What are the benefits of Rolf Movement™?
One of the many genius aspects of Dr Ida Rolf’s legacy is the ‘recipe’; ten sessions that not only ‘resets’ the connective tissue through better organisation and relationship, but also that re-educates the client into understanding their patterns and how to ‘be’ in their body with adaptability and ease, but also with containment.
While table work is an important aspect of Rolfing® that releases tissue and brings organisation to the structure of the body, we, as humans, are more than the sum of our parts. We carry rich experiences that are both physical and emotional, and no-one will fully ever understand those experiences better than each of us, uniquely.
Sometimes a client comes to Rolfing without any body awareness whatsoever; they have pain and they have heard that Rolfing can help. For these people, table work might help to alleviate short term pain, but sooner or later, without a guide into their body, the pain may eventually return. The functional aspect of Rolfing sessions is, at least in part, about translating what happens on the table back into gravity. Rolf Movement™ can be an extension of that functional work that is not limited to the re-integration aspect of the session but also enhances a unified experience by blending movement into a connected, cohesive ‘partnership’; one where functionality can make its way onto the table through subtle movement, and aid in integrating and refining once in gravity.
The movement aspect of Rolfing helps clients to better understand their unique ‘earth suit’, building awareness, curiosity, and confidence. It carries an opportunity for the client to take responsibility for how they feel in their body and its movements - to ‘own’ the Rolfing process from a place of experimentation and authenticity.
If the Rolfing framework and techniques help to release and reorganise tissue, it is Rolf Movement that enables a client to integrate the process, taking ownership of how it feels for them, and how it is relevant to their life.
As a Rolfer®, why did you choose to do the Rolf Movement™ course?
As a Rolfer and yoga teacher, I personally experienced many Rolfing sessions prior to deciding to sign up for the Rolf Movement course. Of those sessions, those that gave me a role as curious participant assessing the potential for movement in my own body, left me feeling the most integrated. It’s that intrinsic understanding of how the session helped to improve my relationship with gravity, that helped me to ‘embody’ the session and take it home.
Rolfing and Rolf Movement are two aspects of Dr Ida Rolf’s work and are not separate, but as interrelated as it is to take your vehicle to the shop for a major tune up, and then taking time to learn how to drive it. Because our bodies are not cars or any other inanimate object, but organic, interconnected changing structures, every day creates a new opportunity in ‘learning how to drive.’
Rolf Movement can be both the lens and the playing field for exploring weight and lift, ecology and range of movement, availability of proprioception and balance…and an integral tool for learning how to inhabit a body with ease and grace.
Author: Certified Advanced Rolfer®, Mentor, Rolf Movement™ Practitioner, Lizzie Reumont - UK
Photos: Richard Pilnick
