By Rolfing® client Rinke
My name is Rinke and I have just finished the ten Rolfing sessions. The main reason for starting Rolfing was to get more in touch with my body, as a support to healing from a complicated birth of my being.
While I gained more awareness of my body, directly, through feeling the consequences of Rolfing during and after the session,...
I was mostly impressed by the many unexpected consequences of Rolfing– each of them probably contributing in a holistic way to my main reason for starting Rolfing and giving me much additional pleasure as a bonus.
I gladly share some of my experiences, hoping to inspire more healing on this planet.
During the sessions
My Rolfer® (Kostas Stavridis) came across as very knowledgeable and dedicated with a kind heart. He gave me a feeling of relaxation during the sessions and took ample time to explain the ideas behind each session.
Normally, the session started with a walk around the room and feeling how my body balances on my feet. We then took a closer look at how I was walking and how I could use my body, balance, and gravity more optimally while walking. It was very interesting to do this. Among others, I realised that my toes were mostly passive during my gait and that my body was not relaxed causing a weird swinging of my arms. Kostas usually gave me some “homework” to integrate the insights in my day-to-day moving. After this, we went to the table for a deep massage.
Laying on the table always gave me much relaxation, but I was able to relax much deeper in later sessions. I think this was because of the gained trust between Kostas and me, but also because some parts of my body contained a habitual tension and I simply didn’t know how to relax my lower back or shoulders properly.
Each session focused on a specific area of my body, going to increasingly deeper layers of my body in the later sessions. After the session, I would usually get up feeling extremely relaxed, as if waking up from a deep sleep. I would then stand again on the floor and try out my “new” body.
I have felt as if my feet were sucked into the floor, as if my head was floating on top of my spine or as if my spine was coated in jelly. So interesting!
The immediate effects would usually lose some of their strength within a couple of hours, but some stayed and lingered afterwards. Most importantly, I was taught to feel the contrast of how my body felt before and after a session. This inner knowing enabled me to continue practising and being aware of my body by myself.
Walking barefoot
Rolfing inspired me to rediscover the pleasure of walking barefoot. I have done this in my childhood and always enjoyed it. As I got older, I stopped doing this, but while integrating the Rolfing homework, I suddenly realised that I live right next to a forest and can just go outside for a walk without shoes! I committed to do this frequently, to discover the potential of my bare feet.
I now know that my feet are really the best when not covered by shoes and am mesmerised by the capability of my feet to adapt. I could feel them getting stronger and more flexible. I also came to love the ability of my feet to absorb impact by wrapping around pine cones, stones, or branches. I felt the intricate relationship between my feet and the rest of my body when I stepped on something that was too harsh for my feet to wrap around; the rest of my body instinctively reacted by lowering my point of gravity, thus reducing the impact.
Lastly, I think I also got in touch with some of my primal knowledge when I saw how my toes were involved in balancing my body while walking down a rather steep and slippery path. Surely, nobody ever taught me how to do this, but somehow my feet just knew what to do!
Ice skating and running
I am a recreational ice skater and a couple of weeks ago I went ice skating again after a break of more than a year. I felt that I was much better at ice skating. I could go faster and in the turns I could apply the correct technique. While obviously my technique was far from that of a professional ice skater, I felt as if I understood it!
Another thing I noticed was that while running the swinging of my arms became different. Before, I used to move my arms in a somewhat circular motion around my body and now the arms were swinging in an almost straight line. A few years ago, a running instructor actually tried to teach me this “correct” method of swinging the arms. I didn’t get it at that time because the straight swing felt unnatural and not accessible for me.
I was surprised to notice, that now, this straight swinging of my arms just came to me without any effort!
Holistic effects
These are some of the immediate and most noticeable effects I experienced. Apart from these, there were many more insights and probably also many which I did not notice but somehow contributed to my wellbeing in subtle ways. I think that when it comes to Rolfing the strongest effects should actually not be sought in individual improvements and insights here and there.
Rolfing is truly holistic in that it works on integrating the body and the mind in a practical and fun way.
It definitely supported me in a process of transformation at a crossroads in my life and taught me things I will not forget during my entire life.
Author: Rinke, Rolfing Client, Netherlands
Photos: private photos by Rinke
Rolfer: Kostas Stavridis
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