Rolfing your way to better health

Rolfing can improve your posture

Do you need relief from back pain? Is your posture screaming for an adjustment? Are you slowing down with age? Do you suffer with aches and pains related to injuries or trauma? Would you like to have your fascia reorganized?

If you said yes to any of the first four questions, then an affirmative reply to the fifth may be the answer you are looking for. That answer is rolfing.

What is rolfing?
Rolfing is a hands-on bodywork technique in which certified practitioners manipulate the fascia, the connective tissues that surround, support, and integrate with the muscles, bones, nerves, and organs of the body. A rolfing practitioner works on the fascia to release, realign, and balance the entire body.

Rolfing practitioners (rolfers) consider each client’s individual needs, so therapy is never done in a one-size-fits-all manner. Rolfing works not only with structure, but also with the individual’s unconscious habits of movement, suppressed emotions, and blocked energy. Thus a rolfing session is a very holistic experience.

Benefits of rolfing
Research from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that rolfing enhances the body’s use of energy and improves movement. Other studies show that the technique can improve posture and relieve pain by making subtle adjustments to body structure, especially in the back and pelvis, and can reduce the curvature associated with sway back (lordosis).

Rolfing can also help reduce stress and tension and restore flexibility. It has helped individuals who have neck and back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, temporomandibular dysfunction, sports injuries, trauma from automobile accidents, and headaches. Some people discover that they can sleep better and that they have more energy after one or more rolfing sessions.

Athletes and dancers frequently turn to rolfing because it helps improve their performance and endurance. Naturally, anyone can enjoy these benefits, and so rolfing can appeal to people of all ages and from all walks of life who are seeking a way to relieve pain and chronic stress and improve their daily lives.

Where to find rolfers
The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration in Boulder, Colorado, provides information on rolfing and a list of rolfing practitioners. In the greater Phoenix area, there are several rolfing practitioners:

Arizona Pain and Posture Center (Scottsdale)

Clay Cox, PhD (Tucson)

Jeffrey Maitland, PhD (Scottsdale)

Deanne Melnychuk, LMT, Certified Advanced Rolfer (Phoenix)

MyBodyWorks, Inc. (Phoenix)

RolfingArizona (Scottsdale)

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