories usually acknowledge significant improvement after Rolfing, which is to say that Rolfing reduces or resolves chronic pain, improves posture, enables more efficient and graceful movement and is a fascinating and enlightening process to experience.

As regards age-group, the majority of my clients fall in the 20-50 age-group. I have seen 2 people in their eighties, 4 in their seventies and several children and teenagers. I will work with pregnant women in the last trimester.

In short, Rolfing can help everybody.