Appendicular Awareness — Working from the outside in 

By John Schewe, Basic Rolfing® Instructor and Russell Stolzoff, Basic and Advanced Rolfing Instructor

ABSTRACT This issue of Structure, Function, Integration casts a spotlight on the appendicular skeleton – the shoulder girdle and arms, the pelvic girdle and legs, along with their associated tissues.  We have invited Russell Stolzoff to speak on this important topic and, in particular, how he relates the appendicular skeleton to the overall concept of integration.      … see full article

7 Things to Know About Rolfing If You Have Chronic Pain

More than 30 percent of adults in the U.s. are living with chronic or severe pain.  If you’re part of that statistic you know how devastating living with severe or daily pain can be.  

Treating chronic pain, defined as pain lasting 12 weeks or longer, depends on the underlying cause. For example, for musculoskeletal issues and inflammation, anti-inflammatory medications, ice, heat, and stretching can be beneficial… see full article

The Rolfing® Method: The Evolution of Structural Integration

Although the Rolfing method is one of the 20th century’s most influential forms of soft tissue manipulation and movement education, it remains a mysterious and misunderstood practice in the minds of many. Some people mistakenly believe that Rolfing bodywork is a collection of painful deep tissue techniques; others have heard that the goal of the technique is to separate muscles from bones. Few people know that the Rolfing method is an art, philosophy and science, a form of manual soft tissue therapy and movement education devoted to balancing and integrating the human body in the field of gravity, with the goal of enhancing overall well being… see full article

Applied Force: Does Rolfing Work? How Much Does It Hurt?

Climbers know all about gravity. We fight it to stay attached to crimpers, and when we drag ourselves up ice flows and snowy peaks. But gravity doesn’t stop when the day’s climbing is done. Over time, it takes advantage of the body’s plasticity, changing the way we stand, sit, and move. Like water dripping on a block of granite, gravity wears us down.Rolfing aims to undo the harm       … see full article

Stretching: The Truth

When Duane Knudson, a professor of kinesiology at California State University, Chico, looks around campus at athletes warming up before practice, he sees one dangerous mistake after another. “They’re stretching, touching their toes. . . . ” He sighs. “It’s discouraging.”If you’re like most of us, you were taught the importance of warm-up exercises back in grade school,         … see full article

The Fasciae: Anatomy, Dysfunction & Treatment

…All soft tissues, and in particular the fascia, derive originally from the same embryonic layer, the meoderm, which is actually at the origin of all bodily tissues apart from the skin and the mucosae. The mesoderm gives rise not only to those elements conventionally defined as fascia, but also to cartilage and bone, which in reality are no more than … see full article